Comparison of behavioral characteristics of dogs in the United States and Japan

This study examined the difference in dog owning between Japan and the United States, and the effect of thesedifferences on dogs’ behavioral characteristics. Behavioral evaluations of privately-owned dogs were obtainedby using online questionnaire. We compared background and demographic information from the two countries andanalyzed the effects of these differences on behavioral characteristics in dogs. The results indicated thatthere was a bias in the dog breeds kept in Japan compared to the United States and that Japanese dogs’ bodyweight was lower than the US dogs. The main source of dog acquisition was pet stores in Japan and breedersand/or shelters in the United States. Multiple linear regression analysis found that Japanese dogs showed moreaggression to household members and higher energy, restlessness and fear of non-social stimuli than US dogs,while US dogs showed more fear of unfamiliar persons, separation-related behavior and excitability. US dogsalso showed higher levels of trainability and attachment to owners. The lower dog’s body weight was, thehigher the behavioral scores except for trainability were. When dogs that were obtained under 3 months of agewere analyzed, the younger the dogs were when their owners obtained them, the higher the scores on somebehavioral problem factors were. The higher rates of problem behaviors among Japanese dogs compared with USdogs suggest that the preference for small breed dogs and poor early development environment influenced thebehavioral characteristics of dogs.