Table 1.

The results of the principal component analysis of the questionnaire (N = 392). In case of each principal component, we highlighted the loading of those items with bold that significantly contributed to that component.

Questionnaire item	Relaxed	Obedient	Fear dogs	Fear humans	Demanding	Protest dislike	Have phobias	Origin
Does your dog tolerate being held down	0.507	− 0.046	0.058	0.095	− 0.073	− 0.284	− 0.008
Dog is emotionally stable, not easily upset (neuroticism/emotional reactivity)	0.686	− 0.019	− 0.139	− 0.046	0.109	− 0.162	− 0.085	Temesi et al
Dog remains calm in tense situations (neuroticism/emotional reactivity)	0.679	0.134	− 0.193	0.028	0.054	− 0.052	− 0.09	Temesi et al
Dog gets nervous easily (neuroticism/emotional reactivity)	− 0.6	0.035	0.221	− 0.091	− 0.03	0.277	0.125	Temesi et al
Dog can be tense (neuroticism/emotional reactivity)	− 0.654	0.062	0.112	0.003	− 0.032	0.196	0.109	Temesi et al
Dog is relaxed, handles stress well (neuroticism/emotional reactivity)	0.657	− 0.011	− 0.21	0.003	− 0.019	0.054	− 0.183	Temesi et al
Your dog usually appears relaxed (negative activation)	0.767	0.005	− 0.008	0.026	− 0.053	− 0.082	0.119	Temesi et al
Your dog appears calm in unfamiliar environments (negative activation)	0.805	0.114	0.013	− 0.093	− 0.011	0.066	0.153	Temesi et al
Your dog appears calm in noisy, crowded places (negative activation)	0.754	0.152	0.115	− 0.133	0.069	0.132	− 0.126	Temesi et al
Dog is anxious (fearfulness)	− 0.677	− 0.003	0.018	0.176	0.104	− 0.056	0.186	Temesi et al
Dog adapts easily to new situations and environments (fearfulness)	0.632	0.066	− 0.005	− 0.302	− 0.029	0.127	0.008	Temesi et al
I can enforce my will on my dog	0.109	0.652	− 0.087	0.133	− 0.026	− 0.039	− 0.077	Lenkei et al
The owner can easily stop unwanted activities (e.g. by verbal inhibition)	0.068	0.757	0.003	0.036	− 0.007	− 0.075	0.149	Bálint et al
Obeys commands for the first time	− 0.017	0.765	− 0.124	0.028	− 0.008	− 0.006	− 0.089
The dog can be called back even if there are other dogs in its vicinity	− 0.041	0.842	0.013	− 0.097	− 0.041	0.056	− 0.01	Bálint et al
The dog can be called back even if there are other dogs, animals (e.g.: pigeon, cat) in its vicinity	0.004	0.791	0.109	− 0.044	0.03	− 0.012	0.02	Bálint et al
Once the dog understands that something is forbidden, it is easy to prevent the same thing on a subsequent occasion	0.245	0.606	0.036	0.043	− 0.125	0.043	0.09	Bálint et al
Does not, or almost never obeys commands	0.004	− 0.688	0.166	− 0.066	0.008	0.101	0.004	Lenkei et al
The dog can be called back even if there are humans in its vicinity	− 0.09	0.778	0.056	− 0.033	0.017	0.021	− 0.084	Bálint et al
It is hard to lead away the dog on leash if its attention is focused on food, other dogs or humans	− 0.076	− 0.544	− 0.002	− 0.018	0.182	0.061	− 0.012
Sometimes the dog’s attention is so distracted that it impairs its obedience	− 0.076	− 0.536	0.086	− 0.065	− 0.01	0.145	0.014	Bálint et al
The dog dislikes (pulls on the lead, jumps, barks or whines) when it is not allowed to approach another dog, human or object	− 0.157	− 0.414	0	0.006	0.028	0.236	− 0.119
Dog takes it badly when something is forbidden	− 0.11	− 0.442	0.045	0.109	0.169	0.408	− 0.083
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when approached directly by an unfamiliar dog of the same or larger size (social fear)	− 0.059	0.004	0.889	− 0.009	− 0.005	− 0.019	− 0.01	Temesi et al
Dog behaves fearfully towards other dogs (fearfulness)	− 0.004	− 0.018	0.955	0.035	− 0.016	0.009	− 0.039	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when barked, growled or lunged at by an unfamiliar dog (social fear)	0.036	− 0.004	0.92	− 0.049	0.02	− 0.087	0.052	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when approached directly by an unfamiliar dog of smaller size (social fear)	0.046	− 0.068	0.883	0.079	− 0.007	0	− 0.018	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when unfamiliar dogs visit your home (social fear)	− 0.053	0.022	0.821	0.164	− 0.013	0.01	− 0.012	Temesi et al
