The difference between two brachycephalic and one mesocephalic dog breeds' problem-solving performance suggests evidence for paedomorphism in behaviour.

ABSTRACT: Despite serious health and longevity problems, small brachycephalic breeds are becoming increasingly popular among pet owners. Motivations for choosing short-nosed breeds have been extensively investigated in recent years; however, this issue has been addressed mainly by relying on owner reports, resulting in explanations of "cute looks", referring to the baby-schema phenomenon and "behaviour well suited for companionship". We aimed to compare the behaviour of two brachycephalic (English and French bulldogs) and one mesocephalic (Mudi) breed in a problem-solving context. The dogs were given the task of opening boxes containing food rewards. We investigated human-directed behaviour elements over success and latency (indicators of motivation and ability). We found that both English and Frenc

SUBMITTER: Ujfalussy DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10514333 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature