Abstract
Introduction
The aim of this study was to explore spontaneous social interactions between dyads of unfamiliar adult dogs. Although intraspecific encounters are frequent events in the life of pet dogs, the factors that might influence encounters, such as sex, dyad composition, reproductive status, age, and state of cohabitation (keeping the dogs singly or in groups), remained unexplored.
Methods
In this study, we assigned unfamiliar, non-aggressive dogs to three types of dyads defined by sex and size. We observed their unrestrained, spontaneous behaviors in an unfamiliar dog park, where only the two dogs, the owners, and experimenter were present.
Results
We found that the dogs, on average, spent only 17% of the time (less than 1 min) in proximity. Sex, dyad composition, reproductive status, and age influenced different aspects of the interactions in dyads. Female dogs were more likely to initiate the first contact in their dyad but later approached the partner less frequently, were less likely to move apart, and displayed less scent marking. Following and moving apart were more frequent in male-male interactions. Neutered dogs spent more time following the other dog and sniffed other dogs more frequently. The time companion dogs spent in proximity and number of approaches decreased with age.
Conclusion
The study provides guidance for dog owners about the outcomes of intraspecific encounters based on the dog’s age, sex, and reproductive status, as well as the sex of the interacting partner.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Adams, B., Chan, A., Callahan, H., Milgram, N. W. (2000) The canine as a model of human cognitive aging: recent developments. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 24, 675–692.
Aitchison, J. (1955) On the distribution of a positive random variable having a discrete probability mass at the origin. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 50(271), 901–908.
Akos, Z., Beck, R., Nagy, M., Vicsek, T., Kubinyi, E. (2014) Leadership and path characteristics during walks are linked to dominance order and individual traits in dogs. PLoS. Comput. Biol. 10(1), e1003446.
Araujo, J. A., Studzinski, C. M., Milgram, N. W. (2005) Further evidence for the cholinergic hypothesis of aging and dementia from the canine model of aging. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 29(3), 411–422.
Asa, C. S., Mech, L. D., Seal, U. S., Plotka, E. D. (1990) The influence of social and endocrine factors on urine-marking by captive wolves (Cams lupus). Horm. Behav. 24(4), 497–509.
Bartal, I. B.-A., Decety, J., Mason, P. (2011) Empathy and pro-social behavior in rats. Science 334(6061), 1427–1430.
Bauer, E. B., Smuts, B. B. (2007) Cooperation and competition during dyadic play in domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. Anim. Behav. 73(3), 489–499.
Beach, F. A. (1974) Effects of gonadal hormones on urinary behavior in dogs. Physiol. Behav. 12(6), 1005–1013.
Beach, F. A., LeBoeuf, B. J. (1967) Coital behaviour in dogs. I. Preferential mating in the bitch. Anim. Behav. 15(4), 546–558.
Bekoff, M. (1979) Scent-making by free-ranging domestic dogs. Olfactory and visual components. Biol. Behav. 4(2), 123–139.
Bognár, Z., Iotchev, I. B., Kubinyi, E. (2018) Sex, skull length, breed, and age predict how dogs look at faces of humans and conspecifics. Anim. Cogn. 21(4), 447–456.
Bonanni, R., Cafazzo, S., Abis, A., Barillari, E., Valsecchi, P., Natoli, E. (2017) Age-graded dominance hierarchies and social tolerance in packs of free-ranging dogs. Behav. Ecol. 28(4), 1004–1020.
Bonanni, R., Cafazzo, S., Valsecchi, P., Natoli, E. (2010) Effect of affiliative and agonistic relationships on leadership behaviour in free-ranging dogs. Anim. Behav. 79(5), 981–991.
Brown, S. G., Rhodes, R. E. (2006) Relationships among dog ownership and leisure- time walking in Western Canadian adults. Am. J. Prev. Med. 30(2), 131–136.
Burrows, E. L., Eastwood, A. F., May, C., Kolbe, S. C., Hill, T., McLachlan, N. M., Churilov, L., Hannan, A. J. (2017) Social isolation alters social and mating behavior in the R451C neuroligin mouse model of autism. Neural Plast. 2017, 8361290.
Cafazzo, S., Bonanni, R., Valsecchi, P., Natoli, E. (2014) Social variables affecting mate preferences, copulation and reproductive outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs. PLoS One 9(6), e98594.
Cafazzo, S., Natoli, E., Valsecchi, P. (2012) Scent-marking behaviour in a pack of free-ranging domestic dogs. Ethology 118(10), 955–966.
Cafazzo, S., Valsecchi, P., Bonanni, R., Natoli, E. (2010) Dominance in relation to age, sex, and competitive contexts in a group of free-ranging domestic dogs. Behav. Ecol. 21(3), 443–455.
Carrier, L. O., Anderson, R. E., Walsh, C. J. (2013) Personality, social behavior, and Cortisol in dogs visiting a dog park. J. Vet. Behav. 8(4), e43.
Chapagain, D., Range, F., Huber, L., Virányi, Z. (2018) Cognitive aging in dogs. Gerontology 64(2), 165–171.
