Data from: Age-graded dominance hierarchies and social tolerance in packs of free-ranging dogs

It is believed that domestic dogs rarely form packs with age-graded
hierarchical structures similar to those found in wolves. Dog-wolf
comparisons in captivity suggest that human control has reduced dog
dependency on cooperation with conspecifics, resulting in a more despotic
dominance order. However, free-ranging dogs are under stronger natural
selection than purebred dogs. They are dependent on companions’ social
support but usually exhibit lower reproductive skew than wolves, possibly
because access to easily available human-derived food may have relaxed
within-group competition. We investigated social dominance in 5 packs of
mongrel dogs living in a free-ranging or semifree-ranging state. We aimed
at replicating the findings of the few studies that detected a dominance
hierarchy in dogs using a larger sample of packs. Additionally, we
provided behavioral measures of social tolerance. We found that a linear
hierarchy existed in all packs studied and that the rank order was
positively related to age in all packs but one. In 2 packs in which
testing was possible, age was a better predictor of dominance than body
size. Potentially injurious aggression was very rare. Hierarchy steepness
in dogs was similar to that found in wolves and in tolerant primates.
Submissive reversals were more common in dogs than in wolves. These
results suggest that age-graded hierarchies in dogs are more common than
previously thought, that rank is not usually acquired through fighting
because subordinates rely on the guidance of elders, and contradict the
view that domestication has increased despotism in dogs.