Behaviour Problems in Guide Dogs

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Behaviour Problems in Guide Dogs

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The behavioural reasons why guide dogs sometimes end their working lives early, and what it means for pet dogs.

A study by Geoffrey Caron-Lormier (University of Nottingham) et al looks at twenty years of data from Guide Dogs (UK). During this time, 7,770 working guide dogs, who had worked with blind or partially sighted people, were withdrawn from service. By far the most common reason was retirement, which applied to 6,465 dogs (83%). The authors looked at the reasons why other dogs were withdrawn from working.

Most of the dogs are bred specifically to be guide dogs, although some came from breeders. The most common breeds are Labrador and Golden Retriever x Labrador. They go through a five-stage training process before being matched with a blind or partially sighted person when they are about 2 years old.

There were three main behavioural reasons why guide dogs were withdrawn from service: environmental anxiety, training issues (a lack of willingness to work or confidence), and fear and aggression. Other reasons included chasing, attentiveness, social behaviour, excitability and distraction. Dogs would only have been withdrawn if these problems were serious enough to stop them from working; whenever possible, training was used to try and solve the problem.

When dogs were withdrawn because of behaviour issues, it had a substantial impact on the length of their working life. The normal working life of a guide dog is 3097 days. The dogs withdrawn from service for behavioural reasons lost between 1,580 – 2,286 days of work.

There were differences in the age at which these problems typically appeared. Younger dogs were more likely to be withdrawn because of fear and aggression problems; half of the dogs withdrawn from service for this reason were under three and a half years old (i.e. with less than two years of work under their belt). Training issues (willingness to work) seemed to occur at an older age, with dogs typically just over six years old.

Reproduced frorm Caron-Lormier et al (2016) under Creative Commons Licence

The researchers say, “The results of the current study provide evidence for age-associated risks of developing behavioural problems serious enough to stop a guide dog from working. Moreover, they allude to their being different trajectories for developing different types of behavioural issues.”

It’s interesting to think that different behaviour problems may develop at different ages in dogs. We actually know little about the development of such problems and so, even though this study is of guide dogs, the results may also help us understand something about pet dogs. Of course, guide dogs have had very specific upbringing and training, and only the best dogs make it into service, so behaviour problems are far less likely in this group than in pet dogs.

Fear and aggression and chasing were more of a problem in male dogs (all of the dogs were neutered/spayed since they were guide dogs). Of the breeds and crossbreeds, Labrador Retrievers were the least likely to be withdrawn from service due to a behavioural issue. Fear and aggression was most likely to be a problem for German Shepherd Dogs.

The authors say, “Based on these results Labradors were suggested to be more suitable to being a guide dog than German Shepherds.”

The study does not look at the reasons why behaviour problems developed. We know that dog attacks on guide dogs can have serious consequences, but there are likely many reasons why the dogs in this study developed problems.

The authors say that further research into the age of development of behaviour problems in dogs may help in designing interventions or programs to reduce the likelihood of dogs being surrendered to shelters.

If your dog has behaviour problems, seek help from an appropriately qualified professional.

Reference

Caron-Lormier, G., Harvey, N., England, G., & Asher, L. (2016). Using the incidence and impact of behavioural conditions in guide dogs to investigate patterns in undesirable behaviour in dogs Scientific Reports, 6 DOI: 10.1038/srep23860
Photos:  LauraVI  and Heroc (Shutterstock.com)
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Behaviour Problems in Puppies from Pet Stores

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Behaviour Problems in Puppies from Pet Stores

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Dogs originally bought from pet stores are more likely to be aggressive to their owner compared to those from responsible breeders, even after owner-related factors are taken into account.

Photo: Anucha Pongpatimeth (Shutterstock)

Research by Frank McMillan et al (2013) found that dogs obtained as puppies from pet stores are more likely to have a whole range of behaviour problems than those from responsible breeders, including 3x more likely to be aggressive towards their owner. Pet store puppies come from commercial breeding establishments, otherwise known as puppy mills, which are run for profit and not animal welfare.

Since well-informed people are less likely to go to pet stores, one potential confound is that the owners of pet store puppies may know less about how to raise a dog. A new study by Federica Pirrone et al (2016) takes owner factors into consideration too.

The results show 21% of the dogs that were obtained as puppies from pet stores were aggressive towards their owner compared to 10% of those obtained from breeders. Owner-related factors did not account for this.

Three other behaviour problems – house soiling, body licking, and separation-related distress – were also more common in dogs obtained from pet stores, but it turned out these were linked to owner-related factors. These included only taking the dog for short daily walks (20 minutes or less), not going to dog training classes, not having owned a dog before, not knowing about the existence of veterinary behaviourists, and punishing the dog when returning home.

Most puppies sold in pet stores in Italy, where the study took place, come from commercial breeding establishments (puppy mills) in Eastern Europe, where conditions can be extremely poor (“filthy conditions with little food or water” is how the Daily Mail described one Polish puppy farm).

The responsible breeders from whom puppies in the study were obtained are members of the Italian Kennel Club and follow a code of ethics that includes providing socialization opportunities that are essential for puppies.

The scientists suggest several possible reasons for increased aggression in dogs that originate in puppy mills: epigenetic factors due to the mother being stressed in pregnancy, lack of socialization, the stress of the early environment and its negative influence on learning ability, and a lack of information provided by pet stores to new owners.

The study included 349 dogs that were acquired from breeders as puppies and 173 dogs that were bought as puppies from pet stores. They were all over 1 year old at the time of the study. No effect of breed or breed group was found.

It’s worth noting the list of potential behaviour problems relied on owner report, and was not based on any official diagnoses. Owner-directed aggression did not include food guarding or toy guarding, which were separate questions and were not linked to origin of the puppy. Stranger aversion was also a separate question and not linked to origin either, which ties in with research by Casey et al (2014) that found aggression towards family members is typically not linked to aggression to strangers.

This study shows that puppies from puppy mills are more likely to be aggressive to their owner as adult dogs, regardless of various things the owner might or might not do. It also shows that a range of owner-related factors are linked to other behaviour problems. This is useful information for educational campaigns, which are important because there is a lot of erroneous information about dog training. Other research also suggests it is important to attend a good puppy class.

Good advice for people intending to get a dog is to make sure not to get a puppy from a pet store, sign up for good dog training classes, and make sure the dog gets enough walks as this is important for ongoing socialization as well as exercise. And, of course, learn as much as you can about how to take good care of and train your dog.

You might also be interested in this subsequent review of the literature that looks at the potential causes of behaviour problems in pet store puppies.

P.S. How to choose a puppy in 4 easy steps and why you need to socialize your puppy.

References
Casey, R., Loftus, B., Bolster, C., Richards, G., & Blackwell, E. (2014). Human directed aggression in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris): Occurrence in different contexts and risk factors Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 152, 52-63 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2013.12.003
McMillan, F., Serpell, J., Duffy, D., Masaoud, E., & Dohoo, I. (2013). Differences in behavioral characteristics between dogs obtained as puppies from pet stores and those obtained from noncommercial breeders Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 242 (10), 1359-1363 DOI: 10.2460/javma.242.10.1359
Pirrone, F., Pierantoni, L., Pastorino, G., & Albertini, M. (2016). Owner-reported aggressive behavior towards familiar people may be a more prominent occurrence in pet shop-traded dogs Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 11, 13-17 DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2015.11.007

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