Back
Back

Owner Aggression

Threatening or aggressive responses to
the owner or other members of the
household when challenged,
manhandled, stared at, stepped over,
or when approached while in possession
of food or objects.

Affected Genes: MSRB3, IGF1, CD36, MITF, RALY

Inheritance: Complex Inheritance

Variant(canFam6):
chr10:7930588,
chr15:41600572,
chr18:19980308,
chr20:21848845,
chr24:22841590

General Information: Owner-directed aggression occurs when a dog displays aggressive behavior towards its owner, presenting significant challenges in managing the dog-owner relationship. This behavior manifests in various forms, including ritualistic aggression such as growling, posturing, and hard staring. More overt displays may include snapping or biting, while some dogs exhibit inappropriate behaviors like biting or nipping to seek attention. Additionally, dogs may resort to aggression as a means of escaping uncomfortable situations, further complicating efforts to address and mitigate this behavior.

How to Read Your Dog's Results for this Trait:

Likely More Aggressive: Likely exhibits threatening or aggressive responses to the owner or other members of the household when challenged, manhandled, stared at, stepped over, or when approached while in possession of food or objects

Possibly More Aggressive: Possibly exhibits threatening or aggressive responses to the owner or other members of the household when challenged, manhandled, stared at, stepped over, or when approached while in possession of food or objects

Likely Less Aggressive: Unlikely to exhibit threatening or aggressive responses to the owner or other members of the household when challenged, manhandled, stared at, stepped over, or when approached while in possession of food or objects

References:
Zapata I, Lilly ML, Herron ME, Serpell JA, Alvarez CE. Genetic testing of dogs predicts problem behaviors in clinical and nonclinical samples. BMC Genomics. 2022 23(1):102.