Levy, K. M. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2025

Maternal care and early rearing environment influence puppy behaviour and cognition

Relatively little is known about the influence of maternal care on dog behaviour, despite the prominence of dogs in our lives and the established importance of early experiences in other species. While recent observational research has begun to document associations between canine maternal behaviour and later offspring outcomes, there is still much to learn--particularly regarding what factors impact maternal behaviour and the enduring effects of maternal care on puppy behavioural development. Understanding how early experiences shape future behaviour is of practical importance for companion and working dogs. We characterized the early rearing environment of 235 individual puppies from 59 litters bred by a service dog provider and explored whether offspring cognitive and behavioural traits through 16 months of age were associated with early mothering behaviour. We also investigated whether maternal behaviour could be predicted by pre-pregnancy dam behaviour and how the rearing location (private home or professional breeding centre) influenced maternal behaviour and/or puppy behaviour. We identified dam behavioural characteristics measured pre-pregnancy that were related to subsequent maternal care. While time of year was associated with maternal behaviour scores, parity, litter size, breed composition, and rearing location were not. We found that rearing location was related to puppy performance on the Dog Cognitive Development Battery (DCDB) at 8 weeks of age. Finally, maternal behaviour was associated with certain puppy cognitive and behavioural measures, assessed via the DCDB at 8 weeks of age and via questionnaires at 6, 10, 12 and 16 months of age. Our results indicate that experiences within the first few weeks of life, particularly maternal care and rearing location, may influence several aspects of dog behaviour relevant to both working and companion animals. HighlightsO_LIWe tracked early maternal interactions across 59 litters C_LIO_LISome traits measured pre-pregnancy were associated with subsequent maternal care C_LIO_LIRearing location was associated with some puppy behaviour but not maternal care C_LIO_LIMaternal care was associated with some aspects of puppy behaviour at 8 weeks C_LIO_LIMaternal care was associated with reports of puppy behaviour through 16 months C_LI

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Early-Emerging and Highly-Heritable Sensitivity to Human Communication in Dogs

Dogs exhibit similarities to humans in their sensitivity to cooperative-communicative cues, but the extent to which they are biologically prepared for communication with humans is heavily debated. To investigate the developmental and genetic origins of these traits, we tested 375 eight-week-old dog puppies on a battery of social-cognitive measures. We hypothesized that if dogs social skills for cooperating with humans are biologically prepared, then these skills should emerge robustly in early development, not require extensive socialization or learning, and exhibit heritable variation. Puppies were highly skillful at using diverse human gestures and we found no evidence of learning across test trials, suggesting that they possess these skills prior to their first exposure to these cues. Critically, over 40% of the variation in dogs point-following abilities and attention to human faces was attributable to genetic factors. Our results suggest that these social skills in dogs emerge early in development and are under strong genetic control. Highlights - Genetic factors account for nearly half of variation in dog social skills - Puppies displayed social skills and interest in human faces from 8 weeks old - Puppies successfully used human gestures from the very first trial

animal behavior and cognition↗