BEHAVIOURAL DIFFERENCES IN WOLVES AND DOGS Christina Hansen Wheat
Overview 1. Brief theoretical background 2. What is in the literature? 3. The Dog Wolf Project 4. Results from the Dog Wolf Project
Domestication syndrome dә mestә kāsh(ә)n sin drōm noun The general alteration of 1) morphological, 2) physiological and 3) behavioural traits occurs simultaneously in domesticated animals
DOMESTIC WILD Imgur.com Defenders.org Saxony-Blue.com pets4homes.co.uk dhn-hes.ca.uky.edu (Belyaev et al, 1985; Goodwin et al, 1997; Künzl & Sachser, 1999; Trut, 2001; Hare et al, 2012; Wilkins et al, 2014)
WILD DOMESTIC WILD DOMESTIC WILD DOMESTIC DOMESTIC WILD Trut et al. 2004, Russian Journal of Genetics Künzl & Sachser 1999, Hormones and Behavior
Slate.com Mark Adams Photography gettyimages.com
AGGRESSION FEARFULNESS SOCIABILITY PLAYFULNESS
d! e! DOGS a! b! c! WOLF HYBRIDS
Dog Mentality Assessment Test
**! ns! ns! a b ab bc c!! a a a a a!! a a a a a Playfulness! Sociability! Aggression! GS AM SH CW WH! GS AM SH CW WH! GS AM SH CW WH! ns! **! **! ab ab a bc c!! a a a a a!! a a a ab b Fearfulness (stratle)! Fearfulness (sound)! Fearfulness (ghost)! GS AM SH CW WH! GS AM SH CW WH! GS AM SH CW WH! Hansen Wheat et al. 2018. Journal of Comparative Psychology
AGGRESSION FEARFULNESS d! e!! SOCIABILITY PLAYFULNESS
BUT HOW ABOUT WOLF - DOG COMPARISONS?
1. AGGRESSION
Wolves are less aggressive than dogs Aggressive encounters
2. FEARFULNESS
Adult wolves are more neophobic than dogs
3. SOCIABILITY
Wolves are less attached to human caregivers than dogs Greeting
Aggressive encounters
4. PLAYFULNESS
Wolves engage more in social play than dogs Play behaviour
Partial conclusion 1. A general lack of consensus among studies Small sample sizes Methods are not standardized across studies 2. To broad behavioural definitions? For instance, 12 subtypes of aggression in dogs Which subtypes of behaviours are relevant in a domestication setting? 3. Does one shoe really fit all? Would we expect similar behavioural changes in cows and dogs?
WHEN DO SPECIES DIFFEENCES ARISE?
The Dog Wolf Project Stockholm University
10 days to 5 weeks Socialization starts before eye-opening 24 hours socialization Bottle feeding every 2-3 hours
6 weeks to 3 months Vaccination program completed Meeting strangers Gradual weaning from physical presence of care givers initiated
3-7 months Lots of growing! Preparing to be re-homed Decreased physical presences of care givers Increased visits from groups of strangers
THE ONTOGENY OF SPECIES DIFFERENCES IN WOLVES AND DOGS
Behavioural observations Keeping diaries Ceiling cameras We start video filming at 3 weeks Behavioural testing Testing starts at 6 weeks Still ongoing (wolves)
AGGRESSION FEARFULNESS SOCIABILITY PLAYFULNESS
THE CRITICAL PERIOD The critical period of socialization marks an important time frame in a young animals life, in which it through exploration gains important information about its environment. This developmental period can have great impact on behaviour later in life (Scott & Fuller, 1965).
EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOUR CRITICAL period of socialization Onset of fearful response Period of socialization 3 14 weeks
DOGS WOLVES Lord (2013), Ethology
Exploratory behaviour Plasma cortisol Plyusnina et al. (1991), Applied Animal Behaviour Science
- FEARFULNESS - Repeated novel object tests 6, 10, 14, 18, 22 and 26 weeks of age
Hansen Wheat et al. 2018. BioRxiv
- SOCIABILITY - Mental Description for Puppies greeting (8 weeks) Separation tests (10 weeks) Strange Situation Test (23 weeks)
Strange situation test Human-directed sociability Greeting Topal et al.(2005)
Linn Larsson, MSc
- PLAYFULNESS - Social play (5-11 weeks) Solitary play Mental Description for puppies (8, 12 and 16 weeks) Human directed play - Mental Description for puppies (8, 12 and 16 weeks)
Social play Play biting Play hunting Åsa Lycke, MSc
8 weeks 12 weeks 16 weeks
Conclusion Fearfulness Dogs are less fearful than dogs This difference develops progressively during the first 6 months of life Sociability Dogs and wolves are equally attached to human caregivers But what about strangers Playfulness Highly context specific
THANK YOU! @ChristinaHWheat christina.hansen@zoologi.su.se