Bender Yana, Matschkowski Tim, Schweinberger Stefan R, Bräuer Juliane
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, DogStudies, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
Department of General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Friedrich Schiller University, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Aug 29;13(17):2751. doi: 10.3390/ani13172751.
Guide dogs hold the potential to increase confidence and independence in visually impaired individuals. However, the success of the partnership between a guide dog and its handler depends on various factors, including the compatibility between the dog and the handler. Here, we conducted interviews with 21 guide dog owners to explore determinants of compatibility between the dog and the owner. Experienced compatibility between the dog and the owner was associated with positive relationship aspects such as feeling secure with the dog. Certain characteristics emerged as subjective determinants of compatibility, including shared hobbies, high levels of openness in both or only the dog, similar activity levels and higher activeness in dogs, similar expressions of calmness; happiness; greediness; friendliness; and a complementary dominance-submissiveness relationship. Owners who perceived themselves to be similar in their personality to their dogs often reported to have a strong bond, to feel secure with their dog and to be less influenced by previous relationships. However, our results suggest that a strong bond between the dog and the owner does not exclusively yield positive effects. Moreover, prior dog ownership seems to have a potentially strong impact on the subsequent relationship. Our results contribute to the understanding of dog-owner compatibility and may improve the matching process of guide dogs and their prospective handlers.
导盲犬有潜力增强视障人士的自信心和独立性。然而，导盲犬与其主人之间伙伴关系的成功取决于多种因素，包括狗与主人之间的兼容性。在此，我们对21位导盲犬主人进行了访谈，以探究狗与主人之间兼容性的决定因素。狗与主人之间的经验性兼容性与积极的关系方面相关联，比如与狗在一起时感到安全。某些特征成为兼容性的主观决定因素，包括共同爱好、双方或仅狗具有高度的开放性、相似的活动水平以及狗更高的活跃度、相似的平静、快乐、贪婪、友好的表现，以及互补的主导-顺从关系。认为自己在性格上与狗相似的主人常常报告说与狗关系紧密，与狗在一起时感到安全，并且较少受以往关系的影响。然而，我们的结果表明，狗与主人之间紧密的关系并不一定会产生积极影响。此外，之前养过狗似乎对随后的关系有潜在的强烈影响。我们的结果有助于理解人与狗的兼容性，并可能改善导盲犬与未来主人的匹配过程。
