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Zeng Y, Baciadonna L, Davies JR, Pilenga C, Favaro L, Garcia-Pelegrin E. Bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus) display gaze alternation and referential communication in an impossible task. Heliyon 2024; 10:e33192. [PMID: 39005890 PMCID: PMC11239698 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Gaze cues play a vital role in conveying critical information about objects and locations necessary for survival, such as food sources, predators, and the attentional states of conspecific and heterospecific individuals. During referential intentional communication, the continuous alternation of gaze between a communicative partner and a specific object or point of interest attracts the partner's attention towards the target. This behaviour is considered by many as essential for understanding intentions and is thought to involve mental planning. Here, we investigated the behavioural responses of seven bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that were given an impossible task in the presence of two experimenters (a 'commanding experimenter' and a 'non-commanding experimenter'), whose attentional state towards the dolphins varied. We found that the dolphins spontaneously displayed gaze alternation, specifically triadic referential pointing, only when the human commanding experimenter was facing them. However, they ceased to alternate their gaze between the impossible object and the commanding experimenter when the experimenter had their back turned. Notably, the dolphins' behaviour differed from general pointing and gaze, as their triadic sequence occurred within a narrow time window. These findings suggest that the dolphins were sensitive to human attentional cues and utilized their own gaze cue (pointing) as a salient signal to attract the attention of the commanding experimenter towards a specific location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zeng
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Luigi Baciadonna
- Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine, Sorbonne University, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - James R Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Livio Favaro
- Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine, Sorbonne University, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
- CIRCE, Centro Interuniversitario per la Ricerca sui Cetacei, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
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McCartney JM, Leavens DA. The Role of Life History and Familiarity in Performance of Working and Non-Working Dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris) in a Point-Following Task. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:573. [PMID: 38396541 PMCID: PMC10885941 DOI: 10.3390/ani14040573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Domestic dogs are very successful at following human communicative gestures in paradigms such as the object-choice task. Pet dogs also prefer responding to cues given by a familiar cue-giver and this had not been found in working dogs. Therefore, we tested three groups of dogs in the object-choice task (n = 54): the groups were "Actively working" dogs from working dog breeds, pet dogs from "Non-working breeds" and pet dogs from "Working breeds". We found that "Actively working" and "Working breeds" dog groups outperformed "Non-working breeds" in following a point in the object-choice task. We also found that both "Actively working" and "Working breeds" preferred a familiar cue-giver over an unfamiliar one, in contrast to previous findings. Therefore, we conclude that dogs' abilities to perform well in the object-choice task is influenced by the selective history of the breed, and this is then increased by life experience and training.
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Gould K, Iversen P, Sikkink S, Rem R, Templeton J. Persistence and gazing at humans during an unsolvable task in dogs: The influence of ownership duration, living situation, and prior experience with humans. Behav Processes 2022; 201:104710. [PMID: 35870551 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The experiences that domestic dogs have with humans take many forms. We hypothesized that more experience with humans would lead to greater dependence on humans in problem-solving situations. We used the unsolvable task to compare persistence and gazing in dogs with differing degrees of experience with humans: 1) dogs living in a home for a year or more; 2) dogs living in a home for less than a year (including foster dogs); and 3) shelter dogs. Dogs first learned a solvable task; we then measured persistence as well as gazing at humans when the task was unsolvable. Dogs living in a home for a year or more gazed sooner and longer than shelter dogs. Formally trained dogs from breeders also gazed sooner than formally trained dogs from shelters. There were no differences in overall persistence among the three types of dog. However, shelter dogs spent more time biting the box and gazing at it than dogs in the home. Former shelter dogs, former strays, and dogs that had no formal training also spent more time biting the box. We conclude that ownership duration, background, and prior experiences with humans influence human-directed communication and persistence behaviors in dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristy Gould
- Department of Psychology, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 52101, USA.
| | - Philip Iversen
- Department of Mathematics, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 52101, USA.
| | - Senia Sikkink
- Department of Psychology, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 52101, USA.
| | - Rachel Rem
- Department of Psychology, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 52101, USA.
