The goal of the current study was to determine the validity of a test for the direct assessment of aggressive behavior in domestic dogs using a previously validated questionnaire for indirect (by owners) dog behavioral assessment.
A convenience sample of ninety-eight owner-dog pairs were enrolled in the study. A modified C-BARQ questionnaire (Hsu & Serpell, JAVMA 223: 1293, 2003) for the evaluation of canine fearful and aggressive behavior was administered to owners. Subsequently, their dogs were evaluated directly for aggressiveness using the standardized SAB test (Planta & De Meester, Vlaams Diergeneeskundig Tijdschrift 76: 359, 2007). Scores for 8 distinct C-BARQ subscales were recorded: Stranger Directed Aggression (SDA), Owner Directed Aggression (ODA), Dog Directed Aggression/Fear (DDAF), Familiar Dog Aggression (FDA), Trainability (T), Stranger Directed Fear (SDF), Touch Sensitivity (TS) and Attachment/Attention Seeking (AAS). Based on their SAB test results, dogs were divided into either aggressive or non-aggressive groups according to established guidelines (Van der Berg et al., Behav. Genet. 33: 469, 2003).
Analysis of the results of the two methods of assessment indicated that dogs that were categorized as aggressive on the SAB test obtained significantly higher (more aggressive) scores on the CBARQ subscales SDA (one-way ANOVA, p<0,001), FDA (p=0,006) and ODA (p=0,025) than the dogs in the non-aggressive group. Using the information from this study the authors believe that several components of the SAB test could be used as a valid tool to provide decision-makers with objective evidence for the evaluation and management of aggression in dogs.