Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks
Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks
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犬类性格特征的横截面年龄差异；
DOI：
10.3389/fvets.2019.00493
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发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
E. Kubinyi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
L. Wallis;Dóra Szabó;E. Kubinyi
狗被认为是一生中人格发展的可能模型，然而，我们对衰老如何塑造他们的人格或与年龄相关的变化的程度知之甚少。以前我们已经确定，衰老会影响多种狗的人口统计学，这也会影响不同年龄段的性格特征如何变化。对生活在匈牙利的1，207只成年犬（法师= 7.71，SD = 4.12）的横断面样本进行了人口统计学问卷调查和犬个性问卷调查，将其分为6个不同的年龄组。结果显示，五个因素中有三个表现出显着的年龄效应。活动/兴奋性随着年龄的增长而下降，而对训练的反应也下降，只有12岁以上的狗与其他组有显著差异。对动物的攻击性表现出二次曲线，在6-10岁的狗中达到峰值。最大幅度的年龄相关的变化之间检测到的后期高级和老年人的年龄，可能是由补偿行为的变化，生物老化和业主的态度老化。当模型重新运行，包括其他解释变量，年龄组不再显着的训练反应性特质。与主人互动/玩耍的时间部分介导了年龄与这一特征之间的关系，这意味着增加玩耍和训练动机的干预措施可能会减轻衰老对狗可训练性的负面影响。28个解释变量中有15个与5个因素中的至少一个显著相关[体重、品种（纯/混合品种）、性别、脱离牵引活动、饮食、既往创伤、犬到达家庭时的年龄、玩耍、犬训练活动、已知命令数量和犬服从任务]。与人类类似，以前经历过创伤的狗在恐惧和攻击性方面得分更高。更高水平的基本服从与一些理想的狗的个性特征有关（较低的恐惧和攻击性，以及较高的活动/兴奋性和对训练的反应性）。无论这种关系的方向，服从是一个重要的方面，有助于狗的个性问卷和狗主人的关系。这项研究的独特之处在于它考虑了受老龄化影响的各种人口变量。
The dog has been suggested as a possible model for personality development over the lifespan, however, we know little about how aging may shape their personality or the magnitude of age-related changes. Previously we established that aging influences multiple dog demographics, which could also affect how personality traits change across different age periods. A demographic questionnaire and the Dog Personality Questionnaire were completed for a cross-sectional sample of 1,207 adult dogs living in Hungary (Mage = 7.71, SD = 4.12), split into six different age groups. Results revealed three of the five factors showed significant age effects. Activity/Excitability decreased with age, and whilst Responsiveness to training also decreased, only dogs older than 12 years differed significantly from the other groups. Aggressiveness toward animals showed a quadratic trajectory peaking in dogs aged 6–10 years. The greatest magnitude of age-related change was detected between late senior and geriatric ages, likely caused by compensatory behavioral changes to biological aging and owner attitudes to aging. When the models were re-run including the other explanatory variables, age group was no longer significant for the Responsiveness to training trait. The amount of time spent interacting/playing with the owner partially mediated the relationship between age and this trait, implying that interventions to increase play and training motivation may alleviate the negative effects of aging on dogs' trainability. Fifteen out of 28 explanatory variables were significantly associated with at least one of the five factors [weight, breed (pure/mixed breed), sex, off-leash activity, diet, previous trauma, age of dog when arrived in the household, play, dog training activities, number of known commands and dog obedience tasks]. Similarly to humans, dogs that had previously experienced trauma scored higher in fearfulness and aggression. A higher level of basic obedience was linked to some desirable dog personality traits (lower Fearfulness and Aggression, and higher Activity/Excitability and Responsiveness to training). Regardless of the direction of this relationship, obedience is an important aspect contributing to dog personality questionnaires and the dog-owner relationship. This study is unique in that it considered a wide variety of demographic variables which are influenced by aging.