Box A case study for dog personality research the Dog Mentality Assessment test
Recently, investigations led by Svartberg and others {see text) published a series of studies on dog personality based on the Swedish dog population that was subjected to the Dog Mentality Assessment (DMA) Test from 1997. This data set consists of more than 10 000 dogs belonging to a variety of breeds. Importantly, this test was
designed not in order to investigate dog personality but to improve breeding standards in working dogs (Svartberg and Forkman 2002). The utilization of such a large data set has both advantages and disadvantages. The large number of dogs allows detailed statistical analysis of small effects, the use of multivariate methods, guantitative genetic
Playfulness
Curiosity/ fearlessness
Sociability
Aggressiveness
Playfulness
Curiosity/ fearlessness
Sociability
Aggressiveness
- Personality trait
□ Cluster 2 (5 breeds) 13 Cluster 3(4 breeds) ■ Cluster 4 (8 breeds)
Personality trait
□ Cluster 2 (5 breeds) 13 Cluster 3(4 breeds) ■ Cluster 4 (8 breeds)
Personality trait
Figure to Box 10.2 (a) The categorization of breeds (herding, working, terriers, gun dogs) does not suggest differences in personality traits (based on 242& dogs and 29 breeds) (fa) A duster analysis of the same 29 breeds leads to a different grouping (clusters 1-4) which, however, show a more divergent pattern in the personality traits. It is assumed that the breeds in the same duster had been exposed to the same selective environment which led to similarities in the personality traits. Similar analysis in different countries might have led to other distribution of breeds. (Clustei 1: Australian kelpie, Belgian Tervueren, Rottweiler, Golden retriever, etc,; Cluster 2: BriartJ, poodle, Belgian Groenendael, etc.; Cluster 3: boxer, Labrador retrievei, etc.; Cluster 4; Rough collie, Leonberger, plnscher, English springer spaniel, etc). Trait scores (mean and standard deviation) normalized for comparative purposes (redrawn from Svartberg 2006),
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