Journal of Veterinary Behavior xxx (2017) 1e7

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Journal of Veterinary Behavior

journal homepage: www.journalvetbehavior.com

Research

Assessment of canine behaviors using C-BARQ in a sample from

Northern Mexico
Mónica Teresa González-Ramírez*, Lucía Quezada-Berumen, René Landero-Hernández
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL, Fac. de Psicología, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Problematic behaviors in dogs can negatively affect dogs’ welfare and the welfare of their owners. The
Received 25 August 2016 purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Mexican version of the Canine
Received in revised form Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire and identify the variables associated with behavioral
13 March 2017
problems. The study involved 483 owners who completed the Canine Behavioral Assessment and
Accepted 16 March 2017
Available online xxx
Research Questionnaire, the Dog-owner Compatibility Index of Activity Preferences, and answered
several questions about their dogs. The most frequent behavior concern reported was stranger-directed
aggression, which correlated with other types of aggression, with age of dog, and with the compatibility
Keywords:
dog behavior
between dog and owner in activity preferences. Our results suggest that the human-dog interaction
aggression could improve with a proper handling of the dog.
C-BARQ Ó 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
human-dog interaction

Introduction through interviews or self-report questionnaires. Among the op-

Unwanted behaviors in dogs can have serious implications in
their quality of life, as well as the quality of life of their owners
(Pirrone et al., 2015). Domestic dogs can show a wide variety of be-
haviors that are viewed as unpleasant or annoying by their owners.
Some of the consequences of canine behavior problems mentioned
in previous research include a broken dog-owner bond and the
possibility that a dog could be abandoned or euthanized (Col et al.,
2016). More than 30% of abandoned dogs were abandoned due to
behavioral problems (Wells & Hepper, 2000). Common behavioral
reasons for relinquishment include aggression toward people,
aggression to other animals, and destruction (Patronek et al., 1996).
The probabilities of being adopted are low (Lepper et al., 2002).
According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and
Policy, in 1997, the number of dogs euthanized annually in Amer-
ican shelters due to behavioral problems is estimated in the mil-
lions (American Humane Association, 2013).
The assessment of unwanted behaviors in dogs can be per-
formed with direct observation or reports from their owners
* Address for reprint requests and correspondence: Mónica Teresa González-
Ramírez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL, Fac. de Psicología, Av. Uni-
versidad S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León C.P., 66451,
México. Tel: þ52 81 83294050; Fax: +52 81 83338222.
E-mail address: monygzz77@yahoo.com (M.T. González-Ramírez).
tions of self-report questionnaires, the Canine Behavioral Assess-
ment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) can be mentioned. It
was developed in English by Hsu and Serpell (2003) and has been
translated into several languages and used in different countries,
including Italy (Marshall-Pescini et al., 2008), China (Hsu & Sun,
2010), Japan (Nagasawa et al., 2011), and Iran (Tamimi et al.,
2015). No studies with this questionnaire were found in Mexico.
To identify variables related to canine behaviors, we reviewed
studies from different countries, finding some studies only reported
results of specific subscales (e.g., Serpell & Hsu, 2005; Marshall-
Pescini et al., 2008; van den Berg et al., 2010). Among the findings
of these studies, the following can be mentioned. Bennett and Rohlf
(2007), in Australia, found that the age of the dog was associated
with aggression behaviors, anxiety, and nervousness. Disobedience
was positively correlated with family size, and small dogs were
considered more disobedient; whereas small and medium dogs
showed more excitability than big ones.
In Germany, Kubinyi et al. (2009) found that owners who spent
more time with their dogs reported them as being calmer, more
trainable, and more sociable. Likewise, it was reported that the least
trainable, calm, and sociable dogs did not receive professional training.
In Taiwan, Hsu and Sun (2010) found that higher scores of
owner-directed aggression were associated with male older dogs
that had been sterilized, whereas higher scores of dog-directed
aggression were associated with living in houses with less space,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2017.03.007
1558-7878/Ó 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2 M.T. González-Ramírez et al. / Journal of Veterinary Behavior xxx (2017) 1e7
sharing the house with more people, and less shared time with
the owner.
In Italy, Pirrone et al. (2015) found that although 65% of partic-
