I.R. van Herwijnen I.R. van Dog-directed parenting styles Dog-directed parenting styles I.R. van Herwijnen Propositions 1. Raising dogs properly is a balancing act of parental demandingness and responsiveness (this thesis). 2. Dog ownership satisfaction is based more on the perceived low costs of having the dog than on the emotional closeness to the dog (this thesis). 3. The value of science lies in learning more than in knowing. 4. Social issues are not solved by citizen science. 5. If a bridge cannot be anchored, one should not continue building it. 6. Tunnel vision is the result of a professional becoming a specialist, without adopting the attitude of a generalist. Propositions belonging to the thesis, entitled Dog-directed parenting styles Ineke Rombout van Herwijnen Wageningen, 28 August 2020 Dog-directed parenting styles I.R. van Herwijnen Thesis committee Promotor Prof. Dr M. Naguib Professor of Behavioural Ecology Wageningen University & Research Co-promotor Dr B. Beerda Lecturer Behavioural Ecology Wageningen University & Research Other members Prof. Dr B. Kemp, Wageningen University & Research Prof. Dr E. Stassen, Wageningen University & Research Dr M. Hoeve, University of Amsterdam Dr C. Vinke, Utrecht University This research was conducted under auspices of the Graduate SchoolWageningen Institute of Animal Sciences. Dog-directed parenting styles I.R. van Herwijnen Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr A.P.J. Mol, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Friday 28 August 2020 at 1.30 pm in the Aula. I.R. van Herwijnen Dog-directed parenting styles: The role of parenting styles in the owner-dog relationship, 222 pages. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (2020) With references, with summary in English and Dutch ISBN: 978-94-6395-408-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18174/521648 Cover picture: ©Floor de Goede, ComicHouse.nl “Upon reaching the top of a mountain we look back and realise it was not reaching the summit, but the journey towards the summit that made us who we are.” Table of Contents Chapter 1 General Introductionintroduction 79 Chapter 2 Dog ownership satisfaction determinants in the owner-dog relationship and the thedog’s dog’s behaviour behaviour 23 Chapter 3 The existence of parenting styles in the owner-dog relationship 4947 Chapter 4 Dog-directed parenting styles mirror dog owners’ orientations towards animals 8977 Chapter 5 Dog-directedParenting styles parenting and behaviours styles predict in the verbal owner-dog and leash dyad guidance in dog owners 97 and owner-directed attention in dogs 113 Chapter 6 Rein sensor leash tension measurements in owner-dog dyads navigating a course Chapter 6 Reinwith distractionssensor leash tension measurements in owner-dog dyads navigating a course 117 with distractions 139 Chapter 7 Permissive parenting of the dog associates with dog overweight in a survey Chapter 7 Permissiveamong 2,303 parenting Dutch dog of theowners dog associates with dog overweight in a survey 123 among 2,303 Dutch dog owners 145 Chapter 8 Dog-directed parenting styles, dog ownership satisfaction and the owner Chapter 8 Dog-directedperceived relationship parenting with styles the and dog the owner perceived relationship with the dog 167141 Chapter 9 The effectiveness of an online parenting and an online training educational intervention in changing dog-directed parenting styles 183155 Chapter 10 General Discussiondiscussion 201171 References 213181 Summary 249203 Samenvatting 255209 Curriculum Vitae 261215 Acknowledgements 263217 WIAS Training and Education statement 267221 1 Chapter 1 General introduction Chapter 1 The human-dog relationship The dog’s living environment has included humans with the start of domestication tens of thousands of years ago (Davis and Valla, 1978; Larson et al., 2012; Ovodov et al., 2011; Perri, 2016). Evolutionary change in the dog has been described as co-evolution with humans (Schleidt and Shalter, 2003), although others argue it is ‘parallel selection for tameness’ (i.e. being ‘nice’) at most (Kotrschal, 2018). Either way, evolutionary change in the dog has adapted the species to living with humans, behaviourally and physiologically. Dogs adapted to our diets and have increased starch digestion ability in comparison to their ancestor the wolf (Axelsson et al., 2013). Today, in Western societies the dog lives either as community/stray dog or in a close relationship with its owner. Humans control the living environment of the community/stray dog also, but have the most profound influence on the dog that is kept as companion and/or working dog (Akey et al., 2010; Hayward et al., 2016; Parker et al., 2017). For the latter, humans determine the genotype through breeding selection (Akey et al., 2010; Parker et al., 2017), the phenotype, including weight status and consequential health risks (Hayward et al., 2016; Mlacnik et al., 2006; Sibley, 1984), and humans have a near absolute