Endogenous Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and Aggression in Domestic Dogs.

ABSTRACT: Aggressive behavior in dogs poses public health and animal welfare concerns, however the biological mechanisms regulating dog aggression are not well understood. We investigated the relationships between endogenous plasma oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP)-neuropeptides that have been linked to affiliative and aggressive behavior in other mammalian species-and aggression in domestic dogs. We first validated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the measurement of free (unbound) and total (free + bound) OT and AVP in dog plasma. In Experiment 1 we evaluated behavioral and neuroendocrine differences between a population of pet dogs with a history of chronic aggression toward conspecifics and a matched control group. Dogs with a history of aggression exhibited more aggressive behav

SUBMITTER: MacLean EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5624304 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature