Canine household aggression in the caseload of general veterinary practitioners in maritime Canada

Canine household aggression, or aggression directed toward people living in the same household or familiar to the dog, is a significant cause of human injury and pet relinquishment, and yet there is very little scientific information available concerning the prevalence and characteristics of aggression in dogs in the general veterinary caseload. Because of the complexity of this behaviour, determining risk factors in a manner that will produce clinically useful results requires the use of large sample sizes, appropriate control groups, and adequate details concerning the dog, the aggression, and the home. A two-part study was undertaken to address this problem. The first phase was a cross-sectional survey of dog owners presenting their pets to one of 20 general veterinary practices in maritime Canada in 1996. Single page questionnaires were completed by 3226 owners. This generated the study population for the second phase of the study, a detailed telephone survey of 515 owners. For the detection of risk factors for aggression, dogs were compared on a case-control basis using both univariate and multivariate analytical techniques. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).