Study of Behavioural Traits in Can de Palleiro (Galician Shepherd Dog)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The Can de Palleiro or Galician shepherd is a canine breed that was in danger of extinction but is currently growing rapidly in popularity. In this study, different behavioural traits of the breed were evaluated in order to assess breeds, select the best breeding animals and identify behaviour problems. This is the first study carried out in the Can de Palleiro breed using different scientifically validated tests. Questionnaires filled by the owners (C_BARQ) were collected, and a behavioural test (SAB) was conducted to evaluate the response of the dogs to a specific stimulus at a certain time and in a certain environment. In addition, the results from the Can de Palleiro breed were compared with those obtained from the general canine population of Galicia. Thereby, the Can de Palleiro breed showed less owner-directed aggression, dog-directed fear, excitability, non-social fear and separation-related problems and better trainability. ABSTRACT: The Can de Palleiro (CP) is an autochthonous canine breed from Galicia (NW Spain). Interestingly, no previous research has been published about the behaviour of this breed. Thus, the aim of the present study was to obtain a deeper understanding of CP behavioural and temperamental traits and detect any potentially problematic behaviour by using the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) and the Socially Acceptable Behaviour (SAB) test. Behavioural information was obtained from 377 dogs—177 CPs and 200 general population (GP) dogs—using the C-BARQ. Additionally, 32 dogs were enrolled to perform the SAB test (19 CPs and 13 GP dogs) in order to directly evaluate their temperament. Our results indicated that CP dogs had a lower tendency to show aggressiveness towards their owners (0.18 times lower, p = 0.033) and less fear of other dogs (by 0.43 times, p = 0.001), as well as higher trainability levels (2.56 times higher, p < 0.001) when compared to GP dogs. CP dogs also had increased odds of showing chasing behaviour (3.81 times higher, p < 0.001). Conversely, CPs had reduced odds of non-social fear, separation-related problems and excitability (by 0.42, 0.35 and 0.48 times, respectively; p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p = 0.002). The current research represents a starting point for the study of the behaviour of CPs, which appear to be a working breed, with guarding and, especially, herding characteristics.