Trait-Level Resilience in Pet Dogs—Development of the Lincoln Canine Adaptability Resilience Scale (L-CARS)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Dogs are exposed to many stressors and appear to vary in their ability to cope with these, but the concept of resilience (the ability to bounce back after adversity), so important in the human field, has not been specifically studied in this species. This study examined the validity of this concept in dogs, through the development of a reliable instrument to measure resilience as a trait and a subsequent assessment of its psychometric properties. A survey was developed and distributed online to dog owners. Items covered demographic factors and the presence of problem behaviours, as well as 19 items related to three domains of resilience described in the human literature, which might reflect trait-level resilience in dogs. Here, 1084 completed responses were returned, and 329 dog owners completed the survey a second time 6–8 weeks later to assess intra-rater reliability. An analysis of the structure of the resilience items was performed on those found reliable. This revealed a two-component solution, one reflecting “Adaptability/behavioural flexibility” and the other “Perseverance”, which are in line with two aspects of the human conceptualisation of resilience. Good agreement was found with expected correlates, such as problem behaviour, enhancing the validity of this scale for the assessment of resilience in dogs. ABSTRACT: The concept of psychological resilience is well-explored in the human literature and is often described as the ability to ‘bounce back’ following adversity. However, it remains a neglected research area in dogs despite observations that like humans, dogs vary in their ability to cope with stress. This study aimed to develop the first canine ‘resilience’ scale. An on-line survey was developed for owners. This covered demographics, medical/behavioural history of the dog, and 19 potential resilience items assessed using a 5-point Likert scale; 1084 complete responses were received during the survey period, with 329 respondents subsequently completing the questionnaire a second time, 6–8 weeks later. Intra-rater reliability was assessed, and only reliable items retained. A principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was then performed with components extracted on the basis of the inspection of scree plots and the Kaiser criterion. Items were retained if they loaded >0.4 onto one of the components but removed if they cross-loaded onto more than one component. This resulted in a 14-item, 2-component solution. One component appeared to describe “Adaptability/behavioural flexibility” and the other “Perseverance”, which are described in the human literature on resilience. Predictive validity was established for expected correlates, such as problem behaviour. The resulting instrument was called the Lincoln Canine Adaptability and Resilience Scale (L-CARS) and is the first to be developed for the assessment of resilience in dogs.