Jacobs Jacquelyn A, Coe Jason B, Pearl David L, Widowski Tina M, Niel Lee
University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College, Department of Population Medicine, Canada.
University of Guelph, Ontario Agricultural College, Department of Animal Biosciences, Canada.
Prev Vet Med. 2018 Dec 1;161:134-142. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.02.004. Epub 2017 Feb 20.
Resource guarding (RG) involves the use of specific behaviour patterns to control access to an item of potential "value" (as perceived by the dog), and can be expressed in the presence of various animals, including other dogs. The current study aimed to identify factors associated with RG patterns expressed around other dogs. Dog owners (n=3068) were recruited through social media to answer questions regarding dog- and household-related factors, as well as their dog's current and past behaviour around resources in the presence of other dogs. Participants were screened for their ability to identify different forms of resource guarding from video, and were removed from the study if they incorrectly identified any of the videos provided. This resulted in a final sample of 2207 participants (n=3589 dogs). Multiple multi-level logistic regression models were developed to determine the association between independent variables of interest and RG patterns (i.e., RG aggression, avoidance, and rapid ingestion) when in the presence of other dogs. Namely, dogs living in multi-dog households were more likely to display RG aggression, avoidance, and rapid ingestion (p<0.01) compared to dogs that live without other dogs. Dogs with higher levels of impulsivity and fear were more likely to display RG aggression (p<0.001). Neutered males (p<0.01) were more likely to be RG aggressive compared to dogs of other sexes and neuter statuses. Teaching dogs to reliably "drop" items when requested was associated with a reduced likelihood of biting RG aggression (p<0.05). Distinct associative relationships between the patterns of RG in the presence of other dogs were identified. Dogs that express RG aggression were less likely to express RG avoidance or RG rapid ingestion; however, the latter two types were likely to co-occur, perhaps dependent on the type of resource involved. This suggests that dogs may be relatively more fixed in their action around items in the presence of dogs. However, a longitudinal study is important to determine the exact nature of relationships between RG patterns. The results identified in this study can be used as a basis for further investigation on factors influencing RG behaviour in the presence of other dogs.
资源守护（RG）涉及使用特定行为模式来控制对具有潜在“价值”（狗所感知的）物品的获取，并且可以在包括其他狗在内的各种动物面前表现出来。本研究旨在确定与在其他狗面前表现出的资源守护模式相关的因素。通过社交媒体招募了狗主人（n = 3068），以回答有关狗和家庭相关因素的问题，以及他们的狗在其他狗面前对资源的当前和过去行为。对参与者识别视频中不同形式资源守护的能力进行了筛查，如果他们错误识别了提供的任何视频，则将其从研究中剔除。这产生了2207名参与者（n = 3589只狗）的最终样本。开发了多个多层次逻辑回归模型，以确定感兴趣的自变量与在其他狗面前时的资源守护模式（即资源守护攻击、回避和快速摄取）之间的关联。具体而言，与没有其他狗的家庭中的狗相比，生活在多狗家庭中的狗更有可能表现出资源守护攻击、回避和快速摄取（p < 0.01）。冲动性和恐惧水平较高的狗更有可能表现出资源守护攻击（p < 0.001）。与其他性别和绝育状态的狗相比，绝育的雄性狗更有可能出现资源守护攻击（p < 0.01）。教导狗在被要求时可靠地“放下”物品与减少咬人的资源守护攻击可能性相关（p < 0.05）。确定了在其他狗面前资源守护模式之间不同的关联关系。表现出资源守护攻击的狗不太可能表现出资源守护回避或资源守护快速摄取；然而，后两种类型可能会同时出现，这可能取决于所涉及的资源类型。这表明狗在其他狗面前围绕物品的行为可能相对更固定。然而，纵向研究对于确定资源守护模式之间关系的确切性质很重要。本研究中确定的结果可作为进一步调查影响在其他狗面前资源守护行为因素的基础。
