Do dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) prefer family?

Hamilton, Jennifer; Vonk, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.08.004

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Along the domestication process, in which natural selection was replaced by the artificial selection, dogs seem to have maintained the sex differences in the aggressiveness-boldness syndrome described in wild animals (at least in the studied contexts). Researches in spatial cognition in restricted areas reporting better performance in females in the learning task agree with that reported for the other mammals [ 158 , 215 ]. Also, studies reporting male dogs to be prevalently left-pawed and females right-pawed are in line with the study of paw preferences in not domesticated species [ 184 ], but also with other domesticated animal species [ 181 , 182 , 183 , 185 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Studies on spatial navigation underline that male dogs outperform females in reverting the navigation strategy in a “Do as I do” paradigm [ 166 ]; however, no sex differences were identified in reversal-learning in the T- and plus-maze paradigms [ 167 , 168 ]. In a T-maze paradigm, the better performance of the intact females in the learning task may be linked to the superior spatial ability of females in restricted areas reported for other mammals [ 158 , 215 ]. An interesting outcome in a plus-maze study is the different effect of age between sexes, with a positive correlation in females and the opposite trend in males [ 168 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult siblings could discriminate one another only if they had co-habited. Although poorly represented in subsequent works, Hamilton and Vonk [ 215 ] specifically addressed sex differences by demonstrating that male dogs were able to discriminate kin without the prerequisite of familiarity, whereas females did not show such abilities. Although the reason for this difference remains uncertain, it should be underlined that females in the diestrus phase were tested, so the ability to discriminate kin may be activated during the estrus phase.…”

Section: Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioral and Perceptual Differences between Sexes in Dogs: An Overview

Scandurra

Alterisio

Cosmo

et al. 2018

Animals

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Simple SummaryWe explore the differences in male and female dogs regarding personality traits as well as cognitive and perceptual processes. Our aim was to explore whether the differences in male and female dogs were affected by the domestication process. The results show that dogs are largely in line with the life-history theories, reflecting the sex differences described in wild animals.AbstractIn this paper, we review the scientific reports of sex-related differences in dogs as compared to the outcomes described for wild animals. Our aim was to explore whether the differences in male and female dogs were affected by the domestication process, in which artificial selection is the main driver. For this purpose, we used information regarding personality traits, cognitive processes, and perception, for which there is a wide theoretical framework in behavioral ecology. Aggressiveness and boldness, described as a behavioral syndrome, were reported as being higher in males than females. Females also seemed more inclined to interspecific social interactions with humans in tasks that require cooperative skills, whereas males appeared more inclined to social play, thus implying different levels of social engagement between the sexes, depending on the context. Studies on cognitive processes underlined a greater flexibility in resorting to a particular navigation strategy in males. Most lateralization studies seem to support the view that males are preferentially left-handed and females are preferentially right-handed. Reports on visual focusing coherently rank females as superior in focusing on single social and physical stimuli. Only male dogs are able to discriminate kin; however, the timing of the olfactory recording in sexes is related to the stimulus relevance. Dogs are largely in line with life-history theories, which indicate that sex differences in dogs are mainly rooted in their biological and evolutionary heritage, remaining unchanged despite artificial selection. In contrast, the higher intraspecific sociability in wild male animals was not replicated in dogs.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioral and Perceptual Differences between Sexes in Dogs: An Overview

Scandurra

Alterisio

Cosmo

et al. 2018

Animals

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“…Females then react with more social interactions with the experimenter 58 , 59 . Regarding olfactory skills, no sex differences are known, except that females might be less able to discriminate kin without the prerequisite of familiarity 60 and males tend to sniff more odours in the sexual context 59 . Thus, the higher behavioral activity of the females in our study might be due to their higher sociability, which increases their motivation to find the owner.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dogs display owner-specific expectations based on olfaction

Bräuer

Blasí

2021

Sci Rep

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Most current knowledge about dogs’ understanding of, and reacting to, their environment is limited to the visual or auditory modality, but it remains unclear how olfaction and cognition are linked together. Here we investigate how domestic dogs search for their owners using their excellent olfactory sense. We raise the question whether dogs have a representation of someone when they smell their track. The question is what they expect when they follow a trail or whether they perceive an odour as a relevant or non-relevant stimulus. We adopted a classical violation-of-expectation paradigm—and as targets we used two persons that were both important to the dog, usually the owners. In the critical condition subjects could track the odour trail of one target, but at the end of the trail they find another target. Dogs showed an increased activity when the person did not correspond with the trail compared to a control condition. Moreover, we found huge individual differences in searching behaviour supporting the assumption that dogs are only able to smell when they really sniff, and that the temperature has an influence on dogs performance. Results are discussed in the light of how cognitive abilities, motivation and odour perception influence each other.

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“…Regarding the perceptual level, females seem to rely more on the visual domain than males, both in social (Duranton et al 2016 ; Mongillo et al 2016 ; D’Aniello et al 2016 ) and physical cognition contexts (Müller et al 2011 ; Rooijakkers et al 2009 ). Furthermore, in the case of olfactory discrimination, only male dogs appear able to discriminate kin (Hamilton and Vonk 2015 ). Males are also attracted by vaginal secretions more than females.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in the behavioral responses of dogs exposed to human chemosignals of fear and happiness

et al. 2021

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This research focuses on sex differences in the behavioral patterns of dogs when they are exposed to human chemosignals (sweat) produced in happy and fear contexts. No age, breed or apparatus-directed behavior differences were found. However, when exposed to fear chemosignals, dogs’ behavior towards their owners, and their stress signals lasted longer when compared to being exposed to happiness as well as control chemosignals. In the happy odor condition, females, in contrast to males, displayed a significantly higher interest to the stranger compared to their owner. In the fear condition, dogs spent more time with their owner compared to the stranger. Behaviors directed towards the door, indicative of exit interest, had a longer duration in the fear condition than the other two conditions. Female dogs revealed a significantly longer door-directed behavior in the fear condition compared to the control condition. Overall the data shows that the effect of exposure to human emotional chemosignals is not sex dependent for behaviors related to the apparatus, the owner or the stress behaviors; however, in the happiness condition, females showed a stronger tendency to interact with the stranger.

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Do dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) prefer family?

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

Behavioral and Perceptual Differences between Sexes in Dogs: An Overview

Behavioral and Perceptual Differences between Sexes in Dogs: An Overview

Dogs display owner-specific expectations based on olfaction

Sex differences in the behavioral responses of dogs exposed to human chemosignals of fear and happiness

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