Christian, H., Bauman, A., Epping, J. N., Levine, G. N., Mccormack, G., Rhodes, R. E., Richards, E., Rock, M., Westgarth, C. (2016) Encouraging dog walking for health promotion and disease prevention. Am. J. Lifestyle Med. 12(3), 233–243.
Connellan, J., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Batki, A., Ahluwalia, J. (2000) Sex differences in human neonatal social perception. Infant Behav. Dev. 25(1), 113–118.
Cummings, B. J., Head, E., Ruehl, W., Milgram, N. W., Cotman, C. W. (1996) The canine as an animal model of human aging and dementia. Neurobiol. Aging 17(2), 259–268.
Darwin, C. (1871) The descent of man and selection in relation to sex, in Charles Darwin, The origin of species and The descent of man (combined volume). J. Anat. Physiol. 5(Pt. 2), 363–372.
De Waal, F. B. (1996) Macaque social culture: development and perpetuation of affiliative networks. J. Comp. Psychol. 110(1), 147–154.
Decety, J. (2011) The neuroevolution of empathy. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1231(1), 35–45.
Firth, D. (1988) Multiplicative errors: log-normal or gamma? J. R. Stat. Soc. Ser. B 50(2), 266–268.
Ghosh, B., Choudhuri, D. K., Pal, B. (1984) Some aspects of the sexual behaviour of stray dogs, Canis familiaris. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 13(1-2), 113–127.
Harlow, H. F., Dodsworth, R. O., Harlow, M. K. (1965) Total social isolation in monkeys. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 54(1), 90–97.
Head, E., Nukala, V. N, Fenoglio, K. A., Muggenburg, B. A., Cotman, C. W., Sullivan, P. G. (2009) Effects of age, dietary, and behavioral enrichment on brain mitochondria in a canine model of human aging. Exp. Neurol. 220(1), 171–176.
Heidenberger, E., Unshelm, J. (1990) Changes in the behavior of dogs after castration. Tierärztliche Praxis 18(1), 69–75.
Holland, P. W., Thayer, D. T. (2000) Univariate and bivariate loglinear models for discrete test score distributions. J. Educ. Behav. Stat. 25(2), 133–183.
Howse, M. S., Anderson, R. E., Walsh, C. J. (2018) Social behaviour of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in a public off-leash dog park. Behav. Process. 157, 691–701.
Hubrecht, R., Wickens, S., Kirkwood, J. (2016) The welfare of dogs in human care. In: Serpell, J. (ed.) The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, pp. 271–299.
Iotchev, I. B., Kis, A., Bódizs, R., van Luijtelaar, G., Kubinyi, E. (2017) EEG transients in the sigma range during non-REM sleep predict learning in dogs. Sci. Rep. 7(1), 12936.
Kubinyi, E., Turcsán, B., Miklósi, Á. (2009) Dog and owner demographic characteristics and dog personality trait associations. Behav. Process. 81(3), 392–401.
Landsberg, G. M., Hunthausen, W. L., Ackerman, L. J. (2003) The effects of aging on behavior in senior pets. In: Saunders (ed.) Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat. 2nd ed. Elsevier Health Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 269–280.
Le Boeuf, B. J. (1970) Copulatory and aggressive behavior in the prepuberally castrated dog. Horm. Behav. 1(2), 127–136.
Lisberg, A. E., Snowdon, C. T. (2011) Effects of sex, social status and gonadectomy on countermarking by domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. Anim. Behav. 81(4), 757–764.
Lutchmaya, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Raggatt, P. (2002) Foetal testosterone and eye contact in 12-month-old human infants. Infant Behav. Dev. 25(3), 327–335.
Lykken, D. T. (1994) On the causes of crime and violence: a reply to Aber and Rappaport. Appl. Prev. Psychol. 3(1), 55–58.
McGuire, B., Bemis, K. E. (2017) Scent marking in shelter dogs: effects of body size. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 186, 49–55.
McGuire, B., Olsen, B., Bemis, K. E., Orantes, D. (2018) Urine marking in male domestic dogs: honest or dishonest? J. Zool. 306, 163–170.
McMillan, F. D. (2002) Development of a mental wellness program for animals. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 220(1), 965–972.
Mech, L. D., Boitani, L. (2003) Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and conservation. Interactions (Vol. 85). Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=_mXHuSSbiGgC&pgis=l
Miklosi, A. (2014) Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition. Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition. OUP, Oxford. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/acprofoso/9780199295852.001.0001
Milgram, N. W., Head, E., Zieker, S. C., Dseda-Douglas, C. J., Murphey, H., Muggenburg, B., Siwak, C., Tapp, D., Cotman, C. W. (2005) Learning ability in aged beagle dogs is preserved by behavioral enrichment and dietary fortification: a two-year longitudinal study. Neurobiol. Aging 26(1), 77–90.
Mongillo, P., Araujo, J. A., Pitted, E., Carnier, P., Adamelli, S., Regolin, L., Marinelli, L. (2013) Spatial reversal learning is impaired by age in pet dogs. Age 35(6), 2273–2282.
