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Pedretti G, Canori C, Biffi E, Marshall-Pescini S, Valsecchi P. Appeasement function of displacement behaviours? Dogs' behavioural displays exhibited towards threatening and neutral humans. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:943-952. [PMID: 36662320 PMCID: PMC10066101 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01742-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Appeasement signals are behavioural patterns displaying an animal's non-aggressive attitude and are hypothesized to reduce the aggressive behaviours in the receiver. In domestic dogs, specific displacement behaviours (i.e., behavioural patterns exhibited without an apparent function related to the ongoing situation), have been suggested to function as appeasement signals. To test this possibility, we assessed whether the occurrence of these behaviours was dependent on a social conflict context, predicting that, if displacement behaviours also function as appeasement signals, they should be more prevalent in a conflict vs. non-conflict context. Fifty-three dogs were exposed to two unfamiliar humans approaching them in either a mildly threatening or neutral way. We categorized the attitude of the dogs towards the strangers as "reactive", i.e., barking and lunging towards the stimulus, and "non-reactive", i.e., remaining passive in front of the stimuli. We coded dogs' displacement activities and modelled their duration or frequency as a function of the interaction between the test condition and the attitude of the dog. Displacement behaviours of "blinking", "nose licking" and "lip wiping" were associated with a "non-reactive" attitude, independently from the test condition, confirming an association with a non-aggressive intention. "Head turning" was associated with a "non-reactive" attitude in the threatening condition. In conclusion, dogs with a non-aggressive attitude exhibited more putative appeasement signals; however, these were not strictly associated with a conflict-ridden situation, calling for further investigation of their function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Pedretti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy. .,Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
| | - Chiara Canori
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy
| | - Eleonora Biffi
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy
| | - Sarah Marshall-Pescini
- Domestication Lab, Wolf Science Center, Konrad-Lorenz-Institute for Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Paola Valsecchi
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy
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Audience effect on domestic dogs' behavioural displays and facial expressions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9747. [PMID: 35697913 PMCID: PMC9192729 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13566-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study we investigated the influence of positive and negative arousal situations and the presence of an audience on dogs’ behavioural displays and facial expressions. We exposed dogs to positive anticipation, non-social frustration and social frustration evoking test sessions and measured pre and post-test salivary cortisol concentrations. Cortisol concentration did not increase during the tests and there was no difference in pre or post-test concentrations in the different test conditions, excluding a different level of arousal. Displacement behaviours of “looking away” and “sniffing the environment” occurred more in the frustration-evoking situations compared to the positive anticipation and were correlated with cortisol concentrations. “Ears forward” occurred more in the positive anticipation condition compared to the frustration-evoking conditions, was positively influenced by the presence of an audience, and negatively correlated to the pre-test cortisol concentrations, suggesting it may be a good indicator of dogs’ level of attention. “Ears flattener”, “blink”, “nose lick”, “tail wagging” and “whining” were associated with the presence of an audience but were not correlated to cortisol concentrations, suggesting a communicative component of these visual displays. These findings are a first step to systematically test which subtle cues could be considered communicative signals in domestic dogs.
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Prichard A, Chhibber R, Athanassiades K, Spivak M, Berns GS. Fast neural learning in dogs: A multimodal sensory fMRI study. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14614. [PMID: 30279481 PMCID: PMC6168449 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32990-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Dogs may follow their nose, but they learn associations to many types of sensory stimuli. Are some modalities learned better than others? We used awake fMRI in 19 dogs over a series of three experiments to measure reward-related learning of visual, olfactory, and verbal stimuli. Neurobiological learning curves were generated for individual dogs by measuring activation over time within three regions of interest: the caudate nucleus, amygdala, and parietotemporal cortex. The learning curves showed that dogs formed stimulus-reward associations in as little as 22 trials. Consistent with neuroimaging studies of associative learning, the caudate showed a main effect for reward-related stimuli, but not a significant interaction with modality. However, there were significant differences in the time courses, suggesting that although multiple modalities are represented in the caudate, the rates of acquisition and habituation are modality-dependent and are potentially gated by their salience in the amygdala. Visual and olfactory modalities resulted in the fastest learning, while verbal stimuli were least effective, suggesting that verbal commands may be the least efficient way to train dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Prichard
- Psychology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Raveena Chhibber
- Psychology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | | | - Mark Spivak
- Comprehensive Pet Therapy, Atlanta, GA, 30328, USA
| | - Gregory S Berns
- Psychology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
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