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Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs
Open accessAbstract
Behaviour problems and anxieties in dogs decrease their quality of life and may lead to relinquishment or euthanasia. Considering the large number of pet dogs and the commonness of these problematic behaviours, a better understanding of the epidemiology and related molecular and environmental factors is needed. We have here studied the prevalence, comorbidity, and breed specificity of seven canine anxiety-like traits: noise sensitivity, fearfulness, fear of surfaces and heights, inattention/impulsivity, compulsion, separation related behaviour and aggression with an online behaviour questionnaire answered by dog owners. Our results show that noise sensitivity is the most common anxiety-related trait with a prevalence of 32% in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Due to the high prevalence of noise sensitivity and fear, they were the most common comorbidities. However, when comparing the relative risk, the largest risk ratios were seen between hyperactivity/inattention, separation related behaviour and compulsion, and between fear and aggression. Furthermore, dog breeds showed large differences in prevalence of all anxiety-related traits, suggesting a strong genetic contribution. As a result, selective breeding focusing on behaviour may reduce the prevalence of canine anxieties. Anxious animals may suffer from chronic stress and thus, modified breeding policies could improve the welfare of our companion dogs.
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“Smaller dogs have been shown to be more prone to aggression, as well as other undesirable behaviours such as fear [142,155,156,157,158,159,160,161].”
From Ethical Concerns about Fashionable Dog Breeding (2024) · cites this paper as [142]
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“As the breeding of dogs can have an impact on their mental health, certain breeds may be more susceptible to issues such as fear of other dogs, separation anxiety [142], and sensitivity to touch.”
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“The observed behavioural differences suggest that dog breeds have diverged not only morphologically and genetically but also behaviourally [142].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Salonen, M., Sulkama, S., Mikkola, S., Puurunen, J., Hakanen, E., Tiira, K., Araujo, C., & Lohi, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Lohi, Hannes
- ORCID
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2020-03-05
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 2962-2962
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7058607
- OpenAlex
- W3009145783
- Cited by
- 182
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 10
- FWCI
- 12.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Academy of Finland (308887)
- Jane ja Aatos Erkon Säätiö
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Veterinary Orthopedics and Neurology
- Keywords
- canine anxiety, noise sensitivity, fearfulness, compulsive behavior, canine aggression, breed differences, comorbidities, prevalence, selective breeding, dog welfare
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Animals, Anxiety Disorders, Behavior, Animal, Human-Animal Bond, Compulsive Behavior, Dog Diseases, Dogs, Fear, Female, Finland, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Male, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Species Specificity, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Pets
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