In brief: Practice and processUnderstanding the genetic basis of canine anxiety: phenotyping dogs for behavioral, neurochemical, and genetic assessment
Section snippets
Introduction: the Canine Behavioral Genetics Project (CBGP)
Behavioral problems account for the death, relinquishment, or the end of breeding careers of more dogs than does any other set of problems (Miller et al 1996, Patronek et al 1996, Salman et al 1998, Salman et al 2000; Scarlett et al., 1999; Shore et al 2003, Mondelli et al 2004, Shore 2005). Whereas many behavioral complaints involve management-related issues or dog-human temperament mismatches, the behavioral concerns that are most interesting to scientists and breeders alike are those with
Diagnosis vs. phenotype
The questions we are most commonly asked are: (1) “What behaviors are you interested in?” and (2) “How do you phenotype canine behavior?” Both of these questions are important and more complex than they appear, and each is related to the other and to the methodology used in the study.
In biomedically oriented genetic investigations, phenotypes are often defined by the diagnoses under study. Thus, phenotypes such as hip dysplasia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or noise phobia are defined by consensus
Methods and tools of assessment
Participating dogs and owners in the CBGP are recruited from active owners, trainers, breeders, handlers, and the general pet-owning public. We are particularly interested in anxiety-related disorders, including many aggressions, and in families or households of dogs in which some dogs are affected, and some dogs are not affected. By using unaffected and affected dogs we can conduct a case-control analysis, which speeds the rate at which suspect genetic contributions can be readily identified.
References (33)
Veterinary behavioural medicine: a roadmap for the 21st century
Vet. J
(2005)- et al.
Discussion round table: terminology think tank
J. Vet. Behav.: Clin. Appl. Res
(2006) - et al.
The development and assessment of temperment tests for adult companion dogs
J. Vet. Behav.: Clin. Ap. Res
(2006) - et al.
Catechol-o-methyltransferase, cognition, and psychosis: Val158Met and beyond
Biol. Psychiatry
(2006) - et al.
Genetics of canid skeletal variation: size and shape of the pelvis
Genome Res
(2005) - et al.
Size sexual dimorphism in Portuguese water dogsInteraction between an autosome and the X chromosome
Genome Res
(2005) - et al.
The endophenotype concept in psychiatry: etymology and strategic intentions
Am. J. Psych
(2003) - et al.
Further genetic evidence for a panic disorder syndrome mapping to chromosome 13q
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
(2003) - et al.
A susceptibility gene for affective disorders and the response of the human amygdala
Arch. Gen. Psych
(2005) - et al.
Genetic architecture of the dog: sexual size dimorphism and functional morphology
Trends Genet
(2006)
Measuring behavior: an introductory guide
Factors associated with the decision to surrender a pet to an animal shelter
J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc
The bond that never developed: adoption and relinquishment of dogs in a rescue shelter
J. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci
Use of clomipramine to treat ritualistic motor behavior in dogs
J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc
Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals
Cited by (42)
Evaluation of mediating and moderating effects on the relationship between owners’ and dogs’ anxiety: A tool to understand a complex problem
2021, Journal of Veterinary BehaviorEffect of greeting and departure interactions on the development of increased separation-related behaviors in newly adopted adult dogs
2021, Journal of Veterinary BehaviorFear of noises affects canine problem solving behavior and locomotion in standardized cognitive tests
2019, Applied Animal Behaviour ScienceCitation Excerpt :For the dogs that were reported to not react to noise, the mean age was 5.25 years, the median 5.92 years, the SD 3.97 years and the range 0.5–12.08 years. All dogs had anxiety intensity ranks (AIRs scores) for noise calculated based a section of a much longer behavior and life-style questionnaire (WDQ-PET), completed by owners of all study dogs (Overall et al., 2006). We used this questionnaire to classify dogs as noise phobic or reactive or not reactive.
Attachment styles in dogs and their relationship with separation-related disorder – A questionnaire based clustering
2019, Applied Animal Behaviour ScienceThe companion dog as a unique translational model for aging
2017, Seminars in Cell and Developmental BiologyReduced heart rate variability in pet dogs affected by anxiety-related behaviour problems
2017, Physiology and BehaviorCitation Excerpt :It is possible that with repeated exposures a group effect of behaviour problems on the heart rate would emerge. A range of canine anxiety-related behaviour problems are thought to be influenced by genetic factors as they run in family lines [29]. The present findings may provide a new opportunity in the prevention of these behaviour problems through breeding.