ipants reported unwanted behaviors in their dogs, these were not
considered problematic, and owners were not interested to modify
them. These behaviors were variations of fear and anxiety; it was
also found that smaller dogs barked the most. It is possible that
unwanted behaviors were not considered problematic because
owners did not think these were detrimental to the welfare of dogs
or humans involved. However, an unwanted behavior can be
considered a problematic behavior, even if the owner is not aware
of its negative effects.
Recently, Col et al. (2016) found the dog’s breed, sex, neuter
status, the owners’ socioeconomic status, and his work routine
were all associated with some canine behavior problems.
Bennett and Rohlf (2007) report that sterilized dogs were more
nervous or shy. Kubinyi et al. (2009) reported that sterilized dogs
were less calm, whereas Hsu and Sun (2010) found lower scores in
owner-directed aggression in sterilized dogs. For their part, Serpell
and Hsu (2005) reported that reproductive status was associated
with trainability in males of the Shetland sheepdog breed, but not
on females.
The previous studies are evidence of the current interest to
research variables related to canine behavior. Payne et al. (2015)
indicate that human factors have been an interest element in
these researches. In this manner, Meyer and Forkman (2014) found,
in a sample of owners of Danish dogs, a negative association be-
tween fear-related behavioral problems and the owner-dog rela-
tionship. González-Ramírez et al. (2017) found a relationship
between owner-dog relationship and compatibility; they measured
compatibility using activity preferences as indicator of the adjust-
ment between the animal and its owner in the behavioral dimen-
sion; activity preference is to share the love for daily activities like
walking, interacting with others, and so on.
Thus, although there are results from studies carried out in
different countries, Hsu and Sun (2010) indicate that the dog-owner
interaction, the way to perceive this interaction, and the behavior of
the dog, probably varies from one culture to another. For example,
González-Ramírez and Landero (2014) mentioned that dogs
frequently live indoors in many countries; however, in Mexico, a lot
of them live in backyards; this suggests that people spend less time
interacting with their dogs, even when they are at home. In
Australia, Col et al. (2016) found that time spent at home is an
important factor for minimizing the risk of behavior problems.
Taking these differences into account, it is necessary to continue
studies in this line of research, to identify common factors in
different countries that are associated with certain behaviors in
dogs. For this reason, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the
psychometric properties of the Mexican version of the C-BARQ as
well as to identify variables associated with canine behavior
problems in a sample from Northern Mexico.
Materials and methods
Participants
The participants were residents from northern Mexico over the
age of 18 years. The only requirement to participate in the study
was to own at least 1 dog. The questionnaire was in Spanish and
available online through SurveyMonkey.com. The questionnaire
link was shared across social networks. Snowball sampling was
used, where each person was asked to invite other people to answer
the questionnaire. Participants not completing all questions were
excluded. All data were treated confidentially.
Questions gathered data about the dogs, such as breed, size, age,
sex, number of dogs living in the same household, reproductive
status, training history, and whether the dog was walked at least
once a day. Participants were asked to answer the survey thinking
about 1 specific dog. If a participant wanted to, they could answer 1
survey for each one of their dogs.
The sample consisted of 483 people who responded to the
questionnaire, with a mean age of 31.5 years (standard deviation
[SD] ¼ 8.7), 82.2% (397) were women and 17.8% (86) were men.
With respect to marital status, 51.6% (249) were single, 33.3% (161)
were married, 11.8% (57) were living together, and the rest was
either separated or divorced.
Sixty-five different breeds were reported. Mixed breeds were
most common (85; 17.6%), followed by Chihuahuas (45; 9.3%),
schnauzers, and poodles (33; 6.8% each). Dog groups were analyzed
by size rather than by breed because there were many breeds with
few dogs. Seventeen percent (82) were extra small dogs (3-5 kg),
32.5% (157) were small (5-12 kg), 25.3% (122) were medium-sized
(12-25 kg), 22.2% (107) were large (25-40 kg), and 3.1% (n ¼ 15)
were extra-large dogs (over 40 kg). The mean age of dogs was
4.1 years (SD ¼ 3.1); 51.6% (249) were female and 47.8% (231) were
male and 3 unknown. Participants who owned 1 dog accounted for
47.2% (228), 26.9% (130) reported having 2 dogs, 14.3% (69) reported
having 3 dogs, and the rest (56) had between 4 and 9 dogs. In relation
to reproductive status, 60% (290) were not sterilized and 40% (193)
were sterilized. Regarding training history, 72.9% (352) did not
receive formal training by a dog trainer, 27.1% (131) did receive formal
training by a dog trainer. Concerning the frequency of dog walking,
9.9% (48) reported never taking their dog for a walk, 28.6% (138) re-
ported they walked their dog sometimes, 32.5% (157) said most of the
time, and 28.4% (137) reported walking their dog at least once a day.
Instruments
The Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire,
C-BARQÓ, developed in English by Hsu and Serpell (2003) was used
to evaluate the owners assessment of their dogs. The questionnaire
consists of 14 subscales about observable and specific behaviors
with Likert scale response options of 5 points. The scale evaluates
the intensity of behaviors related to aggression, fear, and excit-
ability, and the frequency of the rest of the behaviors (0 indicates
absence of behavior, and 4 is the highest intensity or frequency.
Authorization to use the C-BARQ was provided with the most
recent, who version of C-BARQ with 100 items (J. Serpell, personal
communication, 2014), and a Spanish version translated in Spain.
However, this Spanish version was not used because several items
were difficult to understand due to cultural differences between Spain
and Latin America. Back translation was used to translate C-BARQ100.
The subscales of the C-BARQ are the following:
1. Stranger-directed aggression: the dog shows aggressive or
threatening behaviors toward strangers who approach to him,
to his owner, his territory, or home range.
2. Owner-directed aggression: the dog shows aggressive or
threatening behaviors toward the owner or family members
when they are scolded, mistreated, when stared, or when
approached while they eat or have an object in their possession.
3. Dog-directed aggression: the dog shows aggressive or threat-
ening behaviors when an unknown dog approaches directly.
4. Dog rivalry: the dog shows aggressive or threatening behaviors
toward other familiar dogs in the same household.
5. Stranger-directed fear: the dog looks cautious or afraid when a
stranger approaches directly.
6. Nonsocial fear: the dog looks cautious or afraid of sudden or
loud noises, traffic, or unfamiliar objects or situations.
 M.T. González-Ramírez et al. / Journal of Veterinary Behavior xxx (2017) 1e7
7. Dog-directed fear: the dog looks cautious or afraid when an
unknown dog approaches directly.
8. Touch sensitivity: the dog looks cautious or afraid toward
potentially painful or uncomfortable procedures, such as
bathing, grooming, nail clipping, or vet examinations.
9. Separation-related behavior: the dog vocalizes and/or destroys
things when they are separated from their owner, often
accompanied or preceded by behaviors and signs of anxiety such
as restlessness, loss of appetite, tremors, or excessive salivation.
10. Attachment or attention seeking: the dog keeps a close prox-
imity to their owner or other family members, seeks affection
or attention, and shows signs of agitation (whines, jumps up,
tries to intervene) when the owner pays attention to others.
11. Trainability: the dog shows willingness to comply and obey
simple instructions from owner. The dog is not easily distracted,
tends to learn fast, recover objects, and when is corrected or
punished respond, performing behavior previously asked.
12. Chasing: the dog chases cats, birds, and/or small animals when
given the chance.
13. Excitability: the dog overreacts to potentially exciting events,
such as walks, car trips, hearing the doorbell, arrival of visitors,
or the owner arriving home, and has a difficulty to calm down
after these events.
14. Energy: the dog is full of energy, always in movement or
playing.
The C-BARQ also provides information on behavioral problems,
ranging from coprophagia to repetitive behaviors such as spinning
or chasing their tail. These questions are scored independently.
Hsu and Sun (2010) indicate that the items corresponding to
each factor vary slightly in the different versions, so analyzing the
factor structure of each new translation will ensure that each factor
is represented by the corresponding items.
Owner-dog compatibility was evaluated using the Dog-owner
Compatibility Index of Activity Preferences by González-Ramírez
et al. (2017). This questionnaire evaluates preferences of the
owner and the perceived behavior of the dog in relation to 6 ac-
tivities; each of the 6 activities has a section for the owner and a
section corresponding to the dog (i.e., section for the owner: On the
weekend or a nonworking day, you would like to walk or to run in
the park, section for the dog: your dog enjoys long walks in the
park). The questionnaire is a 4-point Likert scale, with response
options ranging from completely disagree to completely agree.
The scoring of the compatibility index is as follows. It is first
determined if there is dog-owner compatibility for each of the 6
situations presented. Compatibility is considered when the answer
for both the dog and the owner is 0 or 1 (response options completely
