AR-News: Helpful Info For Opposing Bans Of Specific Dog Breeds

[DTanzer16 at aol.com]

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CIWF Animal Sentience Newsletter, June 2004
 
www.animalsentience.com
Personality tests for dogs 


 
Does your dog have a personality and how can you prove this?

A new test that can assess a dog's personality has been developed which helps 
to prove what pet owners know – dogs do have personality. The test, developed 
by Sam Gosling from the University of Texas at Austin, may help researchers 
to unravel the biology of animal and human character. 

Scientists readily accept that animals and humans share a similar anatomy and 
physiology, says Gosling, but many are reluctant to say that they share the 
traits of emotion and personality too. "Some see it as one more blow against 
the special status of humans," he says. Instead, many people believe that pet 
owners project their own personality onto their animals, and that true character 
is lacking. 
 
But personality traits are just as likely to have evolved in animals as 
physical traits, argues Gosling. What was needed was a test to prove that canine 
character exists. 

Gosling asked dog owners to rate their pet on four different personality 
traits. The traits, which are also found in humans, have positive and negative 
extremes - for example, dogs could be rated as energetic, slothful or somewhere 
in between. The other traits were affection-aggression, anxiety-calmness and 
intelligence-stupidity. 

Strangers then watched the animals perform tasks in a local park, and rated 
them on the same characteristics. Anxiety, for example, was assessed from the 
dog's reaction as it watched its owner walk away with another hound. The 
ability to retrieve a hidden treat from under a cup was used as a measure of 
intelligence. 

In total, 78 dogs of all shapes and sizes were tested. In general, owners and 
strangers agreed on an individual dog's personality. This suggests that the 
dog personalities are real, says Gosling. 

The study also provides good news for victims of canine stereotyping, as it 
shows that personalities vary widely within a breed - not all pit bulls are 
aggressive, for example, nor are all golden retrievers very affectionate. 

This study is remarkably similar to the research work on pig behaviour by Dr 
Françoise Wemelsfelder at the Scottish Agricultural College – see here for 
information on this. 
 
          

Source: Nature 
   
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