Confidence in a behavioural context, and the factors controlling the expression of it in nonhuman animals, is widely debated. The understanding of these factors assists in our perception of natural populations, potential heritability, and causes that may lead to possible behavioural issues. Research in the domestic dog has found links to not only genetic markers of levels of fearfulness, but also early life experiences and stability of the home environment. This study aimed to explore the idea of length of ownership as a correlation of, and predictor of, confidence in dogs. It was hypothesised that as length of ownership increases, so would the confidence of the animal, assessed through both direct (behaviour tests) and indirect (owner questionnaire) means. During testing, dogs (N = 16) were exposed to two human approach tests, one designed to introduce them to a welcoming, nonthreatening individual, and the other an unresponsive, emotionless individual. This was followed by a novel object and separation-related behaviour test, all to indicate a confidence level. The time (in seconds) spent interacting with/in close proximity of the stimuli (test room door for separation) were used as behavioural measures. The results found no significant correlation between dog confidence and ownership length. Owner-assessed confidence scores proved only a very weak statistically non-significant negative correlation, mirrored in the human approach and separation tests. 93.3% of dogs in the separation test showed some anxiety-related behaviours, which could suggest that these are seen widespread in the dog population. This study’s findings propose a lack of relationship between ownership length and confidence, thus removing it as a stand-alone predictor, and factor, in confidence levels. However, methodology limitations such as a small sample size, that proved underrepresentative of breeds, could account for its absence. This would need to be further investigated, repeating the research on a larger scale.
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