Dog Behaviour PDF

0 Dog Behaviour 0 1 Excellent predators: why • Excellent predators- very curious animals- diversity of prey • Variety of diets- more versatile: not obligate carnivores (what speciesobligate carnivores) • Social hunters (pack up)- can incapacitate prey larger than individual animal (dog) ‘Packing...

0 Dog Behaviour 0 1 Excellent predators: why • Excellent predators- very curious animals- diversity of prey • Variety of diets- more versatile: not obligate carnivores (what speciesobligate carnivores) • Social hunters (pack up)- can incapacitate prey larger than individual animal (dog) ‘Packing up’ -can this be a problem urban centers? • Run fast, over ling distances- great stamina • Long , slender limb, slender toes (phalanx) • More upright standing posture 0 2 1 0 Domestication • Morphometric analysis (anatomy and shape)- hard to accurately differentiate between canid species (fox, small wolf, large wolf, wild dog etc) • Molecular analysis: karyotypes, allozyme electrophoresis, mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite loci- more conclusive evidence • Domesticated dogs- developed form Grey Wolf ancestor- likely location of original domestication- East Asia • Dog lineages presence (ie not a wolf anymore)- 14,000-18,000 BCE • Based on ‘more refined’ molecular measurements: • Interestingly, morphological measurements- underestimate • Older molecular techniques- overestimate 0 3 Behaviour • Ethology: (science) study of behaviour, it includes causation and function (complex)? • Is behaviour a dichotomy of extremes: • 1) Physiological response: scratch- itchy skin (relflex0 • 2) complex activity: social interaction • 3) Or a combination of both- somewhere in-between • -Complex interaction 0 4 2 0 Behavior • Behaviour (in essence)- a type of biological response- actions to environmental stimuli • Behaviour- an higher level response (interpretative) response that is involves stimuli that induce a response (muscular) • Stimuli (environmental signal) that can be modified by processes (endocrine responses) to elicit a response (complexes – coordinated muscular integration- ie avoidance- defensive measures0 • Behaviour responses is affected by both the environment and genetics of the animal • Behaviour can be: 1) unique to the individual,2) unique to the event (situation) or 3) can be uniform within the population 0 5 Ethology- Central task of study • Tinbergen (Noble Prize 1963): tried to define ethology within research paradigm • ‘Tinbergen’s four questions’ questions not mutually exclusive • Questions: cause, purpose, development (evolution?) and effect of a response • In the context of ‘dog barking’ 1) What causes dog barking 2)What is the function of dog barking 3)H ow does dark barking develop during ontogeny 4)How has barking developed during phylogeny - The 4 question ; may not take into consideration the dog's emotional and cognitive aspect of behaviour • Note: Ontogeny- origination and development of an organism; Phylogeny- the study of relationships between different organisms and their evolutionary development 0 6 3 0 Behaviour and the brain • Cerebral cortex (neocortex): present in all mammals (80% of total mass of human brain) • -Integration of sensory stimuli • Higher learning -reasoning, reflection, • Limbic system (part of cerebral cortex)- hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus: Limbic system- basic behaviours: feeding, fear, aggression, sexual behaviour -postulated: although cortex of dog is smaller than people, the limbic system is comparatively the same size, as such dogs can sense basic stimuli (ie fear), but may not process the stimuli the same as humans 0 7 Nervous system- terminology • Nervous system: • Central nervous system: (CNS; spinal cord + Brain), • Peripheral nervous system: (PNS; all non-spinal cord + non-brain, ‘outside’’ CNS) • Afferent neurons: nerve signals to CNS • Efferent neurons: nerve signal away from CNS • PNS (autonomic and somatic nervous system) • Autonomic- involuntary control (digestion after a meal), • Somatic- voluntary control (weight lifting - muscle contraction) • Autonomic nervous system: parasympathetic, sympathetic: • ‘In general’- parasympathetic (relaxation), sympathetic (excitation) 0 8 4 0 Stimuli • All organisms under constant array of stimuli • Stimuli – olfactory, auditory, visual, tactile, and these stimuli are processed by the brain • Stimuli interpretation – can be innate and do not require learning • ‘Key stimuli’- collection of stimuli (signals) that cause a interpreted by the CNS in a specific