The relationship between some blood parameters and degrees of aggression in military patrol dogs

XSUMMARYThe Relationship Between Some Blood Parameters and Degrees of Aggression InMilitary Patrol DogsThere are several factors affecting the aggressiveness of animals and human beings.Abnormal serum lipid concentrations have been associated with aggression in human, andalso reported in aggressive dogs. Not much is known about alterations of serum lipidconcentrations, including total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) inmilitary patrol dogs (MPD). The possible link between serum lipid concentrations anddegrees of aggression in MPD trained for controlled aggression were studied. A total of 50MPD, aged between 11 and 86 months old from both sexes were used. Thirty out of 50 dogshad completed their patrol dog training successfully at all levels, and these dogs wereclassified as extremely (Group 1; n=10), moderately (Group 2; n=10) and slightly (Group 3;n=10) aggressive. The remaining dogs were classified as non-aggressive group (Group 4; n=20) which was discharged from the study due to their failure and showed nonaggressivenessat any training levels. Sera were taken and TC, HDL, triglyceride (TG) and total protein (TP)were enzymatically measured. TC and HDL levels were significantly lower in dogs withextremely and moderately aggressive compared to non aggressive dogs. The degree ofaggressiveness was negatively correlated with the decreases of TC (p<0.01, -0.424) and HDL(p<0.01, -0.401) concentrations. These results indicate that a relationship exists betweenserum lipid profile and degrees of aggressiveness in MPD trained for controlled aggression. Itmay be useful for the selecting the right puppy from the right family in an attempt to preventtraining problems during the MPD training.Key words: Aggressiveness, Service Dogs, Cholesterol, HDL, Lipoprotein.PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com