Why there is no such thing as a well-behaved dog

There may be no such thing as a well-behaved dog, a study has found.

Research on more than 43,000 dogs in the US found that “essentially all” pet dogs have at least one serious behavioural issue.

Who’s been a bad boy?Credit: iStock

Dogs of all breeds, ages, sexes and neuter statuses were included in the analysis. It found 99.12 per cent had behavioural issues.

Questionnaires were given to owners and asked them to anonymously, and honestly, rank the severity of bad behaviours in their pet on a scale of zero to four.

These included a range of issues categorised into aggression, fear and anxiety behaviours, house soiling and attachment problems.

Aggression questions looked at any signs of animosity towards other dogs when on a walk, when toys are taken away by the owner and barking when a person walks by the house.

Fear-related issues include being scared when approached by an unknown person, being scared of baths, and fear of loud noises such as fireworks.

House soiling included urination and defecation when left alone.

‘Essentially all dogs have at least one issue’

Examples of separation and attachment disorders include whining when alone, chewing furniture and following people around the house.

The study found that some of the most common issues are aggression and fear/anxiety.Credit:

Data show that 86 per cent of dogs exhibited a type of separation issue to at least a moderate degree.

The next most common issues were frequent eating of faeces (73 per cent), aggression (57 per cent) and fear/anxiety (50 per cent).

“Essentially, all pet dogs in the United States have at least one moderate to serious behavioural issue, which typically goes unaddressed by veterinary practitioners,” Professor Bonnie Beaver, the study author from Texas A&M University, writes in her paper.

She told the London Telegraph that the ubiquity of behavioural problems surprised her as it far exceeded previous estimates.

The anonymous surveys probably allowed owners to be completely honest about the behaviour of their pet, she said, which could explain the study’s estimated prevalence exceeding 99 per cent.

”The dog ages vary considerably and range from very young to very old, with most acquired pre-pandemic,” Beaver said. “These are owner-reported with the knowledge of confidentiality, so they are likely to be more honest.

“Some other reports are as high as 78 per cent, and I think the large number of participants, multiple-aged dogs and confidential information may be why [the figure is so high], but I really don’t know. It has been a surprise to all.”

‘I would question if that was a problem’

The data behind the study came from the Dog Ageing Project, which is investigating the secrets to long and healthy canine lifespans; just 110 of the 43,517 animals in the study had no behaviour issues.

An additional 273 dogs scored “moderate” – a two out of four – for just one behaviour, and the combined 383 animals were the only good dogs in the entire study, a paltry 0.88 per cent.

It could be argued that a dog who “tends to sit close to, or in contact with you” is not problematic at all, says Professor Daniel Mills.Credit: AP

“Thus 99.12 per cent of dogs in this study have either a single behaviour problem described as moderately serious or serious – a three or four out of four – or more than one problem described as moderate or worse – two or more,” the report reads.

Professor Daniel Mills, professor of veterinary behavioural medicine at the University of Lincoln, who was not involved with the study, told The Telegraph the data was robust, but some of the questions may lead to an overestimate of the prevalence.

The study included behaviours such as a dog that “tends to follow you” and “tends to sit close to, or in contact with you”, which Mills says could be argued as not being problematic at all.

“That might explain the 85 per cent prevalence of separation-related problems reported, and I would question if that is a problem,” he said.

The study is published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour.

The Telegraph, London

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