Biologia Futura
Volume/Issue:
Volume 70: Issue 2

Social behavior in dog puppies: Breed differences and the effect of rearing conditions

Authors:
Rita Lenkei Department of Ethology, Biological Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Search for other papers by Rita Lenkei in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Ákos Pogány Department of Ethology, Biological Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Search for other papers by Ákos Pogány in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Claudia Fugazza Department of Ethology, Biological Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Search for other papers by Claudia Fugazza in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Pages:
134–142
Online Publication Date:
26 Jul 2019
Publication Date:
01 Jun 2019
Article Category:
Journal Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/019.70.2019.17
Keywords:
dog; puppy; social behavior; breed differences; rearing conditions
Open access

Introduction

Most of the studies investigating the effect of early rearing environment in dogs used laboratory dogs and reported that early experiences markedly affect the puppies’ behavior. However, the subjects of these experiments cannot be considered as representatives of family dogs.

Methods

In this study, we investigated whether different raising conditions shape social behavior toward humans in 8-week-old family dog puppies of two breeds, Labrador and Czechoslovakian wolf dog. The puppies were tested in a series of tests that represented typical situations of family dogs.

Results

We found that Czechoslovakian wolf dog puppies were more active than Labrador puppies in general, as they were more likely to explore the environment and the objects and spent more time doing so. Tendency to gaze at humans also varied between breeds, but in a context-specific way. Additionally, puppies housed separately from their mother interacted more with toys, puppies housed in a kennel tended to stay closer to the experimenter than puppies raised in the house, and puppies housed in a kennel tended to stay in the proximity of the experimenter more than puppies raised in the house.

Conclusions

Our results provide evidence for early keeping conditions influencing social behavior and also highlight breed differences in puppies’ behavior. Whether these differences are due to different developmental patterns and/or behavioral predispositions remains to be explored.

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Cover Biologia Futura
Biologia Futura
Print ISSN:
2676-8615
Online ISSN:
2676-8607

The submission template is available as an MS WORD docx.

Please, download the file from HERE

 

To see the editorial board, please visit the website of Springer Nature.

Manuscript Submission: HERE

For subscription options, please visit the website of Springer Nature.

Biologia Futura
Language English
Size A4
Year of
Foundation		 2019 (1950)
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 4
Founder Magyar Tudományos Akadémia  
Founder's
Address		 H-1051 Budapest, Hungary, Széchenyi István tér 9.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
CH-6330 Cham, Switzerland Gewerbestrasse 11.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 2676-8615 (Print)
ISSN 2676-8607 (Online)

Monthly Content Usage

Abstract Views Full Text Views PDF Downloads
Apr 2023 0 10 21
May 2023 0 27 19
Jun 2023 0 9 20
Jul 2023 0 5 16
Aug 2023 0 20 14
Sep 2023 0 15 13
Oct 2023 0 0 0