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The relaxed open mouth is a true signal in dogs: demonstrating Tinbergen's ritualization process. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Field MA, Yadav S, Dudchenko O, Esvaran M, Rosen BD, Skvortsova K, Edwards RJ, Keilwagen J, Cochran BJ, Manandhar B, Bustamante S, Rasmussen JA, Melvin RG, Chernoff B, Omer A, Colaric Z, Chan EKF, Minoche AE, Smith TPL, Gilbert MTP, Bogdanovic O, Zammit RA, Thomas T, Aiden EL, Ballard JWO. The Australian dingo is an early offshoot of modern breed dogs. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm5944. [PMID: 35452284 PMCID: PMC9032958 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm5944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Dogs are uniquely associated with human dispersal and bring transformational insight into the domestication process. Dingoes represent an intriguing case within canine evolution being geographically isolated for thousands of years. Here, we present a high-quality de novo assembly of a pure dingo (CanFam_DDS). We identified large chromosomal differences relative to the current dog reference (CanFam3.1) and confirmed no expanded pancreatic amylase gene as found in breed dogs. Phylogenetic analyses using variant pairwise matrices show that the dingo is distinct from five breed dogs with 100% bootstrap support when using Greenland wolf as the outgroup. Functionally, we observe differences in methylation patterns between the dingo and German shepherd dog genomes and differences in serum biochemistry and microbiome makeup. Our results suggest that distinct demographic and environmental conditions have shaped the dingo genome. In contrast, artificial human selection has likely shaped the genomes of domestic breed dogs after divergence from the dingo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt A. Field
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4878, Australia
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Sonu Yadav
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, High St, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Olga Dudchenko
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Meera Esvaran
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Benjamin D. Rosen
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Ksenia Skvortsova
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Richard J. Edwards
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, High St, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Jens Keilwagen
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, 06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Blake J. Cochran
- School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Bikash Manandhar
- School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Sonia Bustamante
- Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Facility, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Jacob Agerbo Rasmussen
- Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The GLOBE Institute University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Richard G. Melvin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, 1035 University Drive, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
| | - Barry Chernoff
- College of the Environment, Departments of Biology, and Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA
| | - Arina Omer
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Zane Colaric
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Eva K. F. Chan
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
- Statewide Genomics, New South Wales Health Pathology, 45 Watt St, Newcastle, NSW 2300, Australia
| | - Andre E. Minoche
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Timothy P. L. Smith
- U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Rd 313, Clay Center, NE 68933, USA
| | - M. Thomas P. Gilbert
- Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
- University Museum, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ozren Bogdanovic
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, High St, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Robert A. Zammit
- Vineyard Veterinary Hospital, 703 Windsor Rd, Vineyard, NSW 2765, Australia
| | - Torsten Thomas
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Erez L. Aiden
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
- UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University, Pudong 201210, China
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - J. William O. Ballard
- Department of Environment and Genetics, SABE, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
- School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
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Hirschi A, Mazzini A, Riemer S. Disentangling help-seeking and giving up: differential human-directed gazing by dogs in a modified unsolvable task paradigm. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:821-836. [PMID: 35020108 PMCID: PMC8753593 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01595-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Dogs are renowned for 'looking back' at humans when confronted with a problem, but it has been questioned whether this implies help-seeking or giving up. We tested 56 pet dogs from two breed groups (herding dogs and terriers) in a modified unsolvable task paradigm. One reward type (food or toy) was enclosed in a box, while the respective other reward was accessible. With both reward types, human-directed gazing in relation to the box was significantly positively correlated with interaction with the box, as long as an alternative was available. This suggests that both behaviours served to attain the unavailable reward and reflected individual motivation for the inaccessible vs the accessible reward. Furthermore, we varied whether the owner or the experimenter was responsible for handling the rewards. In the owner-responsible group, dogs rarely gazed at the experimenter. In the experimenter-responsible group, dogs preferentially directed box-related gazing (prior to or after looking at or interacting with the box) at the owner. Still, they gazed at the experimenter significantly longer than the owner-responsible group. Conversely, toy-related gazing was directed significantly more at the experimenter. Thus, dogs adjust their gazing behaviour according to the people's responsibility and their current goal (help-seeking vs play). Gaze duration did not differ between herding dogs and terriers. We conclude that dogs use gazing at humans' faces as a social problem-solving strategy, but not all gazing can be classified as such. Dogs' human-directed gazing is influenced by the social relationships with the persons, situational associations, and context (unsolvable problem vs play).
