Hereditary differences in the development of dominance in litters of puppies.

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Abstract
Thirty-three litters (151 animals) of pure-bred Basenji (African barkless), beagle, American cocker spaniel, and wire-haired fox terrier puppies were tested for dominance [behavior] hierarchies at 5, 11, 15 and 52 weeks of age. The paired litter-mates competed for a meat bone on a ten-minute dominance test and were rated by a standard procedure as being completely dominant, incompletely dominant, or as showing no dominance over its littermate. It is concluded that: 1, establishment of hierarchies of domination and subordination is a normal process of social organization in litters; 2, differential development of hierarchies appeared among the 4 breeds; 3, differences were attributed to inheritance; 4, males tended to completely dominate females; and 5, the results are consistent with the general reputation of the breeds.
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