control over the dog’s living environment including its behavioural opportunities. For instance, humans select the dog’s pack members. Companion dogs were found to live without a conspecific in three quarters of the households in the United Kingdom and Australia (Robertson, 2003; Westgarth et al., 2007). Also, humans determine the amount of time that the dog is without its humans and cannot interact socially. Three quarters of Swedish dog owners reportedly left their dog at home alone during working hours (Norling and Keeling, 2010). Furthermore, humans restrict the dog’s movement by living indoors and/or being walked on a leash. Leash-walked dogs were seen to sniff other dogs less and to threat display twice as much towards other dogs through baring teeth, growling or snarling, based on recorded spontaneous dog-dog interactions (Řezáč et al., 2011). Thus, while in the past decennia the dog has become increasingly a part of our homes and families, at the same time the dog’s (social) life has become increasingly restricted, such as by mandatory leash-walking in areas where off-leash walking is prohibited (Fox and Gee, 2019; Price, 1999). Changes in the human environment, like the ongoing process of urbanisation (Chatel et al., 2017; Guastella et al., 2019), digitalisation (Brito, 2011; Dufva and Dufva, 2019) and individualisation (Dawson, 2012; Hofmeister, 2013) will affect the dog’s environment, through the shared living space and through the close human-dog relationship. The close human-dog relationship hinges strongly on the dog’s marked human-directed attention, social behaviour and attachment bonds. Human face gazing was seen in dog puppy’s, but not wolf puppy’s (Gácsi et al., 2005). Dogs have even been found to work harder to maintain contact with a human stranger than with a dog from their own 10 General introduction household (Mariti et al., 2014) and shelter dogs readily bond with human strangers (Gácsi et al., 2001). The latter based on findings that they rapidly approached and maintained physical contact for more than seven seconds with a stranger during separation-reunion Chapter 1 sessions (Gácsi et al., 2001). Dog to human attachment expresses in all the four basic elements of safe haven, secure base, separation distress and proximity seeking, as found in a variety of studies (Mariti et al., 2013; Palestrini et al., 2005; Palmer and Custance, 2008; Payne et al., 2015; Prato-Previde et al., 2003). Thus, humans determine the dog’s world physically and socially, making them responsible for providing dogs with a good living environment and appropriate levels of care. Benefits and risks of the human-dog relationship Appropriate dog care contributes to a good human-dog relationship, thus benefitting both humans and dogs. Humans receive companionship from their ‘surrogate family member’, with dogs taking this role more strongly for the increasing number of people living in ‘non-traditional family settings’ (Blackstone, 2014). Indeed, couples without children spent more money on companion animals, including dogs, than those with children (Henderson, 2013). In part, this could reflect budgetary resources, as couples with children may have less money to spend on the dog. However, further proof of a companion animal’s importance to those living without (many) human companions was found in a study with adult female students (Zasloff and Kidd, 1994). Students living with a companion, whether it was human or animal, were less lonely than those living alone and those students who had only a dog as companion reported higher attachment to it than students living with a human as well (Zasloff and Kidd, 1994). Humans benefit from living with dogs in more ways than experiencing companionship. Dogs are known to present humans with social benefits, health benefits and even work benefits. Although most evidence presented on these benefits is associative, rather than causal, the topic has been well-researched. Social benefits are suggested by the higher self-reported social functioning scores in dog owners than non-dog owners (González-Ramírez and Landero-Hernández, 2014) and dog ownership promotes social support networks, as concluded from focus groups held with elderly dog owners (Knight and Edwards, 2008). Health benefits for dog owners are indicated by the four times greater odds of meeting the physical activity guideline of 150 weekly walking minutes, as compared to non- dog owners in the United Kingdom (Westgarth et al., 2019a). Finally, work benefits of dogs apply to a wide range of occupations. Livestock guarding dogs effectively reduced livestock predation at Australian livestock farms (Van Bommel and Johnson, 2012) and drug detection dogs were considered useful to the Polish police force, although their performance depended on circumstances such as the search environment and training level (Jezierski et al., 2014). Clearly, dogs make valuable contributions to human lives and society, but there are drawbacks.