Auditory Communication in Domestic Dogs

Taylor, Anna M.; Ratcliffe, Victoria F.; McComb, Karen; Reby, David

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-407818-5.00005-x

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 115 publications

(148 reference statements)

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“…Howling emerged in this study as more commonly reported in female dogs with increasing PLGH. Howling is poorly studied in dogs and the function is not well understood, but due to this association with separation, it is thought it may be a vestigial behaviour to make social contact with absent members of the social group, which is a secondary function of this behaviour in wolves [84]. We posited that communication to attract potential mates may be the task of male members of the species [31], but the current results indicate that this form of communication is present in both sexes and is more commonly reported in dogs with increasing PLGH regardless of sex.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural risks in female dogs with minimal lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones

et al. 2019

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Spaying of female dogs is a widespread practice, performed primarily for population control. While the consequences of early spaying for health are still being debated, the consequences for behaviour are believed to be negligible. The current study focused on the reported behaviour of 8981 female dogs spayed before 520 weeks (ten years) of life for reasons other than behavioural management, and calculated their percentage lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones (PLGH) as a proportion of their age at the time of being reported to the online Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). We found that 23 behaviours differed between entire and spayed dogs, of which 12 were associated with PLGH and 5 with age-at-spay (AAS). Two behaviours, chewing and howling, were significantly more likely in dogs with longer PLGH. In contrast, longer PLGH was associated with significantly reduced reporting of 10 (mostly unwelcome) behaviours. Of these, one related to fearfulness and three to aggression. The current data suggest that dogs’ tendency to show numerous behaviours can be influenced by the timing of spaying. They indicate how female dog behaviour matures when gonadal hormones are allowed to have their effect. The differences reported here between undesirable behaviours of spayed and entire dogs were in the range of 5.33% and 7.22%, suggesting that, for some dogs, partial or complete denial of maturation may reduce howling and chewing and improve retrieval and recall, but have other undesirable consequences. Veterinarians may take these data into account to discuss the risks and benefits of spaying with clients, and the timing of the procedure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural risks in female dogs with minimal lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones

et al. 2019

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“…Studying the vocalizations of domestic dogs Canis familiaris has considerable scientific value, and is of interest to the general public ( Faragó et al 2014 ; Taylor et al 2014 ; Amiot et al 2016 ). Vocal attributes prove useful in estimating dog emotional valence, discomfort, and arousal in veterinary ( Riede et al 2001 ; Kim et al 2005 ; Curi and Talamoni 2006 ; Gilbert-Gregory et al 2016 ), and biomedical research ( Box and Spielmann 2005 ; Dellarco et al 2009 ; Hasiwa et al 2011 ; Rowell et al 2011 ; Gilmore and Greer 2015 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Domestic dogs produce 4 main call types: barks, growls, howls, and whines ( Cohen and Fox 1976 ; Tembrock 1976 ; Volodina et al 2006a ; Yeon 2007 ; Faragó et al 2014 ; Taylor et al 2014 ; Grobman et al 2019 ). Dog barks and growls have been studied in some detail (barks: Riede et al 2001 , 2005 ; Yin and McCowan 2004 ; Chulkina et al 2006 ; Lord et al 2009 ; Larranaga et al 2015 ; growls: Riede and Fitch 1999 ; Taylor et al 2008 ), whereas dog howls and whines are poorly studied ( Riede et al 2000 ; Volodina et al 2006a ).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Dog barks and growls have been studied in some detail (barks: Riede et al 2001 , 2005 ; Yin and McCowan 2004 ; Chulkina et al 2006 ; Lord et al 2009 ; Larranaga et al 2015 ; growls: Riede and Fitch 1999 ; Taylor et al 2008 ), whereas dog howls and whines are poorly studied ( Riede et al 2000 ; Volodina et al 2006a ). For communication with humans, dogs primarily use barks and whines ( Pongrácz et al 2010 ; Faragó et al 2014 ; Taylor et al 2014 ; Westgarth et al 2016 ; Parsons et al 2019 ). With whines, dogs can protest at separation ( Mariti et al 2013 ; Huber et al 2017 ) and manipulate their owners ( Volodina et al 2006a ) in a manner similar to the excessive manipulative meowing of domestic cats Felis catus ( Nicastro 2004 ; McComb et al 2009 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Polyphony of domestic dog whines and vocal cues to body size