Müller, C. A., Mayer, C., Dorrenberg, S., Huber, L., Range, F. (2011) Female but not male dogs respond to a size constancy violation. Biol. Lett. 7(5), 689–691.
Nicol, C. J., Pope, S. J. (1999) The effects of demonstrator social status and prior foraging success on social learning in laying hens. Anim. Behav. 57(1), 163–171.
Pal, S. K. (2003) Urine marking by free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris) in relation to sex, season, place and posture. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 80(1), 45–59.
Pal, S. K, Ghosh, B., Roy, S. (1998) Agonistic behaviour of free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris) in relation to season, sex and age. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 59(4), 331–348.
Pongrácz, P. (2014) Social learning in dogs. In: The Social Dog: Behavior and Cognition (pp. 249–293). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407818-5.00009-7
Pongrácz, P., Vida, V., Bánhegyi, P., Miklósi, Á. (2008) How does dominance rank status affect individual and social learning performance in the dog (Canis familiaris)? Anim. Cogn. 11(1), 75–82.
Řezáč, P., Viziová, P., Dobešová, M., Havlíček, Z., Pospíšilová, D. (2011) Factors affecting dog-dog interactions on walks with their owners. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 134(3-4), 170–176.
Rosado, B., Gonzalez-Martinez, A., Pesini, P. R., Garcia-Belenguer, S., Palacio, J., Villegas, A., Suárez, M. L., Santamarina, G., Sarasa, M. (2012) Effect of age and severity of cognitive dysfunction on spontaneous activity in pet dogs -Part 2: social responsiveness. Vet. J. 194(2), 196–201.
Sackett, G. (1991) The human model of psychological well-being in primates. In: Through the looking Glass (pp. 35–42). Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1037/10080-004
Salmeri, K. R., Bloomberg, M. S., Scruggs, S. L., Shille, V. (1991) Gonadectomy in immature dogs effect on skeletal physical and behavioral development. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 198(1), 1193–1203.
Scandurra, A., Alterisio, A., Di Cosmo, A., D’Aniello, B. (2018) Behavioral and perceptual differences between sexes in dogs: an overview. Animals 8(9), 151.
Schenkel, R. (1967) Submission: its features and function in the wolf and dog. Integr Comp. Biol. 7(2), 319–329.
Schofield, G., Mummery, K., Steele, R. (2005) Dog ownership and human health-related physical activity: an epidemiological study. Health. Promot. J. Austr. 16(1), 15–19.
Scott, J. P. (1950) The social behavior of dogs and wolves: an illustration of sociobiological systematics. Ann N. Y. Acad. Sci. 51(6), 1009–1021.
Serpell, J. (1991) Beneficial effects of pet ownership on some aspects of human health and behaviour. J. R. Soc. Med. 84(December), 717–720.
Shine, R. (1989) Ecological causes for the evolution of sexual dimorphism: a review of the evidence. Quart. Rev. Biol. 64(4), 419–461.
Slatkin, M. (1984) Ecological causes of sexual dimorphism. Evolution 38(3), 622.
Smuts, B., Sandel, A. A., Trisko, R. K. (2016) Affiliation, dominance and friendship among companion dogs. Behaviour 153(6-1), 693–725.
Stevens, S. (2004) Handbook of behavior problems of the dog and cat. J. Feline Med. Surg. 6(1), VII.
Trisko, R. K., Smuts, B. B. (2015) Dominance relationships in a group of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Behaviour 152(5), 611–104.
Van Der Borg, J. A. M., Schilder, M. B. H., Vinke, C. M., De Vries, H., Petit, O. (2015) Dominance in domestic dogs: a quantitative analysis of its behavioural measures. PLoS One 10(8), e0133978.
Wallis, L. J., Virányi, Z., Muller, C. A., Serisier, S., Huber, L., Range, F. (2016) Aging effects on discrimination learning, logical reasoning and memory in pet dogs. Age 38(1), 1–18.
Weisberg, Y., De Young, C., Hirsh, J. (2011) Gender differences in personality across the ten aspects of the Big Five. Front. Psychol. 2, 178.
Westgarth, C., Christley, R. M., Pinchbeck, G. L., Gaskell, R. M., Dawson, S., Bradshaw, J. W. S. (2010) Dog behaviour on walks and the effect of use of the leash. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 125(1-2), 38–46.
Wongwitdecha, N., Marsden, C. A. (1996) Social isolation increases aggressive behaviour and alters the effects of diazepam in the rat social interaction test. Behav. Brain Res. 75(1-2), 27–32.
Woodward, L., Bauer, A. (2007) People and their pets: a relational perspective on interpersonal complementarity and attachment in companion animal owners. Soc. Anim. 15(1), 169–189.
Zimen, E. (1981) The Wolf: His Place in the Natural World. Souvenir Press, London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes — if any — are indicated. (SID_1)
To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Iotchev, I.B., Egerer, A., Grafe, S. et al. Encounters between pairs of unfamiliar dogs in a dog park. BIOLOGIA FUTURA 70, 156–165 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1556/019.70.2019.20
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/019.70.2019.20