Puppies Raised During the COVID-19 Lockdown Showed Fearful and Aggressive Behaviors in Adulthood: An Italian Survey

Overview

Journal Vet Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Veterinary Medicine

Date 2023 Mar 28

PMID 36977237

Authors

Luigi Sacchettino

Claudia Gatta

Andrea Chirico

Luigi Avallone

Francesco Napolitano

Danila dAngelo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister's decree issued by the Italian government on 9 March 2020, known as "#Iorestoacasa" (I stay at home), required everyone to stay indoors, with a few exceptions, from 11 March to 3 May 2020. This decree had a substantial impact on the mental health of both people and dogs. We carried out a national survey to compare the personalities of adult dogs who were puppies in lockdown (from March to May 2020) with those of adult dogs born after that time (from June 2020 to February 2021). Our results highlighted a significant increase in personality traits related to fear and aggression in dogs who experienced lockdown restrictions during their socialization period, further confirming that the COVID-19 pandemic strongly impacted the behavioral development of dogs. Therefore, it may be advantageous for these dogs to be closely monitored by veterinary behaviorists and receive specialized behavioral rehabilitation therapy to lower the risk of episodes of aggression and fearfulness as well as to increase the wellbeing of dogs raised under social restrictions.

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