2020

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In domestic dogs Canis familiaris, vocal traits have been investigated for barks and growls, and the relationship between individual body size and vocal traits investigated for growls, with less corresponding information for whines. In this study, we examined frequency and temporal traits of whines of 20 adult companion dogs (9 males, 11 females), ranging in body weight from 3.5 to 70.0 kg and belonging to 16 breeds. Dog whines (26–71 per individual, 824 in total) were recorded in conditioned begging contexts modeled by dog owners. Whines had three independent fundamental frequencies: the low, the high and the ultra-high that occurred singly as monophonic calls or simultaneously as two-voice biphonic or three-voice polyphonic calls. From the smallest to largest dog, the upper frequency limit varied from 0.24 to 2.13 kHz for the low fundamental frequency, from 2.95 to 10.46 kHz for the high fundamental frequency and from 9.99 to 23.26 kHz for the ultra-high fundamental frequency. Within individuals, the low fundamental frequency was lower in monophonic than in biphonic whines, whereas the high fundamental frequency did not differ between those whine types. All frequency variables of the low, high and ultra-high fundamental frequencies correlated negatively with dog body mass. For duration, no correlation with body mass was found. We discuss potential production mechanisms and sound sources for each fundamental frequency; point to the acoustic similarity between high-frequency dog whines and rodent ultrasonic calls and hypothesize that ultra-high fundamental frequencies function to allow private, “tete-a-tete” communication between members of social groups.

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“…These complex vocal signals have been described in detail for wolves, Canis lupus , and African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus 1819, although their functions have not been subjected to empirical investigation. Similarly, while dogs, C. familiaris , produce barks and growls as part of aggressive and playful vocal sequences, the effects of these vocalisations have been extensively studied independently (for reviews see refs 20 and 21), but not in combination.…”

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confidence: 99%

Concatenation of ‘alert’ and ‘identity’ segments in dingoes’ alarm calls

Déaux

Allen

Clarke

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Multicomponent signals can be formed by the uninterrupted concatenation of multiple call types. One such signal is found in dingoes, Canis familiaris dingo. This stereotyped, multicomponent ‘bark-howl’ vocalisation is formed by the concatenation of a noisy bark segment and a tonal howl segment. Both segments are structurally similar to bark and howl vocalisations produced independently in other contexts (e.g. intra- and inter-pack communication). Bark-howls are mainly uttered in response to human presence and were hypothesized to serve as alarm calls. We investigated the function of bark-howls and the respective roles of the bark and howl segments. We found that dingoes could discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar howl segments, after having only heard familiar howl vocalisations (i.e. different calls). We propose that howl segments could function as ‘identity signals’ and allow receivers to modulate their responses according to the caller’s characteristics. The bark segment increased receivers’ attention levels, providing support for earlier observational claims that barks have an ‘alerting’ function. Lastly, dingoes were more likely to display vigilance behaviours upon hearing bark-howl vocalisations, lending support to the alarm function hypothesis. Canid vocalisations, such as the dingo bark-howl, may provide a model system to investigate the selective pressures shaping complex communication systems.

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Auditory Communication in Domestic Dogs

Cited by 10 publications

References 115 publications

Behavioural risks in female dogs with minimal lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones

Behavioural risks in female dogs with minimal lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones

Polyphony of domestic dog whines and vocal cues to body size

Concatenation of ‘alert’ and ‘identity’ segments in dingoes’ alarm calls

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