Brainy dog owners are more likely to have badly behaved pets

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Brainy dog owners are more likely to have badly behaved pets because they are too busy working and surfing the net to pay attention to their canine companions, study shows

  • 86 per cent (345 out of 401) of dogs exhibit at least one form of bad behaviour 
  • Smarter owners spend less time with their pets and this leads to poor behaviour  
  • Other discoveries from the team of Iranian academics include small dogs being likely to mount and hump than larger breeds

By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Dog owners educated to degree-level are more likely to have a misbehaving dog than people who didn’t go to university, researchers claim.  

The findings comes from a scientific study which assessed why some dogs exhibit problematic behaviour, including barking, humping, and aggression.

Scientists believe brainier owners are more likely to have bad pets because they work long hours and spend more time ‘surfing the net’ rather than lavishing attention on their four-legged friends.

Other discoveries from the team of Iranian academics include small dogs being more likely to mount and hump than larger breeds. 

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Dogs belonging to those who had been educated up to degree level or more had a higher likelihood of humping and mounting objects or people’s legs, said the research team from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Iran’s University of Ahwaz (stock)

The study found that 345 out of 401 dogs (86 percent) had at least one problematic behaviour.

Big dogs tended to be more aggressive because they had often been trained to guard property while the owners were out, it claims. 

Another discovery was that dogs born in the autumn and winter were more likely to go to the toilet indoors.

This, the researchers say, is due to bad weather when they were young stopping proper training as they did not go outdoors enough to relieve themselves. 

But the researchers, reporting in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, also found that some bad habits were worse in dogs with the brainiest owners.

The study found that 345 out of 401 dogs (86 percent) had at least one problematic behaviour. Big dogs tended to be more aggressive because they had often been trained to guard property while the owners were out, it claims (stock)

The study found that 345 out of 401 dogs (86 percent) had at least one problematic behaviour. Big dogs tended to be more aggressive because they had often been trained to guard property while the owners were out, it claims (stock)

Dogs should NEVER be left alone in a car 

Leaving dogs in parked cars can be dangerous all year round, even in the winter when outside temperatures are relatively low, scientists warn. 

Dog welfare experts at Nottingham Trent University monitored internal temperatures of cars in the UK, without dogs inside them, every day for two years. 

They found temperatures exceeded 77°F (25°C) in every month of the year – high enough to cause overheating in breeds with flat faces, such as bulldogs and pugs.  

Annual campaigns highlighting the risk of dogs dying in hot cars typically begin in May but need to start earlier in the year, they say. 

Between 2010 and 2019 the RSPCA received almost 70,000 calls about animals and heat exposure, most of which related to dogs in hot cars.  

Dogs belonging to those who have a degree had a higher likelihood of humping and mounting objects or people’s legs. 

Dogs that lived alone were worse for mounting than dogs who had a playmate because they were less likely to be taken out or socialise with other animals.

But the biggest factor was not spending enough time with the pets, which is where the owner’s level of education may be a factor, according to the research team from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Iran’s University of Ahwaz. 

The report said: ‘Educated owners were likely not to spend enough time training their dogs as they are usually away more than 10 hours a day and when at home they are often busy studying, doing housework and surfing the net.’

Taking dogs to obedience training is not enough, they added. Owners needed to spend at least 20 minutes a day paying attention to their dogs.

It added: ‘The most likely reasons for a high rate of problematic behaviours in dogs can be the growing number of pet dogs and the insufficient training experience of dog owners as well as the lack of available resources for behaviour modification and education. 

‘Duration of ownership as well as the time spent with the dog are common reasons for inadequate home training. 

‘Adequate daily walking and social exposure for dogs should be considered by owners.’