Finnish scientists conducted a study examining the roots of dog personality traits and discovered an unknown link between urban living environments and dogs’ social anxiety.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Helsinki, who analyzed data from a behavioral survey involving nearly 6,000 pet dogs and their owners. This analysis allowed the researchers to draw links between different risk factors and social fear in dogs, some of which were surprising.

Lack of socialization in puppies is a well-known factor in behavioral problems. This may be related to a lack of exposure to different situations, people and stimuli early in the dog's life. One of the unknown risk factors scientists found was urban living conditions, with dogs raised in these areas being more likely to be fearful than dogs raised in rural areas.

Jenni Puurunen, a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Helsinki, said: "This type of survey has never been done in dogs before. What we do know is that mental health problems in humans are more common in cities than in rural areas. . However, further research is needed before the reasons for this can be said about the living environment."

One of the other interesting insights revealed by the study is that a dog's activity level appears to be related to his level of social fear. The more fearful the dog, the less the owner participates in activities and training, although whether this is a cause or a consequence of the behavior is not entirely clear.

Professor Hannes Losi from the University of Helsinki said: "We have found that activity and stimulation have a positive effect on the behavior of both dogs and people. Of course, the less activity of timid dogs may also be attributed to their owners' desire to avoid His dogs were exposed to stress. Maybe people don’t interact with timid dogs as much.”

The team also found that some dog breeds are more timid than others. For example, Spanish water dogs and Shetland sheepdogs are not as brave as Irish soft-coated terriers.

Losey said: "The differences between breeds support the idea that genes influence fearfulness, as well as many other mental health problems. This encourages us to conduct further research, especially on the genetic side. All in all, this study provides We provide the tools to improve the welfare of our best friends: diverse socialization at an early age, an active lifestyle and carefully chosen breeding practices can significantly reduce social phobia."