Male and female dogs respond differently to men and women

Deborah L. Wells, Peter G. Hepper

Male and female dogs respond differently to men and women

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 61, Issue 4, 28 January 1999, Pages 341–349

Abstract

The effect of canine and/or human gender on the response of the domestic dog towards humans has been little studied. This study investigated the reactions of male and female dogs housed in an animal rescue shelter towards the presence of men and women to determine how a dog's response towards a person was influenced by canine and human gender. The response of 30 dogs housed in the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) to each of six people (three men and three women), who stood individually for a period of 2 min at the front of the dog's cage, was observed. The amount of time that the dog spent at the front of the cage, barking, looking towards the human, wagging its tail, and engaged in activities of sitting, standing, moving, resting, was recorded. Canine gender exerted an influence on the amount of time that dogs spent looking towards the humans. Female dogs showed a greater decrease in the amount of time they spent looking towards the humans over the course of the testing than male dogs. Human gender had an effect on both dog barking, and eye orientation. Dogs showed a stronger decrease in their barking and their tendency to look towards the human whenever the subject was a woman than a man, suggesting that dogs may be more defensively-aggressive towards men than women. There was no interaction between canine and human gender on the dog's response towards the persons. This study indicated that both canine and human gender influence certain elements of a dog's response towards the presence of a human. The findings may have practical implications for the re-housing of dogs from rescue shelters.