Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr 10;13(4):e0195448.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195448. eCollection 2018.

Personality traits in companion dogs-Results from the VIDOPET

Borbála Turcsán  1   2   3 , Lisa Wallis  1   2 , Zsófia Virányi  1 , Friederike Range  1 , Corsin A Müller  1 , Ludwig Huber  1 , Stefanie Riemer  1   4
Affiliations

Personality traits in companion dogs-Results from the VIDOPET

Borbála Turcsán et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Individual behavioural differences in pet dogs are of great interest from a basic and applied research perspective. Most existing dog personality tests have specific (practical) goals in mind and so focused only on a limited aspect of dogs' personality, such as identifying problematic (aggressive or fearful) behaviours, assessing suitability as working dogs, or improving the results of adoption. Here we aimed to create a comprehensive test of personality in pet dogs that goes beyond traditional practical evaluations by exposing pet dogs to a range of situations they might encounter in everyday life. The Vienna Dog Personality Test (VIDOPET) consists of 15 subtests and was performed on 217 pet dogs. A two-step data reduction procedure (principal component analysis on each subtest followed by an exploratory factor analysis on the subtest components) yielded five factors: Sociability-obedience, Activity-independence, Novelty seeking, Problem orientation, and Frustration tolerance. A comprehensive evaluation of reliability and validity measures demonstrated excellent inter- and intra-observer reliability and adequate internal consistency of all factors. Moreover the test showed good temporal consistency when re-testing a subsample of dogs after an average of 3.8 years-a considerably longer test-retest interval than assessed for any other dog personality test, to our knowledge. The construct validity of the test was investigated by analysing the correlations between the results of video coding and video rating methods and the owners' assessment via a dog personality questionnaire. The results demonstrated good convergent as well as discriminant validity. To conclude, the VIDOPET is not only a highly reliable and valid tool for measuring dog personality, but also the first test to show consistent behavioural traits related to problem solving ability and frustration tolerance in pet dogs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Royal Canin had no say in the planning of the research, data collection, analyses and publication. Royal Canin pays only for the rent of the Clever Dog Lab (Vienna, Austria) for commercial reasons. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Room setup viewed from the direction of the windows (above), and the doors (below).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Harvey ND, Craigon PJ, Sommerville R, McMillan C, Green M, England GC, et al. Test-retest reliability and predictive validity of a juvenile guide dog behavior test. J Vet Behav. 2016; 11: 65–76. doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2015.09.005 - DOI
    1. Rintala DH, Matamoros R, Seitz LL. Effects of assistance dogs on persons with mobility or hearing impairments: A pilot study. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 2008; 45: 489 doi: 10.1682/JRRD.2007.06.0094 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berry A, Borgi M, Francia N, Alleva E, Cirulli F. Use of assistance and therapy dogs for children with autism spectrum disorders: A critical review of the current evidence. J. Altern. Complement. Med. 2013; 19: 73–80. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0835 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mongillo P, Pitteri E, Adamelli S, Bonichini S, Farina L, Marinelli L. Validation of a selection protocol of dogs involved in animal-assisted intervention. J Vet Behav. 2015; 10(2): 103–110. doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2014.11.005 - DOI
    1. Sinn DL, Gosling SD, Hilliard S. Personality and performance in military working dogs: Reliability and predictive validity of behavioral tests. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2010; 127(1–2): 51–65. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2010.08.007 - DOI

Publication types