JAAHA: Can aggression in golden retrievers be linked to food?

What is the least aggressive dog you can imagine? If “golden retriever” springs to mind, you are not alone. But, like any dog, they have been known to display aggression, either towards other dogs, animals, or people.

Behavior-related problems are a major cause of pet relinquishment, so determining the cause of unwanted behaviors—especially aggression—is vital. While there can be many factors that influence dog aggression, one team of researchers decided to examine the effect of different foods on the famously friendly golden retriever.

While previous studies have found connections between food protein levels and aggression, most of those studies are 20 years old. A new, original study from researchers at University of California-Davis and the Morris Animal Foundation, examines the link between owner-reported aggression in golden retrievers and the protein content in commercially available dry dog food that was fed to the dogs.

Goldens are so friendly, however, that the team had to make adjustments to what qualified as “aggression.” The survey of more than 1,600 dogs contained questions asking about different categories of aggression such as owner-directed, dog-directed, stranger-directed, etc., and had owners rate the level of aggression from 0-4. Zero indicated no aggression, 1-2 was growling or barking, and 3-4 was snapping or biting. But the responses had so few answers over 2 that the team divided answers into two categories of aggression, “any” and “none.”

Still, the group did find a measurable effect on aggression depending on the level of protein in the food consumed. To find out the connection, check out the article, “Association Between Protein Content in Dry Dog Food and Aggression in Golden Retriever Dogs,” in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association.

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