disagree or disagree), or 2 or 3 (response options completely agree or
agree). If the answer for an activity is 0 or 1 for owner and 2 or 3 for
dog, it is not compatible. In addition, if the answer for an activity is 2
or 3 for owner and 0 or 1 for dog, it is not compatible. Afterward, the
number of compatibilities is divided by 6 and multiplied by 100. The
authors reported a 0.82 Cronbach’s alpha.
Statistical analysis
To assess the reliability of the questionnaires, Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient was performed. An exploratory factor analysis was per-
formed by principal component analysis with varimax extraction on
the C-BARQ. The analysis included only the items corresponding to
the 14 subscales, independently scored questions about behaviors
were excluded from the analysis. Normality of the distribution of the
scores of the subscales was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov
test, indicating that the scores were not normally distributed (P <
0.05). The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze the
3
association between the C-BARQ subscales and the size of the dog,
their age, the age of owner, number of dogs living in the same
household, dog walking routine, and the Dog-owner Compatibility
Index of Activity Preferences. Likewise, the Mann-Whitney test was
used to evaluate the difference between subscales of the C-BARQ in
relation to sex, reproductive status, and training history. The Kruskal-
Wallis test was used to evaluate differences between subscales of the
C-BARQ with respect to the size of the dogs. All analyses were per-
formed using SPSS (version 20.0, IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software;
SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA).
Results
Exploratory factor analysis and reliability
Factor analysis was performed first to group items or variables
into dimensions. The solution was forced to 14 factors that
explained 63.4% of the variance. The value of the explained variance
is high, showing that 14 factors are sufficient to have most of the
information collected by individual items. However, several factors
were residual. The first factor grouped the items corresponding to
stranger-directed aggression; factor 2 grouped the subscales dog-
directed fear and stranger-directed fear; factor 3 corresponded to
the subscale owner-directed aggression; factor 4 corresponded to
the subscale dog-directed aggression, however, the items of this
subscale also showed high loading on factor 1. Factor 4 included
items of the dog rivalry subscale. Factor 5 corresponded to the
trainability subscale; item 8 (corresponding to fetching objects)
showed a superior load on factor 12. Factor 6 corresponded to the
subscale separation-related behavior. Factor 7 corresponded to the
subscale excitability. Factor 8 included items related to the chasing
subscale. Factor 9 corresponded to items related to touch sensi-
tivity. Factor 10 corresponded to attachment/attention seeking.
Factor 11 grouped the items corresponding to nonsocial fear,
although 3 of these items showed high loading on factor 2. Factor 12
grouped items related to energy level. The rest of the factors did not
present a clear clustering of items (Table 1).
Internal consistency of the original subscales was analyzed,
finding adequate values (Table 1), so it was decided to continue the
analysis with the original 14 subscales and not with the results of
the factor analysis to obtain more specific information about the
classification of behavioral problems, rather than regrouping the
results according to the factor analysis.
Table 2 presents descriptive statistics corresponding to the
original subscales of the C-BARQ. The most frequent problematic
behavior is stranger-directed aggression, followed by excitability.
The attachment/attention-seeking subscale shows central tendency
measures similar to excitability; however, it is not possible to assure
that the items of this subscale are considered behaviors that bother
or annoy the owners. Similarly, a high level of trainability was re-
ported, which indicates that participants are satisfied with the
degree of obedience of their dogs.
Table 3 shows that behavioral problems do not occur in an iso-
lated way. Correlations between the subscales of the C-BARQ occur
for stranger-directed aggression with dog-directed aggression and
stranger-directed fear; owner-directed aggression with dog rivalry;
dog-directed aggression with dog rivalry and chasing; dog-directed
fear with stranger-directed fear, nonsocial fear and touch sensi-
tivity; stranger-directed fear with nonsocial fear and touch sensi-
tivity; nonsocial fear with touch sensitivity; as well as excitability
with attachment/attention seeking.
Behaviors that are scored independently and had a mean equal
to or higher than 1.5 were as follows: begs persistently for food
when people are eating (mean [M] ¼ 1.9; SD ¼ 1.5), pulls exces-
sively hard when on the leash (M ¼ 1.65; SD ¼ 1.4), and barks
4 M.T. González-Ramírez et al. / Journal of Veterinary Behavior xxx (2017) 1e7

