Group Sleeping - Dog Pile
Mouse Ethogram > Active Behaviors > General Activity > Affiliative Interactions > Group Sleeping > Dog Pile
Overview and Meaning
Group sleeping is an affiliative interaction that is often performed for the purposes of warmth and security.
Description
A dog pile is when a mouse's whole body or portions of it are lying on top of another mouse.
Classification
Affiliative Interactions, variant of Group Sleeping
Contexts
Affiliative behaviors are social interactions that function to reinforce social bonds with a group or which are of mutual benefit to all animals involved in the interaction.
Variants
A sleeping group can be a combination of dog piling and huddling.
Stanford Department of Comparative Medicine presents
A Comprehensive Ethogram of the Laboratory Mouse
