Behavioral Reactivity of Jindo Dogs Socialized at an Early Age Compared with Non-Socialized Dogs

This study was aimed to determine whether socialized Jindo puppies would show different behavioral reactivity from non-socialized puppies. Puppies (n=12), 7 weeks of age, were divided into socialized and non-socialized group. The socialized group, from the 7th until 13th week after birth, was provided a socialization program but the non-socialized group was reared in semi-isolated environment without being exposed to the program. At 13th week after birth, both groups were adopted by new families and raised as a family pet until adulthood. Both groups were tested in 5 behavioral tests at 7, 9, 11, 13, and 60 weeks of age and their behavioral response to the tests were recorded using video cameras. The contact, fearful, and playful behaviors toward each behavioral test were scored from 1 to 5 points. Using all of the score data, a principal component analysis (PCA) extracted three primary factors: social reactivity toward human and dog, playful reactivity toward novel stimuli and dog, and fearful reactivity toward social stimuli. The social and non-socialized groups were compared for the extracted three factors in each test session (weeks). Based on the results, in the test session of 9th week after birth, the socialized Jindo puppies, in contrast to the non-socialized puppies, exhibited higher intensity of playful reactivity toward novel stimuli and dog. However, there were no effects of the socialization program on Jindo puppies in social reactivity toward human and dog as well as fearful reactivity toward social stimuli.