Table 1
Factorial structure and reliability of the C-BARQ Mexico

Behavior Subscale Items in the subscale Factor loads Cronbach’s alpha Inter-item Comments
correlation

Aggressive Factor 1 ¼ stranger-directed 10 þ 11 þ 12 þ 15 þ 16 þ 18 þ 0.643-0.836 0.92 0.63-0.78

behavior aggression 20 þ21 þ 22 þ 28
Factor 3 ¼ owner-directed 9 þ 13 þ 14 þ 17 þ 19 þ 25 þ 30 þ 31 0.534-0.749 0.84 0.48-0.69
aggression
Factor 4 ¼ dog-directed 23 þ 24 þ 26 þ 29 0.428-0.485 0.87 0.66-0.82 All items showed high
aggression Item 24 < 0.300 loadings on factor
2 (0.520-0.575)
Factor 4 ¼ dog rivalry 32 þ 33 þ 34 þ 35 0.726-0.795 0.87 0.67-0.75
Fear Factor 2 ¼ dog-directed fear 45 þ 46 þ 52 þ 53 0.685-0.763 0.86 0.66-0.78
Factor 2 ¼ stranger-directed 36 þ 37 þ 39 þ 40 0.675-0.759 0.88 0.68-0.78
fear
Factor 11 ¼ nonsocial fear 38 þ 41 þ 42 þ 44 þ 47 þ 48 0.350-0.609 0.72 0.31-0.52 Items 41, 42 and 47 also
showed loading on factor
2 (0.600, 0.431, and 0.409)
Other behaviors Factor 5 ¼ trainability 1þ2þ3þ4þ5þ6þ7þ8 0.515-0.683 0.77 0.17-0.58 Item 8 loaded on factor
Item 12 < 0.300 Eliminating 0.41-0.59 12 (0.611) and its interitem
item 8, a ¼ 0.78 correlation was r ¼ 0.17
Factor 8 ¼ chasing 27 þ 74 þ 75 þ 76 0.317-0.842 0.72 0.28-0.67 Item 76 loaded higher on
Item 76 ¼ 0.317 Eliminating 0.49-0.70 factor 5 (0.462)
item 76, a ¼ 0.78
Factor 6 ¼ separation-related 54 þ 55 þ 56 þ 57 þ 58 þ 59 þ 60 þ 61 0.311-0.808 0.78 0.32-0.62 Item 55 also loaded on
behavior factor 13 (0.544)
Factor 7 ¼ excitability 62 þ 63 þ 64 þ 65 þ 66 þ 67 0.576-0.799 0.80 0.48-0.64
Factor 9 ¼ touch sensitivity 43 þ 49 þ 50 þ 51 0.419-0.774 0.76 0.45-0.62 Item 43 also loaded on
factor 11 (0.457)
Factor 10 ¼ attachment or 68 þ 69 þ 70 þ 71 þ 72 þ 73 0.539-0.797 0.69 0.06-0.53 Item 73 loaded on
attention seeking Item 73 load Eliminating 0.42-0.55 factor 8 (0.743)
< 0.300 item 73, a ¼ 0.75
Factor 12 ¼ energy level 91 þ 92 0.446 and 0.640 0.39 0.24

C-BARQ, Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire.

