Division of Animal Welfare, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
Department for Small Animals, Clinic for Small Animal Surgery, Neurology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2020 Mar 24;10(1):5288. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-62094-9.
Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is a personality trait in humans characterised by a tendency to process information deeply, to be easily overstimulated, and to have strong emotional responses and an enhanced sensitivity to subtle stimuli. A trait similar to SPS has recently been identified in dogs ("canine Sensory Processing Sensitivity", cSPS). In children, this trait interacts with parenting factors to influence emotional and mental development, which in turn are linked to behaviour problems. Paralleling these findings in humans, we demonstrate that cSPS interacts with owner personality and use of aversive communication to influence the likelihood of behaviour problems in dogs. More behaviour problems were reported for more highly sensitive dogs per se, when there was a relative mismatch between owner and dog personality, and when use of "negative punishment" was reported. These findings indicate that a dog's personality might moderate how an individual is affected by environmental factors, particularly owner personality and communication style, emphasising the importance of considering individuality in prevention, development and treatment of behaviour problems in dogs.
感觉加工敏感特质（Sensory Processing Sensitivity，SPS）是人类的一种人格特质，其特点是倾向于深入处理信息，容易过度刺激，以及具有强烈的情绪反应和对微妙刺激的增强敏感性。最近在狗中也发现了类似于 SPS 的特质（“犬感觉加工敏感特质”，cSPS）。在儿童中，这种特质与养育因素相互作用，影响情绪和心理发展，而情绪和心理发展又与行为问题有关。与人类的这些发现相平行，我们证明 cSPS 与主人的个性和使用惩罚性沟通方式相互作用，影响狗出现行为问题的可能性。当主人和狗的个性存在相对不匹配，并且报告使用“负惩罚”时，具有更高敏感性的狗本身更有可能出现更多的行为问题。这些发现表明，狗的个性可能会调节个体受到环境因素影响的方式，特别是主人的个性和沟通方式，这强调了在预防、发展和治疗狗的行为问题时考虑个体差异的重要性。