and functional manner • Key stimuli- often linked to specific behavioural response, but can be modified • Example: dogs will chase ( rabbit)- instinctive (innate response) • - can prevent chasing behaviour- this is trained (learned event)- not instinctive 0 9 Behaviour - modified • Endocrine system: hormones ( chemical signals) form areas of the brain (ie hypothalamus-pituitary axis; HPA)) will effect behaviour • Example: Follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) from HPA, will increase testosterone in the testes- this will effect growth, maturation and reproductive behaviour • Castration of the dog – reduces testosterone – alters reproductive behaviour 0 10 5 0 Behaviour- development • At birth puppy - eyes closed, limited olfactory, auditory, proprioception, motor function (movement) • In several weeks of age, these abilities markedly improve • Behaviour development in canids 4 phases (periods): • 1) neonatal - completely dependant on mother for life function - -poor movement - main stimuli response- touch and olfactory - -vocalization- whining and yelping (attract mother attention?) - -stimulation required- defecation and urination 0 11 Behaviour- development 2) transition: -early development of adult traits -Day 13- eye open - Days 18-20- auditory canal open - improved motor function - no maternal stimulation for elimination- Types of vocalization- variable 0 12 6 0 Behaviour- development 3) Socialization (3-8) weeks of age0: - adult-like behaviour patterns - social behaviour begins (bonding with other dogs and people, usually week 4-8)will also see first manifestation of fear and aggression - - brain- developing for learning - important time for training 4) Juvenile (2-8 months): depending on breed- usually full grown 8 months - Behaviour traits are not changing much - Motor abilities- markedly improve - Note (breed dependant, 6-24 months)- reproductive maturity, see major development of aggression 0 13 Behaviour adaptation: complex • Multiple signals with potential for multiple responses • There has to be a priorization of responses • Motivation- is often used to prior responses (highest level- feeding, reproduction, defence-aggression) 0 14 7 0 Behaviour- genetics • Genes (DNA) - code for proteins (function, phenotype) within the body • Mutations alter genes (single gene or multiple genes) - alter protein function (single protein or multiple proteins) • Gene mutations can affect animal fitness in population (adapt to environment- leaving viable offspring to continue genetic line)- these affects on fitness either: beneficial, neutral detrimental • Behaviour- can be affected by a either : single genes (drastic changes) or impacted on complex suite of multiple genes • Usually behaviour is affected by a ‘defined set of multiple of genes’ (protein interactions) • Note: behavioral changes – associated with morphological changesdiscussed later 0 15 Behaviour- genetics • Genetic – very similar genetic sequences (genetic code) between dog species and wolves • Behaviour differences- alterations (mutations) in the ‘regulatory areas’ of the of the genetic code • Especially alterations in the regulation of the genetic code within the brain • Due to understanding of genetics of behavioural abnormalities (ie aggression, separation anxiety, aggression-dominance)- may be a model for behavioural abnormalities in peoples (OCD, panic disorders) 0 16 8 0 Social behaviour • Canids are social animals• wolves have more ‘social behaviour’ abilities as compared to domestic dogs and other wild canids (fox, coyotes, jackals)- it maintains commination, hierarchy and interaction in the wolf pack 0 17 Social behaviour: characteristics- mechanisms • Social play- form some basic characteristics of social life (ie bite play vs dominance- aggression) • Fairness- part of social play- helps individua animal benefit-survive within the environment (group pack behaviour) • Communication skills- visual cues- body posture, facial expression and barking • Communication social hierarchy- established structure and aids in social behaviour stability • Family groups (pack size and interactions)- influenced by food supply. A division of labour in wolve packs- hunting, progeny rasing and development • Monogamy- usually long term (wolf pack), polygamy is uncommon. Domestic dogs- reproductive behaviour influence by people (hard to have a natural monogomous mating pair) 0 18 9 0 Social behaviour: characteristics- mechanisms • Social bonding- bonding is strong is social animals such as candids (wolves- bonding in pack; domestic dogs- bonding with owner). Postulated bonding between canids stronger that other Non-human primates (chimpanzees) • Parental care- wolf pack members ‘ helpers’ in raising cubs • Social learning (long-term)- wolf can stay within the pack indefinitely, as such long term learning for hunting, social interaction, play etc 0 19 Social behaviour: communication • Query: has domestication of dogs (ie from wolves ancestors) affected communication? 