Associations Among Behavioral Inhibition and Owner-Rated Attention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, and Personality in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)

In humans, behavioral disinhibition is associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Limitations to rodent models of ADHD-like behaviors/symptoms may be augmented by complementary ones, such as the domestic dog. We examined associations between family dogs' (N = 29; of 14 breeds and 12 mongrels) performance on a self-developed touchscreen behavioral Go/No-Go paradigm and their owner-rated inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, accounting for relevant covariates. A greater proportion of commission errors was associated with greater hyperactivity/impulsivity. Regardless of accuracy, relative to dogs with no previous training, those with basic training had shorter response latencies. Also, regardless of accuracy, greater confidence and extraversion were associated with shorter latencies, and greater openness was associated with longer latencies. Shorter latency to commission errors was associated with greater inattention. Findings support the dog as a model of the association between behavioral disinhibition and ADHD-like behaviors/symptoms and are early evidence of convergent validity between the behavioral paradigm and the rating scale measure in dogs.