persistently (M ¼ 1.8; SD ¼ 1.5). These behaviors were included in directed aggression, dog-directed fear, stranger-directed fear,
the following analysis. touch sensitivity, and begging persistently for food.
Participants who reported more compatibility with their dogs
Relationships between variables and the subscales of the C-BARQ (Dog-owner Compatibility Index of Activity Preferences) also re-
ported less stranger, owner, and dog-directed aggression, less dog
Correlations between the subscales of the C-BARQ with age, size rivalry, and the more compatibility, more trainability. Similarly,
of the dog, and frequency of dog walking were analyzed. Several those who considered their dog to be high in trainability reported
significant correlations were identified, some of these were weak walking them at least once a day, whereas dogs with higher scores
(rs < 0.15), so they were not considered relevant. The results in in persistent bark were walked less.
Table 4 show that age of owner was negatively correlated with
separation-related behaviors and touch sensitivity, and positively
correlated with trainability. Age of dog was positively correlated Group differences
with stranger-directed aggression, dog-directed aggression, and
dog rivalry and was negatively associated with separation-related Training
behavior and energy level. The size of the dog was positively Although the correlations between the trainability subscale
correlated with trainability and negatively correlated with owner- and the rest of the subscales of the C-BARQ were lower than 0.25,
significant differences were found in relation to training history.
As was expected, dogs with a formal training history (131) scored
Table 2 higher in trainability (Z ¼ 6.883; P ¼ 0.001), they also obtained
Descriptive statistics for the subscales of the C-BARQ Mexico
lower scoring than dogs with no training (352) in the following
Behavior Subscale Median Mean Standard behaviors: owner-directed aggression (Z ¼ 2.060; P ¼ 0.039),
deviation nonsocial fear (Z ¼ 3.714; P ¼ 0.001), separation-related
Aggression Stranger-directed aggression 2.8 2.9 0.7 behaviors (Z ¼ 2.138; P ¼ 0.032), touch sensitivity (Z ¼ 3.106;
Owner-directed aggression 0.0 0.3 0.5 P ¼ 0.002), and begging persistently for food when people are
Dog-directed aggression 1.0 1.1 1.0 eating (Z ¼ 2.414; P ¼ 0.016). In relation to persistent barking,
Dog rivalry 0.2 0.6 0.8
Fear Dog-directed fear 0.5 0.9 0.9
the median of the dogs with no training was double than those
Stranger-directed fear 0.2 0.6 0.9 who did received training; however, no significant difference was
Nonsocial fear 0.8 1.0 0.7 found (Z ¼ 1.940; P ¼ 0.052).
Other behaviors Trainability 2.4 2.3 0.8
Chasing 1.0 1.0 0.9
Sex
Separation-related behavior 0.7 0.8 0.7
Excitability 2.2 2.2 0.9 When comparing males (n ¼ 231) and females (249), it was found
Touch sensitivity 0.5 0.9 0.9 that females showed significantly less owner-directed aggression
Attachment or attention seeking 2.3 2.2 0.8 (Z ¼ 2.491; P ¼ 0.013) and less dog rivalry (Z ¼ 2.459; P ¼ 0.014)
Energy level 1.5 1.5 0.9 than males. However, females showed higher scores in stranger-
C-BARQ, Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire. directed fear (Z ¼ 2.093; P ¼ 0.036) than males.
 M.T. González-Ramírez et al. / Journal of Veterinary Behavior xxx (2017) 1e7 5

Table 3
Spearman’s correlations between subscales of the C-BARQ

Subscale a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k) l) m)

a) Stranger-directed aggression
b) Owner-directed aggression 0.273b
c) Dog-directed aggression 0.527b 0.250b
d) Dog-directed fear 0.200b 0.136b 0.207b
e) Dog rivalry 0.236b 0.300b 0.423b 0.126b
f) Trainability 0.098a 0.176b 0.103a 0.157b 0.077
g) Chasing 0.228b 0.072 0.348b 0.103a 0.154b 0.129b
h) Stranger-directed fear 0.363b 0.144b 0.190b 0.562b 0.107a 0.150b 0.083
i) Nonsocial fear 0.251b 0.170b 0.165b 0.375b 0.158b 0.193b 0.166b 0.440b
j) Separation-related behavior 0.112a 0.150b 0.079 0.281b 0.049 0.218b 0.155b 0.227b 0.283b
k) Touch sensitivity 0.176b 0.244b 0.153b 0.397b 0.105a 0.209b 0.089 0.333b 0.334b 0.244b
l) Excitability 0.224b 0.120b 0.148b 0.205b 0.016 0.041 0.244b 0.177b 0.191b 0.266b 0.267b
m) Attachment or attention seeking 0.158b 0.076 0.167b 0.185b 0.095a 0.064 0.233b 0.094a 0.162b 0.226b 0.182b 0.388b
n) Energy level 0.033 0.037 0.069 0.050 0.025 0.055 0.165b 0.027 0.106a 0.257b 0.062 0.210b 0.141b

C-BARQ, Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire.

a
The correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2 tailed).
b
The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed).

