Table 1.
List of scientific publications analyzing sex differences in dogs.
| Authors | Year | Methods | Primary Outcomes | Advantaged Sex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressiveness | Borchelt | 1983 [59] | Interview with family members | Eight major types of aggression were identified in different pure and mixed breeds: fear-elicited aggression, dominance, possessiveness, protectiveness, predation, punishment, pain and intraspecific aggression. Intraspecific and dominance aggressions as the major drivers were influenced by sex. Fear-elicited and possessive aggressions were less influenced by sex. | Males |
| Hart and Hart | 1985 [60] | A systematic survey of canine authorities | Males of different pure breeds showed more aggression toward other dogs. | Males | |
| Wright and Nesselrote | 1987 [66] | Interview with family members | Males of different pure and mixed breeds showed more behavioral problems such as aggression toward dogs and humans. | Males | |
| Cameron | 1997 [61] | Interview with the owners | Males of different pure and mixed breeds showed more dominance-associated aggression. | Males | |
| Guy et al. | 2001 [76] | Interview with the owners | Females of different pure and mixed breeds showed more aggressive behavior toward humans. | Females | |
| Rooney and Bradshaw | 2004 [69] | Interview with the owners and the trainers | English Springer spaniel, Labrador Retrievers, cross-breeds and Border collie males showed more aggression toward other dogs. | Males | |
| Pérez-Guisado et al. | 2006 [62] | Experimental observation using Campbell’s test | English cocker spaniel males showed more dominance-associated aggression. | Males | |
| Pérez-Guisado et al. | 2008a [63] | Experimental observation using Campbell’s test | Males of different pure and mixed breeds showed more dominance-associated aggression. | Males | |
| Pérez-Guisado et al. | 2008b [64] | Interview with the owners | Males of different pure and mixed breeds showed more dominance-associated aggression. | Males | |
| Pérez-Guisado and Serrano | 2009 [65] | Interview with the owners | Males of different pure and mixed breeds showed more dominance-associated aggression. | Males | |
| Foyer et al. | 2013 [67] | Experimental observation | German shepherd males showed more aggressive behavior. | Males | |
| Lofgren et al. | 2014 [68] | Interview with the owners | Labrador Retriever males showed higher owner aggression; stranger and dog-directed aggressions were not influenced by sex. | Males | |
| Asp et al. | 2015 [70] | Interview with the owners | Males of different pure breeds showed higher stranger and dog-directed aggression. | Males | |
| Boldness and Courage | Reuterwall and Ryman | 1973 [122] | Interview with the trainers | German shepherd males were less impressionable by gunfire. The courage and the response to a sudden disturbance, in general, were not influenced by sex. | Males |
| Goddard and Beilharz | 1982 [123] | Interview with the trainers | Labrador and Golden Retriever males showed fewer fearfulness problems. | Males | |
| Goddard and Beilharz | 1983 [124] | Interview with the trainers | Labrador and Golden Retriever males showed fewer fearfulness problems. | Males | |
| Goddard and Beilharz | 1984 [126] | Experimental observation | Labrador Retriever, German shepherd, Boxer, Kelpie, and F1 crosses males showed less olfactory exploration associated with neophobia. | Males | |
| Wilsson and Sundgren | 1997 [127] | Experimental observation | Labrador Retriever and German shepherd males scored higher in courage. | Males | |
| Svartberg | 2002 [94] | Experimental observation | Belgian Tervuren and German shepherd males scored higher in boldness. | Males | |
| Strandberg et al. | 2005 [128] | Experimental observation | Belgian Tervuren and German shepherd males scored higher in boldness. | Males | |
| Kubinyi et al. | 2009 [130] | Interview with the owners | Males of different pure and mixed breeds scored higher in boldness. | Males | |
| Asp et al. | 2015 [70] | Interview with the owners | Male of different pure breeds showed less dog and stranger- directed fear. | Males | |
| Sociability | Lore and Eisenberg | 1986 [146] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds were more likely to approach and make physical contact with a human stranger. Males of different pure and mixed breeds were less likely to approach and make physical contact with a human male stranger. | Females |
| Wilsson and Sundgren | 1997 [127] | Experimental observation | Affability was not influenced by sex. | None | |
