Riemer Stefanie, Müller Corsin, Virányi Zsófia, Huber Ludwig, Range Friederike
Clever Dog Lab, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna. Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria ; Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Clever Dog Lab, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna. Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2013 Dec;149(1-4):36-44. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2013.09.006.
Measures that are likely to increase sociability in dog puppies, such as appropriate socialisation, are considered important in preventing future fear or aggression related problems. However, the interplay between sociability and conflict behaviour has rarely been investigated. Moreover, while many studies have addressed aggression in domestic dogs, alternative, non-aggressive conflict resolution strategies have received less scientific attention. Here we tested 134 Border collie puppies, aged 40-50 days, in a personality test which included friendly interactions with an unfamiliar person, exposure to a novel object, and three brief restraint tests. Considering the latter to be mild 'conflict' situations, we analysed whether the puppies' behaviour in the restraint tests was related to their sociability or to their boldness towards the novel object. Strategies employed by the puppies during restraint tests included trying to interact socially with the experimenter, remaining passive, and attempting to move away. In line with findings from humans and goats, puppies scoring high on sociability were more likely to adopt an interactive conflict resolution strategy, while those with low sociability scores tended to react passively. In contrast, avoidance behaviours were unrelated to sociability, possibly reflecting inconsistency in the flight strategy in dogs. Boldness towards a novel object was not related to sociability or to puppies' reactions in restraint tests. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate a link between sociability and conflict resolution strategies in non-human animals.
一些可能增加幼犬社交性的措施，比如适当的社交活动，被认为对于预防未来与恐惧或攻击相关的问题很重要。然而，社交性与冲突行为之间的相互作用很少被研究。此外，虽然许多研究探讨了家犬的攻击性，但替代性的、非攻击性的冲突解决策略受到的科学关注较少。在此，我们对134只40至50日龄的边境牧羊犬幼犬进行了一项性格测试，其中包括与一个陌生人进行友好互动、接触一个新物体以及三次短暂的约束测试。考虑到后者是轻度的“冲突”情境，我们分析了幼犬在约束测试中的行为是否与其社交性或对新物体的大胆程度有关。幼犬在约束测试中采用的策略包括试图与实验者进行社交互动、保持被动以及试图离开。与人类和山羊的研究结果一致，社交性得分高的幼犬更有可能采用互动式冲突解决策略，而社交性得分低的幼犬则倾向于被动反应。相比之下，回避行为与社交性无关，这可能反映了狗在逃跑策略上的不一致。对新物体的大胆程度与社交性或幼犬在约束测试中的反应无关。这是首批证明非人类动物的社交性与冲突解决策略之间存在联系的研究之一。