Reproductive status Discussion

Mean age of spaying/neutering was 2.2 years (SD ¼ 2.2); 40%
(77) were sterilized under the age of 1 year, and 9.5% (18) over the
age of 5 years. Sterilized (193) and nonsterilized dogs (290) were
compared, and differences were found in trainability (Z ¼ 4.065;
P ¼ 0.001), separation-related behaviors (Z ¼ 2.678; P ¼ 0.007),
attachment/attention seeking (Z ¼ 2.528; P ¼ 0.011), and energy
level (Z ¼ 2.207; P ¼ 0.027); with sterilized dogs being the ones
with better behavior. Differences in trainability remained after
separating by sex of the dog, whereas the rest of the differences did
not remain. Nonsterilized male dogs (Z ¼ 2.072; P ¼ 0.038)
exhibited more separation-related behaviors.
Size
Table 5 summarizes significant differences identified by the
Kruskal-Wallis test between size of dogs and some subscales of the
C-BARQ. For owner-related aggression, small dogs presented higher
scores. For dog-directed fear, extra-small dogs showed higher
scores. For dog rivalry, medium-sized dogs obtained a higher score.
For trainability, the scores increase as the size of the dog increases.
For stranger-directed fear, non-social fear, touch sensitivity, and
begging persistently for food, extra-small dogs showed higher
scores. Last, the greater the size of dog, the more pulling excessively
on the leash.
The main purpose of the study was to adapt the C-BARQ to
Mexican population and to analyze its psychometric properties.
Akin to the study of Tamimi et al. (2015), factor analysis showed a
similar structure to the original scale, with some variations. It was
decided to keep the original proposal of the item distribution in the
subscales, due to the internal consistency and factor loading being
acceptable. Although the factor analysis suggested to simplify the
factor structure of the questionnaire, in so doing, information
would be lost about specific stimulus of the behaviors evaluated by
the C-BARQ. It is recommended that future studies perform internal
consistency analysis to adequate the items that better represent
each behavior in a particular sample.
Among the items with high factor load in more than 1 subscale,
it is of interest to mention item 8 (Will “fetch” or attempt to fetch
sticks, balls, or objects), which was considered part of the train-
ability subscale; in this sample, its factor load placed it in the
subscale energy. For this sample, it seems that dogs with more
energy are the ones trained to fetch. However, the item remained in
the subscale trainability because its elimination did not increase
Cronbach’s alpha considerably.
Dogs with higher scores in the trainability subscale were walked
more often and were more compatible with their owners in the

Table 4
Spearman’s correlations between subscales of the C-BARQ and other variables

Subscale Age of owner Age of dog Size Walking the dog at least once a day Dog-owner compatibility index of activity preferences

Stranger-directed aggression 0.037 0.200a 0.067 0.067 0.193a

Owner-directed aggression 0.078 0.053 0.173a 0.102 0.193a
Dog-directed aggression 0.011 0.202a 0.052 0.060 0.214a
Dog-directed fear 0.043 0.083 0.148a 0.067 0.105
Dog rivalry 0.038 0.187a 0.076 0.113 0.203a
Trainability 0.171a 0.069 0.177a 0.218a 0.200a
Chasing 0.027 0.017 0.042 0.060 0.049
Stranger-directed fear 0.093 0.014 0.212a 0.080 0.124
Nonsocial fear 0.113 0.028 0.106 0.087 0.112
Separation-related behavior 0.247a 0.202a 0.090 0.099 0.007
Touch sensitivity 0.145a 0.003 0.262a 0.113 0.179
Excitability 0.066 0.004 0.023 0.031 0.067
Attachment/attention seeking 0.083 0.021 0.075 0.019 0.004
Energy level 0.017 0.249a 0.058 0.095 0.093
Begs for food 0.075 0.027 0.202a 0.067 0.098
Pulls on the leash 0.021 0.154 0.159 0.004 0.038
Persistent barking 0.152 0.044 0.097 0.163a 0.098

C-BARQ, Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire.

a
The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed).
6 M.T. González-Ramírez et al. / Journal of Veterinary Behavior xxx (2017) 1e7

Table 5
Differences according to dog size

Subscale Extra small, 3-5 kg Small, 5-12 kg Medium, 12-25 kg Large, 25-40 kg Extra large, 40 kg Kruskal-Wallis
(n ¼ 82) (n ¼ 157) (n ¼ 122) (n ¼ 107) (n ¼ 15)

Median Median Median Median Median

Stranger-directed aggression 2.8 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.6 KW ¼ 9.461; P ¼ 0.051

