Call of the wild? Hungarian research study checks out why your dog is vulnerable to growling

BUDAPEST, Feb 13 (Reuters) – When Hungarian animal behaviourist Fanni Lehoczki observed the regular growls of her Siberian husky “Bizsu” didn’t constantly provoke other dogs into a wolf-like action, it triggered the concern – why are specific dogs more vulnerable to growling?

Researchers at Budapest’s Eotvos Lorand University where Lehoczki works analyzed whether specific dog types are more vulnerable to growling and if this had anything to do with their hereditary nearness to wolves.

Lehoczki and her group analyzed how a dog’s breed, age and sex affected its response to howling, by evaluating 68 pure-blooded family dogs by playing three-minute recordings of wolf growls and observing their responses.

The dogs in the experiment came from 28 various types varying from ancient types such Shiba inu, Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute, and Pekingese, to bull terriers and fighters.

“The primary finding was that … those types which are genetically closer to wolves are more vulnerable to react with howling, and they likewise reveal more tension signals than dogs which are less associated to wolves,” Lehoczki said, noting this held true just for dogs older than 5 years.

Among younger dogs there was no distinction in between the types, so scientists will analyze this element even more.

Older dogs of more ancient types reacted with longer growls and revealed more stress-related behaviours too, while more contemporary types appeared to respond with barking.

The research study likewise concluded that types which tend to shout more likewise reveal more stress-related behaviour such as yawning, shaking their body, licking their mouth or scratching the body.

The research study is the very first particularly examining growling in domestic dogs. “Domestication and selective breeding by people essentially altered dogs’ singing collection and both the understanding and production of growling in dogs,” it concluded.

Reporting by Krisztina Fenyo; Edited by David Holmes

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