Individual variation in agonistic behaviour in dogs

The behaviour towards other dogs and people was recorded for 102 dogs of four breeds and six crosses. The variation between dogs could be described by the first two principal components, which we have labelled ‘confidence’ and ‘aggression-dominance’. Descriptions based on these two dimensions closely correspond to the descriptions of four social displays in wolves. The two principal components help in the interpretation of these displays. The agonistic behaviour of dogs changes with maturity and also with the nature of the dog with which they are confronted.