Behaviour Problems Linked To Pessimistic Pups

[lappiemum]

Here's a startling fact - socialisation of puppies is important!!

Age online article can be viewed at http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/lifemat...1012-16gup.html

Behaviour problems linked to pessimistic pups

October 12, 2010 - 11:53AM

As with people, some dogs always expect the worst, according to research suggesting that pessimistic pups are also more likely to have behaviour problems.

The study of 24 dogs was reported today in the journal Current Biology. The animals were trained to expect an empty food bowl at one position in a room, and one with food at another. When the vittles were placed elsewhere, some dogs ran to the bowls and others ignored them, the researchers said.

That suggests the dogs had different expectations, the researchers said. Those who didn't go quickly to the bowls, the pessimists, were also found to have behaviour problems when left alone. This included tearing up furniture or relieving themselves indoors. While about a third of dogs have separation anxiety, only the worst cases are treated, said Emily Blackwell, an animal behaviourist at the University of Bristol in the UK.

Advertisement: Story continues below "We tried to come up with a way of measuring the dog's attitude," said Blackwell, a study author, in a telephone interview. Many owners "think the dog is trying to get revenge by chewing up their slippers - they don't understand the dog is anxious."

There isn't a connection between breed and misbehaviour in Blackwell's previous research, she said. Instead, the dogs are misbehaving because they weren't trained at any early age to know that being alone isn't something to be concerned about. The process of training a dog to know how to behave, called socialisation, is best done during puppyhood, Blackwell said.

Although later training can undo bad behaviour, it requires a great deal of work and effort, she said.

Training a puppy is important for dogs, said Adam Goldfarb, the director of the Pets at Risk program for the Humane Society of the United States, based in Washington. Today's study shows that dogs who aren't socialised well have a negative attitude about life, he said. Goldfarb wasn't involved in the study.

"This tells us something that isn't reflected in the way every dog is cared for," Goldfarb said in a telephone interview. "A dog who is being destructive is a dog whose needs aren't being met."

Bloomberg

[mita]

Socialisation is important for dogs to learn to be companion dogs & live alongside people... is a generalisation. A motherhood statement.

Studies of the kind reported in this article, tease out the details and look at specific behaviours which can be observed...and 'read' in terms of what they mean for what a dog has, or has not learned. It's what scientifically controlled studies do.