0 20 10 0 Can dogs have personalities? • Dogs are highly intelligent and will adapted to different environments and learning situation- they will adapt behaviours • Dogs (individually) can display single, but usually suite of behaviors that will not adjust to change environmental cues • Unchanged behaviour described ‘ temperament, individuality, coping, behavioural syndromes, animal personalities, or personality traits • Personality traits (described)- ‘as dispositional (ie individual characteristics) that regularly and persistently determine behaviour in many different types of situations’ • Note: both a time –dependant, and stability of response • Research in canids difficult- risk to anthropomorphize observation (this could be inaccurate) 0 21 Dog personalities traits: Highly studied 1) Fearfulness (most studied response in animals) -other names emotional, timid, nervousness -manifestation- expression of fear and anxiety: avoidance, ‘flight’, ’freeze,(immobility -inhibition)’ urinating, salivation, vocalization (yelping), low body posture + low ears and tail between hind legs -Initial classification: of fearful stimuli; i) non-social, and ii) non-social i) Non-social stimuli- loud noise (thunderstorms), new household objects ii) Social stimuli- unknown people (stranger-directed fear), unknown dogs (dog directed fear/aggression) Note: Another criteria for fearfulness added : ‘pain sensitivity’ - Fearful response can be different in various breed: inhibition (Shetland sheepdogs) , avoidance (basenjis) 0 22 11 0 Dog personalities traits: Highly studied 2) Aggression Manifestations: 1) ‘threatening’ – stiff posture, lips curled and pulled back, growl, starring 2) ‘attacking-’- snapping, barring teeth, barking -aggression responses are not uniform and will vary between different targets Types of aggressive behaviour: 1) Family members 2) strangers 3) Unfamiliar dogs Some form of aggression appear to be stable traits (across breeds) -object: (food , toys) -territorial (person –mailman, or dg in yard or at house door) 0 23 Dog personalities traits: less studied? 3) Excitability (reactivity) - expressed- when owner returns home, playing with family or preparing for a trip 4) Sociability ( friendly) - - overly friendly to unknown people and unknown canids 5) Playfulness - Pet is willing to play games (fetch, tug-of -war) , run and chase with both known and unknown persons 6) Trainability (unproven and unlikely) -’success in training events’ - In studies there was no consistent display of effective trainability between breeds - Trainability- maybe a different manifestation of other traits ( playfulness) or expression of the combination of several other traits 0 24 12 0 Dog personalities • Newborns will show traits that can be expressed in adulthood • In early mature animals- the personality traits appear to become more established and can become • Environment can affect the development and of establishment of a personality trait • How? 0 25 Human-dog communication • Behavioural aspects and adaptations allowed dogs to become part (of human society and interact (attachment-often co-operatively) with people • This social interaction requires forms of (‘understandable’) communication between people and dogs • Animal behavioural communication: both genetics and leaning ability of the animal is required (ie wolf dominance vs submission) • How to communicate? 0 26 13 0 Communication (sophisticated) • Pointing (gestures) - dogs appear to understand directional point (ie pointing at a chew toy) • Looking (facial gestures). Looking at the object ( chew toy, food treat), the dog will move in that direction -how does facial gestures work? - Note: dogs are better at interpreting gestures from human companions- better than non-human primates • Words : do dogs truly understand words, or its it changes in frequency and amplitude in the word acoustic (word-commands) - Some evidence is dogs can understand some select word- related to objects and can learn - -Note: the ability to understand words can vary between individual dogs within the same breed and may differ between various breeds 0 27 14