Personality traits in free-ranging dogs: Do experimental tests mirror natural behavior?

While animal personality research is expanding, methods used to assess personality traits of free-ranging animals are often unreliable or report mixed results in the validation process. One potential reason is inadequate implementation of methods used for captive animals to wild populations. In this study we assessed cross-context validity of human- and conspecific-directed sociability, exploration, and aggression in a free-ranging dog population, with measures obtained from experimental testing and naturalistic observations. We found strong agreement between the two methods for human-directed sociability and exploration, supporting their validity. Although conspecific-sociability showed limited associations, initial reactions to other dogs during the test was linked to conspecific proximity during observations. Aggression occurred rarely, hence was not evaluated. Our results show that robust personality assessments are possible in free-ranging dogs, even in challenging field environments, paving the way for future studies, to advance our understanding of the species' behavioral ecology.