Unveiling the “secret” of play in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris): asymmetry and signals

• Published in: Journal of Comparative Psychology
• Main Authors: Giada Cordoni, Velia Nicotra, Elisabetta Palagi
• Other Authors: Cordoni, Giada, Nicotra, Velia, Palagi, Elisabetta
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Canis lupus familiaris; familiarity; polyadic play; face-to-face communication; signal detectability; Palermo; Canis lupus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11568/941478; https://doi.org/10.1037/com0000035

Due to their playful propensity, dogs are a good model to test some hypotheses about play dynamics (length, asymmetry, features of players) and communication (play bow [PBOW]; relaxed open-mouth [ROM] display). We video-recorded 203 play sessions between dogs in an off-leash dog park in Palermo, Ita...