  Free-ranging dogs (FRDs) in human-dominated areas encounter obstacles such as
noise, pollution, limited food sources, and anthropogenic disturbance while
resting. Since FRDs have survived as a population in India, as in many other
parts of the Global South for centuries, they provide a unique opportunity to
study adaptation of animals to the human-dominated urban landscape. We
documented factors impacting resting behaviour and site preferences in three
states of India, for 284 dogs, leading to 6047 observations over 3 years. 7
physical parameters of the resting sites, along with the biological factors
like mating and pup-rearing and time of day affected their choice of resting
sites. The frequency-rank distribution of the unique combinations in which the
parameters were selected followed a Power law distribution, which suggests
underlying biological reasons for the observed preferences. Further, 3 of these
parameters showed maximum consistency of choice in terms of the sub-parameters
selected, explaining 30% of the observations. FRDs prefer to rest close to
their resource sites within the territory, at a place that enabled maximum
visibility of the surroundings. They chose such sites in the core of the
territory for sleeping. At other times, they chose such sites away from the
core, and were less restive, thus allowing for immediate response in case of
intrusion or threat. They generally avoided anthropogenic disturbance for
sleeping, and preferred areas with shade.Incorporating these aspects into urban
management plans can promote human-dog cooperation and reduce situations of
conflict. We envisage more inclusive urban areas in the future, that can allow
for co-existence of the humans and their oldest companions in the commensal
relationship that has been maintained for hundreds of generations of dogs in
this part of the world.