| Strandberg et al. | 2005 [128] | Experimental observation | German shepherd males were more likely to social play. | Males | |
| Kubinyi et al. | 2009 [130] | Interview with the owners | Females of different pure and mixed breeds scored higher in sociability. | Females | |
| Foyer et al. | 2013 [67] | Experimental observation | German shepherd females scored higher in sociability. | Females | |
| Asp et al. | 2015 [70] | Interview with the owners | Males of different pure breeds showed more human-directed play. | Males | |
| Persson et al. | 2015 [149] | Experimental observation | Beagle females scored higher in sociability, making more physical contact with a human. | Females | |
| D’Aniello et al. | Pers. Comm. [150] | Experimental observation | Labrador and Golden Retriever females made more physical contact with a stranger human. | Females | |
| Spatial Cognition | Fugazza et al. | 2017 [165] | Experimental observation | Males of different pure and mixed breeds showed more flexibility in changing the navigation strategy from allocentric to egocentric. | Males |
| Mongillo et al. | 2017 [167] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds learned faster and made fewer errors in learning a task in the T-maze. | Females | |
| Scandurra et al. | 2018b [168] | Experimental observation | No effect of sex was identified on strategy preference in the plus-maze; however, an effect of gonadectomy was identified in females with a preference for the egocentric strategy in gonadectomized females. The probability of success in changing the navigation strategy increased in females and decreased in males, with increasing age. | None | |
| Lateralization | Wells | 2003 [189] | Experimental observation | Females of mixed breeds preferred to use the right paw, whereas males of mixed breeds were more inclined to use their left paw. | Females right pawed Males left pawed |
| Quaranta et al. | 2004 [190] | Experimental observation | Female of different pure and mixed breeds preferred to use the right paw, while males of different pure and mixed breeds were more inclined to adopt their left paw. | Females right pawed Males left pawed |
|
| Branson and Rogers | 2006 [193] | Experimental observation | Use of the preferred paw was not influenced by sex. | None | |
| Schneider et al. | 2013 [194] | Experimental observation | Use of the preferred paw was not influenced by sex. | None | |
| Poyser et al. | 2006 [195] | Experimental observation | Males of different pure and mixed breeds used the left paw more frequently; they tended to use the left paw in the first trials. | Males left pawed | |
| Wells et al. | 2016 [191] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds preferred to use the left paw, whereas males of different pure and mixed breeds were more inclined to use their right paw. | Females left pawed Males right pawed |
|
| Visual Focusing | Rooijakkers et al. | 2009 [209] | Experimental observation | Females tended to look at the changing target longer. | None |
| Müller et al. | 2011 [208] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds responded to a size constancy violation, looking at the changing target longer. | Females | |
| Nagasawa et al. | 2015 [205] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds showed increased gazing behavior toward the owner with intranasal oxytocin. | Females | |
| Kis et al. | 2015 [207] | Experimental observation | Dogs of both sexes were not affected by the intranasal oxytocin. | None | |
| D’Aniello et al. | 2016 [26] | Experimental observation | Labrador and Golden Retriever females relied more on visual signals, such as human gestural commands. | Females | |
| Duranton et al. | 2016 [203] | Experimental observation | Females of shepherds and molossoids dogs displayed more referential gazing behavior toward the owners. | Females | |
| Kovács et al. | 2016 [206] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds increased the gazing behavior toward the owners with the intranasal oxytocin. | Females | |
| Mongillo et al. | 2016 [204] | Experimental observation | Females of different pure and mixed breeds displayed more gazing behavior toward the owners. | Females | |
| Olfactory Skills | Siniscalchi et al. | 2011 [216] | Experimental observation | Males of mixed breeds tended to sniff vaginal secretion odor more frequently; females of mixed breeds investigated the food odor for a longer time. | Depending on motivation |
| Hamilton and Vonk | 2015 [215] | Experimental observation | Labrador, Golden Retriever and F1 crosses males were able to recognize kin. | Males |