Lateralized behavior of jackal-dog hybrid

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of interhemispheric asymmetry, which underlies lateralization, using jackal-dog hybrid as an example. The aim of the work is to reveal the existence of a connection between the leading paw used and individual characteristics of dogs, such as sex, age, and percentage of jackal blood. The identification of such patterns can help to adjust or select a more effective method of training a working dog, which is the relevance of this work. Using the first-pitch method, it was found that of the 76 jackal-dog hybrid, 46 favored the right paw, 23 favored the left paw, and 7 used both paws equally. Among right-handed ones there are 31 females and 15 males, among left-handed ones there are 3 females and 20 males, and among ambidextrous ones, those who have not decided with the leading limb, there are 2 females and 5 males. In general, there is a correlation between the sex of the dog and severity of motor lateralization: females prefer the right limb more often than males, and males, in their turn, prefer the left limb more often than females. Among older dogs there are only jackal-dog hybrid with pronounced lateralization, i.e. only left- or right-handed dogs. As for the percentage of jackal blood and emotional functionality no regularities were found.