Behavioural characteristics of sighthounds: an exploratory investigation

Abstract

Animal behaviour is a result of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors, with much interest in understanding their relative contribution to dog behaviour. The role of breed/functional type remains controversial, with studies reporting effects ranging from negligible to substantial. One limitation could be that only one breed per type is included in most studies, disregarding possible within-type differences. This preliminary study aimed to assess possible interbreed differences within sighthounds and to describe behavioural variation, thereby facilitating insight into the design of future studies to explore the underlying causes of such differences. An online survey, including sections of the C-BARQ (aggressive, predatory, attachment/affection behaviours), and rating for 7 adjectives, yielded a convenience sample of 768 hounds belonging to 10 breeds plus Lurchers. The variation within and among breeds was described and exploratory Kruskal Wallis tests were run on predatory/attachment/affection behaviours on nine breeds. Sighthounds exhibited a very low level of aggressive behaviour, with little variation among breeds, combined with high predatory drive and a fair level of attachment/affection. Breeds differed in chasing cats and birds (both p<0.001), with Saluki (and Cirneco for birds) showing the behaviours more and the Piccolo Levriero Italiano less than most other breeds. Also shadowing the owner and soliciting interactions differed (both p<0.001) with Piccolo Levriero Italiano and, to a lesser extent, Irish Wolfhound and Cirneco, showing the behaviours more often than most other breeds. The present findings can provide preliminary guidance on some behavioural parameters likely to contribute to informative results in future studies targeting sighthounds.