Post-Conflict Affiliative Behaviors Towards Humans in Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris).

MARINA VICTORIA DZIK; CAMILA MARÍA CAVALLI; MARIANA BENTOSELA; FABRICIO CARBALLO

International Journal of Comparative Psychology

eScholarship University of California

Año: 2016 vol. 29 p. 1 - 13

0889-3667

Social species need conflict-resolution mechanisms to maintain group cohesion and diminish aggression. Reconciliation (affiliativecontact between opponents) and consolation (affiliative contact between the victim and an uninvolved third party) have beenpostulated for this function in various species. The purpose of this work is to study post-conflict affiliative behaviors toward humansin domestic dogs. This study has looked into post-conflict affiliative behaviors in domestic dogs toward their owners. To this end, aconflict situation was created where the animal was scolded by one of the owners for ?stealing? human food. Behaviors wererecorded along a period of 3 min and 30 s before and after the scolding. Results show that dogs exhibit affiliative behaviors(significant increase in closeness, gazing, and tail wagging) as well as appeasement behaviors (averting eyes, low tail carriage,lowered ears, lip licking, and crouching) toward the owner that scolded them (reconciliation). In other words, this is the first workthat presents reconciliation in dogs in a conflict situation with humans. It discusses the importance of this phenomenon in the doghumanbond.