Browsing by Author "Ståhl, Aada"

Objectives The human-pet attachment can substantially impact the life of the human and the pet. A few studies suggest that human personality and unwanted behaviour of dogs are related to pet attachment, but the relationship between pet personality and the attachment has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to elucidate the links from human, dog (Canis familiaris), and cat (Felis silvestris catus) personalities and unwanted pet behaviour to the attachment. Methods The online survey data, from the OnePersonality project, captured responses of 2 724 pet owners (92,1% women) to the Short Five questionnaire, the Pet Attachment Questionnaire and the dog and cat personality and behaviour questionnaires. I utilised a series of linear and generalized linear mixed-effect models to examine the associations. Results Neuroticism was associated with attachment anxiety to dogs and cats. Dog owners scoring lower on extraversion and conscientiousness and owners of less human-social and more perseverant dogs were more anxiously attached. Cat’s human aggression, fearfulness and low human sociability associated with attachment anxiety and excessive grooming and lower human sociability with attachment avoidance. Less conscientious, extraverted, and agreeable dog owners and owners of more insecure, energetic, aggressive, less training focused, and less human social dogs were more avoidantly attached. Nine out of ten dog’s unwanted behaviour traits were related to avoidant attachment. Conclusions Both human and pet traits contribute to the owner-perceived attachment. Owner’s personality may have a bigger role in anxious attachment, while the dog’s individuality may be more related to attachment avoidance.