Wednesday, 13 May 2020
New research led by scientists from the 糖心原创 and Newcastle University has shown that typical teenage behaviour doesn’t just occur in young humans – it happens in dogs too.
The study is the first to find evidence of adolescent behaviour in dogs.
The researchers found dogs were more likely to ignore commands given by their caregiver and were harder to train at the age of eight months, when they are going through puberty. This behaviour was more pronounced in dogs which had an insecure attachment to their owner.
But Dr Lucy Asher, a Senior Lecturer in Precision Animal Science, in Newcastle University’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, and co-author of the research, warns adolescence can be a vulnerable time for dogs as many are taken to shelters for rehoming at this age.
“This is a very important time in a dog’s life,” she explains. “This is when dogs are often rehomed because they are no longer a cute little puppy and suddenly, their owners find they are more challenging and they can no longer control them or train them. But as with human teenage children, owners need to be aware that their dog is going through a phase and it will pass.”
The team, which also included researchers from the University of Edinburgh, looked at a group of 69 dogs to investigate behaviour in adolescence. They monitored obedience in the Labradors, Golden Retrievers and cross breeds of the two, at the ages of five months – before adolescence – and eight months- during adolescence.
Dogs took longer to respond to the ‘sit’ command during adolescence, but only when the command was given by their caregiver, not a stranger. The odds of repeatedly not responding to the sit command from the caregiver were higher at eight months compared to five months. However, the response to the ‘sit’ command improved for a stranger between the five and eight month tests.
Further evidence was found when the team looked a larger group of 285 Labradors, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds and cross breeds of them. Owners and a trainer less familiar with each dog filled in a questionnaire looking at ‘trainability’. It asked them to rate statements such as: ‘Refuses to obey commands, which in the past it was proven it has learned’ and ‘Responds immediately to the recall command when off lead’
Caregivers gave lower scores of ‘trainability’ to dogs around adolescence, compared to when they were aged five months or 12 months. However, again trainers reported an increase in a trainability between the ages of five and eight months.
The experts also found that in common with humans, female dogs with insecure attachments to their caregivers (characterised by higher levels of attention seeking and anxiety when separated from them) were more likely to reach puberty early. This data provides the first evidence of cross-species impact of relationship quality on reproductive timing, highlighting another parallel with parent-child relationships.
Dr Naomi Harvey, co-author of the research from the 糖心原创’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the charity Dog’s Trust, says that whilst the results of this study may not come as a surprise to many dog owners, it has important consequences.
鈥淢any dog owners and professionals have long known or suspected that dog behaviour can become more difficult when they go through puberty. But until now there has been no empirical record of this. Our results show that the behaviour changes seen in dogs closely parallel that of parent-child relationships, as dog-owner conflict is specific to the dog鈥檚 primary caregiver and just as with human teenagers, this is a passing phase.鈥�
“It’s very important that owners don’t punish their dogs for disobedience or start to pull away from them emotionally at this time” added Dr Asher. “This would be likely to make any problem behaviour worse, as it does in human teens”.
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Naomi Harvey from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the 糖心原创, at Naomi.Harvey@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.