Influence of early life adversity and breed on aggression and fear in dogs

Among the animals on this planet, dogs are uniquely adapted for life with humans, a status that exposes them to risks of human-mediated traumatic experiences. At the same time, some lineages of dogs have undergone artificial selection for behavioral phenotypes that might increase risk or resilience to stress exposure, providing an opportunity to examine interactions between innate and acquired traits. In a national study (N = 4,497), English-speaking dog guardians reported on their dogs’ life histories, current living environments, and provided observer ratings of dog behavior using the Canine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). Our analysis revealed that adverse experiences in the first six months of life, such as abuse and relinquishment, were significantly associated with increased aggression and fearfulness in adulthood, even when accounting for factors such as acquisition source, sex, and neuter status. Additionally, effects of adversity on fearful and aggressive behavior systematically varied at the breed level, suggesting heritable factors for risk and resilience for developing particular phenotypes. Our findings establish that breed ancestry and individual experience interact to show fear and aggressive behavior in pet dogs, confirming that socioemotional behavior is shaped by gene-environment interactions.