Dog avoids other dogs (fearfulness)	− 0.042	0.057	0.646	0.045	0.077	0.033	0.035	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when an unfamiliar person tries to touch or pet the dog (social fear)	− 0.048	0.028	0.03	0.91	− 0.026	0.034	− 0.009	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when approached directly by an unfamiliar adult while away from home (social fear)	− 0.032	− 0.019	0.053	0.93	− 0.015	0.007	0.011	Temesi et al
Dog behaves fearfully towards unfamiliar people (fearfulness)	0.03	− 0.022	0.027	0.958	− 0.005	0.002	− 0.002	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when unfamiliar persons visit your home (social fear)	− 0.02	− 0.052	0.044	0.907	− 0.029	0.035	0.059	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxiously or fearfully when approached directly by an unfamiliar child while away from home (social fear)	− 0.004	0.101	0.034	0.877	0.099	0.027	− 0.015	Temesi et al
The dog has a skill to seek out and steal food from anywhere, sometimes even from the hands of people	− 0.044	− 0.09	− 0.106	− 0.072	0.562	0.136	− 0.039	Bálint et al
If there is food on the table, does your dog beg for it	0.04	− 0.041	0.026	− 0.022	0.862	− 0.029	0.012	Lenkei et al
Does your dog get excited before his/her regular feeding time	− 0.145	0.163	0.071	− 0.029	0.678	0.064	− 0.09	Lenkei et al
Is your dog begging for food while you are eating	0.084	− 0.14	− 0.014	0.04	0.805	− 0.101	0.012	Lenkei et al
Is your dog begging for treats/food if it knows the place where these are kept	0.042	0.06	− 0.073	0.075	0.748	0.007	0.082	Lenkei et al
The dog becomes overly excited, when it anticipates an upcoming pleasant activity (walking, feeding, playing)	0.006	− 0.02	0.024	0.037	0.345	0.271	0.017
Does your dog get excited when he/she is left confined alone in another room/house? (while you are still around, just not with your dog)	− 0.06	− 0.088	0.083	− 0.039	0.462	0.246	0.04	Lenkei et al
The dog shows its intention to enter a room, when the door is closed	0.045	− 0.105	0.139	− 0.018	0.425	0.239	0.086
Does your dog bring a toy for you when he/she wants to play	0.131	0.052	0.133	− 0.084	0.352	− 0.006	0.08	Lenkei et al
The dog responds by barking or growling to situations/events it does not appreciate or opposes	0.038	− 0.009	− 0.088	0.285	0.065	0.672	0.014	Bálint et al
The dog responds threateningly/shows intimidating behavior when being punished or disciplined	0.095	− 0.11	− 0.089	0.082	− 0.048	0.754	0.086	Bálint et al
If the dog wants to obtain something, it pursues that persistently or even aggressively	− 0.051	− 0.014	0.023	0.008	0.174	0.661	− 0.092	Bálint et al
Does your dog snap at your hand or leg when you discipline or punish it	− 0.068	− 0.192	0.049	− 0.027	− 0.003	0.697	0.171
Dog can be moody	− 0.209	0.092	0.068	0.03	0.137	0.459	− 0.267
The dog does not tolerate being physically restrained	− 0.397	0.061	0.023	− 0.053	0.07	0.482	0.066
The dog often barks in unusual or novel situations. In these cases, it is almost impossible to calm it	− 0.056	− 0.222	0.084	0.107	− 0.133	0.428	− 0.02	Bálint et al
Your dog appears nervous and/or jumpy for several minutes after it has been startled (negative activation)	− 0.281	− 0.019	− 0.029	0.114	0.154	− 0.08	0.577	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxious or fearful in response to sudden or loud noises (non-social fear)	− 0.242	0.023	0.003	0.101	0.004	− 0.01	0.734	Temesi et al
Dog acts anxious or fearful during thunderstorms (non-social fear)	0.071	− 0.033	− 0.065	− 0.074	0.007	0.023	0.917	Temesi et al
Your dog has a specific fear or phobia (negative activation)	0.032	0.053	0.138	0.103	− 0.012	0.097	0.762	Temesi et al
Cronbach’s alpha	0.91	0.89	0.91	0.92	0.77	0.77	0.78
Variance explained	10.5%	10.4%	8.9%	8.6%	6.7%	6.2%	5%

The questions related to fearfulness of dogs are based on a consensus questionnaire of 6 different questionnaires, for the origin of particular items see Temesi et al.⁴⁵.