Temperament Assessment as Welfare Indicator in a Dog Training Unit

Abstract

Temperament represents the genetic predisposition of an individual to manifest certain behaviors. In a dog training unit from the center of Romania was assessed the temperament of 20 dogs, divided into two subgroups: subgroup A, consisting of 10 females from breeding stock and subgroup B, consisting of 10 males used in various missions. Dogs were of different breeds: German Shepherd, Belgian Shepherd and Bloodhound. In order to establish the temperament of the studied dogs, in the first phase it was applied a scoring system used in Dog Foundation Trust shelters from UK, completed with dogs examination in individual pens by a foreign person in five different situations. For each situation a score was given from 1 to 6, obtaining eventually the average score, which reflects the welfare level. The second part of the test was the assessment made by a person familiar to the dogs. The study shows that dogs’ temperament belonging to German Shepherd and Belgian Shepherd breeds housed in the long-term training center is friendly, calm. High percentage of phobias manifested in the studied group negatively affects dogs’ welfare.