Oral Presentation The International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ): 27th Annual Conference 2018

Comparing owner rated dog temperament measures with demographics and a measure of owner personality. (#51)

Tania C Plueckhahn 1 , Luke A Schneider 1 , Paul H Delfabbro 1
  1. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Introduction:  The temperament of companion dogs and to what extent this reflects owner characteristics is attracting increasing interest (Gosling, 2003). Following similar developments in human personality research that has resolved into a focus on the 5-factor model of Costa and McCrae (1992), dog personality is also similarly assessed multi-dimensionally using tests such as the CBARQ (Serpell & Hsu, 2001) and MCPQ-R (Ley et al., 2009). Previous research suggested environmental factors (Draper, 1995) and social attribute measures (Kubinyi et al., 2009) that may influence dog temperament. In this study, we examine the relationship between owner demographic characteristics,  owner personality and dog ratings on the MCPQ-R and CBARQ dog temperament scales.

Methodology: Owners of companion dogs were contacted through dog clubs, veterinarians and associates of the researchers. Via an online survey owners completed details for the demographic and MCPQ-R surveys (N=123). Owners and their dogs then meet with the researchers to complete the CBARQ and for their dog to participate in the Kong test (N=96).  Measures collected from owners included: demographics; Quick Scales (Brebner, 2001) to capture the NEO-5 dimensions; MCPQ-R (Ley et al., 2009); and, CBARQ (Serpell & Hsu, 2001).

Main results: The results indicated that more conscientious owners had dogs which scored higher on measures extraversion, motivation, training focus and amicability, but lower on neuroticism. Owner levels of agreeableness and extraversion were positively related to dog amicability, whereas owner neuroticism is negatively related to dog amicability. Owner neuroticism scores were significantly, positively related to dog temperament scores for owner aggression and dog aggression (CBARQ). Of the dogs who participated in the Kong test, it was found that dogs who completed the task had lower owner ratings of neuroticism (t(94)=2.17, p=0.033, CI95% [0.67, 15.42], d=0.44). Breed height was significantly related to dog extraversion and motivation, with taller dogs rated higher on both measures. The results also suggest breed group is significantly related to dog temperament measures of motivation and amicability.


Principal conclusions and implications for the field: As with the results of previous research (Draper, 1995) owners may be selecting dogs who compare well with their own personality profiles. Future research may investigate the influence of human personality on dog temperament, and how these can be used in the placement of service dogs and re-homing of surrendered dogs.

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