Genetics of Domesticated Behavior in Dogs and Foxes - Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals - page 365

Another common approach for assessment of dog behavior is the collec-
tion of information from dog owners by questionnaires ( Arhanta et al., 2010;
Bennett and Rolf, 2007; Ellingsen et al., 2010; Hsu and Serpell, 2003;
Kubinyi et al., 2009; Serpell and Hsu, 2001; Svartberg et al., 2005; Vas
et al., 2007 ). This approach assumes that the dog owner knows its dog's
typical behavior and that by asking appropriate questions this information
can be extracted in a reasonably accurate, quantitative, and reliable manner
( Hsu and Serpell, 2003; Serpell and Hsu, 2001 ). Using 132 items from a
questionnaire filled by owners of 2054 dogs, Hsu and Serpell identified
11 factors that accounted for 57% of common variance in the scored items
( Hsu and Serpell, 2003 ). The factors have been labeled based on the most
significant traits contributing to each factor. The factors identified by Hsu
and Serpell (2003) arguably describe narrower behavioral categories than the
factors identified in the study by Svartberg and Forkman (2002) . For example,
the study by Hsu and Serpell identified three factors related to aggression:
stranger-directed aggression, owner-directed aggression, and dog-directed fear
or aggression.
Kubinyi used a 48-item questionnaire adapted for the dog from a ques-
tionnaire for human personality assessment ( Kubinyi et al., 2009 ) and, in
parallel, a second questionnaire collecting demographic information for the
owners and their dogs. In total, the study included owner reports for 14,004
dogs. Factor analysis identified four dimensions of dog personality: calm-
ness, trainability, sociability, and boldness. Each dimension was shown to be
influenced by other variables: calmness was influenced by age, neutered sta-
tus, and the number of professional training courses the dog had experienced;
trainability was influenced by training experience, age, and the reason for
keeping the dog; sociability to other dogs was mainly determined by age,
sex, training experience, and time spent together; boldness was affected by
the sex, age of the dog, and the age of the dog at acquisition ( Kubinyi et al.,
2009 ). Differences in trainability and boldness among the dog groups were
identified: herding dogs were more trainable than Hounds, Working dogs,
Toy dogs, and Non-sporting dogs, while Terriers were bolder than Hounds
and Herding dogs ( Turcs´n et al., 2011 ).
Assessment of dog behavioral phenotypes using data from either tests
conducted either by dog organizations or by owner-filled questionnaires has
some pitfalls (for a review, see Hall and Wynne, 2012; Jones and Gosling,
2005 ). The former, biased towards dog populations whose owners are inter-
ested in dog training, are often focused on specific behavioral characteristics
and target-limited set of breeds. The latter do not provide results of direct
observation of dog behavior in a defined period of time; and are sensitive to
owner experience in judging dog behavior, and to the validity of the ques-
tionnaire. There are practical difficulties in observing dogs in their owners'
homes. It is rare for such studies to be undertaken on dogs maintained in
research facilities where their behavior is observed in a controlled familiar