Conclusions
- Dog breeds were found to differ in the behaviour they show during the test situations of the BPH.
- In contrast to the officially recognized breed grouping according to the breeds’ historical function, cluster analysis revealed only two main clusters of breeds. This suggests that breed-typical behaviour may have changed over time in response to the shift in selection pressure which resulted from changing intentions of breeders. Moreover, it underlies the importance of current selection criteria for the behavioural shaping of dog breeds. Thus, my results further support the common belief that the process of domestication is still going on in modern times and therefore emphasise the importance to consider behavioural features when breeding animals for companionship.
- Owing to the strong correlations between the results of the ethological recordings and the official BPH test results the BPH seem to be a valuable tool for describing these behavioural variation in dogs.
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Last updated:
06/02/14