Maternal care and early rearing environment influence puppy behaviour and cognition

Abstract Relatively little is known about the influence of maternal care on dog behaviour, despite the prominence of dogs in our lives and the established importance of early experiences in other species. While recent observational research has begun to document associations between canine maternal behaviour and later offspring outcomes, there is still much to learn—particularly regarding what factors impact maternal behaviour and the enduring effects of maternal care on puppy behavioural development. Understanding how early experiences shape future behaviour is of practical importance for companion and working dogs. We characterized the early rearing environment of 235 individual puppies from 59 litters bred by a service dog provider and explored whether offspring cognitive and behavioural traits through 16 months of age were associated with early mothering behaviour. We also investigated whether maternal behaviour could be predicted by pre-pregnancy dam behaviour and how the rearing location (private home or professional breeding centre) influenced maternal behaviour and/or puppy behaviour. We identified dam behavioural characteristics measured pre-pregnancy that were related to subsequent maternal care. While time of year was associated with maternal behaviour scores, parity, litter size, breed composition, and rearing location were not. We found that rearing location was related to puppy performance on the Dog Cognitive Development Battery (DCDB) at 8 weeks of age. Finally, maternal behaviour was associated with certain puppy cognitive and behavioural measures, assessed via the DCDB at 8 weeks of age and via questionnaires at 6, 10, 12 and 16 months of age. Our results indicate that experiences within the first few weeks of life, particularly maternal care and rearing location, may influence several aspects of dog behaviour relevant to both working and companion animals. Highlights We tracked early maternal interactions across 59 litters Some traits measured pre-pregnancy were associated with subsequent maternal care Rearing location was associated with some puppy behaviour but not maternal care Maternal care was associated with some aspects of puppy behaviour at 8 weeks Maternal care was associated with reports of puppy behaviour through 16 months Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes Version 2 reflects the peer-reviewed and accepted manuscript in Animal Behaviour. The manuscript and supplemental files now include additional robustness analyses requested during peer review.