Canine Behavior Genetics Project

StaticNfuzz

Given the number of questions about behavior and propensity for noise phobia and hyperacusis i.e. hearing sensitivity in many Shibas, I thought I'd post here as well.

Apparently UC-SF has been conducting a study across breeds and provided an opportunity to contribute to ongoing research. I don't know if test kits are still available for participants. Anyway, thought I would throw it out there, here is the link of details http://www.k9behavioralgenetics.com/

Snf

ttddinh

oh I saw this!! I tired to contact the PI for more info, with regards to his projects, but he didn't reply.

tjbart17

Oh sweet this is near me. Would they be interested in extremely rare breeds?

StaticNfuzz

ttddinh: Ok I did some checking it looks like post doc work, and after 2011 the research may have ended. If anyone else finds out more or comes across the data it would be interesting to review the results.

Snf

shibamistress

I said this on the the Shiba side, but I emailed them about Bel (noise phobia + epilepsy). It looks like they might not still be looking for dogs with noise phobias unless they are severe, but they did seem to still be interested in noise phobia + epilepsy. I'll let you all know if I hear back.

Also, interestingly my class tonight was about trauma and the body, and we talked about the way trauma and hyperarousal can lead to noise phobia, or at least hyperacusis, and if the hyperarousal isn't shaken off, it can get worse. This was in the context of human massage therapy, and trauma recovery, but I could see the ways it applied to dogs too, and interestingly, the teacher also does trauma work with canines. We talked about it a bit, and she said that it's not at all uncommon for dogs with seizure disorders to have extreme sensitivity to noise, but then she asked me if Bel's seizures were ever triggered by noise (not that I know of) because she's seen that in dogs too.

Just an interesting crossover in my worlds!

Asheaka

@shibamistress - Would my dog be considered to have noise phobia? Bear will literally run to the other side of the house when there's a loud noise. Sometimes it doesn't have to be loud even. He panics so much that he slips. You can hear his claws scratching the floor from anywhere in the house when he slips. He also is very prone to panicking in general.

shibamistress

I wasn't quite sure how the study was defining noise phobic, but I would say that Bear probably has some issues with noise for sure! I called Bel noise phobic because she starts shaking, and then tries to climb up on me (like up on my shoulders) and she is obviously totally freaked out. But I couldn't quite figure out how the study itself was defining noise phobia.