Owner-directed aggression 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 KW ¼ 22.526; P ¼ 0.001
Dog-directed aggression 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 KW ¼ 6.253; P ¼ 0.181
Dog-directed fear 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.5 KW ¼ 11.348; P ¼ 0.023
Dog rivalry 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.0 0.0 KW ¼ 12.145; P ¼ 0.016
Trainability 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 KW ¼ 15.293; P ¼ 0.004
Chasing 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 KW ¼ 5.951; P ¼0.203
Stranger-directed fear 0.8 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 KW ¼ 22.215; P ¼ 0.001
Nonsocial fear 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.7 0.5 KW ¼ 13.230; P ¼ 0.010
Separation-related behavior 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.4 KW ¼ 6.903; P ¼ 0.141
Touch sensitivity 0.9 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.3 KW ¼ 36.354; P ¼ 0.001
Excitability 2.0 2.3 2.0 2.2 2.2 KW¼ 6.424; P ¼ 0.170
Attachment/attention 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.5 KW ¼ 7.224; P ¼ 0.125
Energy level 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.0 KW ¼ 5.442; P ¼ 0.245
Begs for food 3.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 KW ¼ 20.103; P ¼ 0.001
Pulls on the leash 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 KW ¼ 19.975; P ¼ 0.001
Barks persistently 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 KW ¼ 9.821; P ¼ 0.044

Bold italicized values correspond to higher scores when significant differences were found.

index of activity preferences. Similarly, the dogs that were walked
more often had lower scores of persistent barking; it would be
interesting to consider the results of Marshall-Pescini et al. (2008)
who found that higher levels of trainability helped improve
problem-solving ability in dogs, by being proactive in the interaction
with new objects. Marshall-Pescini et al. (2008) also found a negative
correlation between trainability and fear of strangers. Enhanced
trainability may diminish/prevent behavioral problems and improve
owner-dog relationship. To improve trainability, we suggest an
environment of high stimulation, frequent walks, completion of an
obedience training program, and owner-dog sharing activities.
The highest scores in this sample were for stranger-directed
aggression, followed by excitability (Table 2). These results differ
from those reported in Australia, where few dogs scored high in
aggressive behaviors (Bennett & Rohlf, 2007), although they are
similar to findings in Taiwan (Hsu & Sun, 2010), where stranger-
directed aggression was one of the most frequent behaviors re-
ported, after dog-directed aggression.
One of the most frequently reported independently scored be-
haviors in this sample was persistent barking, results that differ
from those presented by Bennett and Rohlf (2007) for an Australian
sample, where owners reported that their dogs generally did not
bark persistently. In contrast, a recent report noted that barking was
the second most common behavior problem reported in another
Australian survey (Col et al., 2016). Pirrone et al. (2015) reported a
correlation between persistent barking and size of the dog for their
Italian sample which is similar to the present study, where smaller
dogs barked the most.
Behavioral problems correlate with each other (Table 3), which
may indicate that dogs demonstrate the same type of behavior in
different settings. This finding may be seen specifically in behaviors
of aggression and fear.
Significant differences between subscales of the C-BARQ were
found when comparing sterilized and nonsterilized dogs. In this
sample, sterilized dogs presented fewer separation-related behav-
iors. This finding differs from that of Kubinyi et al. (2009), where
sterilized dogs were less calm, and that of Bennett and Rohlf (2007),
who reported sterilized dogs were more nervous.
The behavior with the highest frequency was stranger-directed
aggression, and the only variable associated with this behavior
was age of the dog. Among the analyzed variables, the ones asso-
ciated with more subscales of the C-BARQ were dog-owner
compatibility of activities, size of the dog, and whether they
received previous training or not. These last 2 coincide with the
Australian study by Bennett and Rohlf (2007), and the association
with the training variable coincides with the study by Kubinyi et al.
(2009). As is suggested by Hsu and Sun (2010), certain behavioral
problems such as those related to aggression could be reduced with
a proper management of the dog which should include more
involvement of the owner in dog-related activities, which could
improve the owner-dog relationship (Meyer & Forkman, 2014).
There are limitations to this study. As Bennett and Rohlf (2007)
note, it is presumed that people who voluntarily participate in this
type of studies are committed to their dogs; therefore, it is expected
that dogs present adequate behavior or that their owners are
satisfied with their behaviors. Nevertheless, it is also possible that
people committed to their dogs have dogs with serious behavior
problems due to a lack of rules and structure in their daily routine.
In addition, most of the samples were women, a common occur-
rence in these kinds of studies (e.g., Bennett & Rohlf, 2007); also,
this is not a representative sample from Mexico.
In conclusion, certain variables were identified to have associ-
ation with specific behaviors, including dog-owner compatibility of
activities, size of the dog, age of dog, and history of training. These
results suggest that an early training, as well as a selection of a dog
compatible with the level of activity of the owner, could benefit the
dog-owner interaction. For future research, it would be interesting
to question owners about the type of method used for training and
to compare their effect on dog behavior.
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