Pets aren't the solution to every problem

The differences couldn’t be more profound — walking on four legs vs. two, full-body fur vs. bare skin, a tail, oversized ears, and, not to be understated, vastly different bathing practices — yet pets and their people have quite a lot in common, too.

Often thought of as a reflection of their owners, an uncanny resemblance can exist between people and their dogs, and research has shown the resemblance is so strong that even strangers can match dogs and owners based on photos.

The shared traits can go even deeper than physical resemblance, and the ways a human raises, trains and interacts with their pet are sure to influence its behavior, just as it is with raising a child.

Dog behavior is closely tied to what’s going on with the owner, according to a study recently published by researchers with the Center for Canine Behavior Studies in Connecticut and the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Giving confirmation to the old adage that a dog handler’s emotions travel down the leash, the sharing of traits may not always be a good thing and an owner’s less-than-positive personality traits can manifest in dog behavior issues.

To better understand the influence a dog owner has on their pet’s behavior, researchers created a survey drawn from a combination of well-known psychology screening tests and questions about dog training and behavior.

A total of 1,564 dog owners completed surveys, which were then analyzed by the team.

Researchers expected to find behavior problems when owners used aggression and coercion in working with their dogs, and they did — aggression toward owners and strangers, separation problems, chasing, persistent barking, urination and defecation when left alone — were all higher in cases where owners treated dogs aggressively.

Unexpected was how much an owner’s personality traits influenced the severity of their dog’s behavior problems and owners of dogs who rated themselves low in emotional stability reported their dogs having much higher rates of owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed fear and urination when left alone.

Also notable were owners who scored low on cognitive reappraisal — essentially the ability to reevaluate emotional stimuli and response — their dogs were notably higher in excitability and energy.

The most surprising find, however was related to men suffering from depression. Men with moderate depression were five times more likely to use punitive training methods than women with the same level of depression and also reported rates of familiar-dog aggression and house soiling that were significantly higher than those of others.

It’s well established that men and women respond differently to depression and men have a greater tendency toward anger, aggression, substance abuse and risk taking behavior when depressed. Based on that, it’s logical that depressed men would respond to a dog’s behavior problems more aggressively and punitively, the researchers noted.

What remains to be understood, the team said, is whether the behavior problems of dogs owned by men suffering depression are an outcome of aggressive training and punishment, or a symptom of the depression itself affecting the dog.

Because of this, they concluded, in cases of male depression, the adoption of a dog might be less than ideal and the research highlights the need for further study to better understand the circumstances under which companion and working dogs and their owners have mutually beneficial, positive impact on one another.

In light of the current trend of using working and companion animals used to soothe those with mental and physical health issues, the findings emphasize that while pets can sometimes change lives for the better, they aren’t the solution to every problem.

Sharna Johnson is always searching for ponies. Contact her at: [email protected]