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Affiliation(s)
- Annina Hirschi
- Companion Animal Behaviour Group, Division of Animal Welfare, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Alja Mazzini
- Companion Animal Behaviour Group, Division of Animal Welfare, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Riemer
- Companion Animal Behaviour Group, Division of Animal Welfare, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
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Breed group differences in the unsolvable problem task: herding dogs prefer their owner, while solitary hunting dogs seek stranger proximity. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:597-603. [PMID: 34792653 PMCID: PMC9107394 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01582-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The communicating skills of dogs are well documented and especially their contact-seeking behaviours towards humans. The aim of this study was to use the unsolvable problem paradigm to investigate differences between breed groups in their contact-seeking behaviours towards their owner and a stranger. Twenty-four dogs of ancient breeds, 58 herding dogs, and 17 solitary hunting dogs were included in the study, and their behaviour when presented with an unsolvable problem task (UPT) was recorded for 3 min. All breed groups interacted with the test apparatus the same amount of time, but the herding dogs showed a longer gaze duration towards their owner compared to the other groups and they also preferred to interact with their owner instead of a stranger. Interestingly, the solitary hunting dogs were more in stranger proximity than the other groups, and they also showed a preference to make contact with a stranger instead of their owner. Hence, we found differences in contact-seeking behaviours, reflecting the dog–human relationship, between breed groups that might not only be related to their genetic similarity to wolves, but also due to the specific breeding history of the dogs.
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8
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Wallner Werneck Mendes J, Resende B, Savalli C. Effect of different experiences with humans in dogs' visual communication. Behav Processes 2021; 192:104487. [PMID: 34437981 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Dogs are particularly skillful in communicating with humans, and growing evidence points towards the importance of both species intertwined evolutionary history and intense daily partnership. Gaze alternation is a communicative behavior used by dogs from a very young age and is affected by factors such as aging and experience. We analyzed how different degrees of daily human interaction affect dogs' gazing behavior in the unsolvable task, where a desired food becomes inaccessible. Three groups with different degrees of daily exposure to humans were compared: pet dogs that live inside the house, pet dogs that live outside the house, and shelter dogs. We found no difference in latency to the first gaze, but pet dogs did show a higher proportion of individuals engaging in gaze alternation, a higher number of gaze alternations, and a longer duration of gaze than shelter dogs. Additionally, dogs living inside the house gazed more at the experimenter than dogs living outside. Overall, our results indicate a strong influence of experience over the development and use of these communicative behaviors in dogs, with groups that are closer to people in their daily lives being more willing to communicate with humans as a strategy to obtain a desired goal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Briseida Resende
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carine Savalli
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Public Policies and Collective Health, Federal University of São Paulo, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
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Sommese A, Valsecchi P, Pelosi A, Prato-Previde E. Comparing behavioural characteristics of Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs, German shepherds and Labrador retrievers in Italy and the Czech Republic. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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10
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A review of the unsolvable task in dog communication and cognition: comparing different methodologies. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:907-922. [PMID: 33754284 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01501-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Communication between dogs and humans is a topic of growing interest, and the "unsolvable task" is a common method used to measure human-directed communication. In this task, dogs learn how to solve a problem to obtain a reward. After a fixed number of trials, the reward becomes impossible to access, arguably leading to communicative attempts from the dog. Although useful to observe dogs' communicative behaviors in a fairly naturalistic situation, the methodology varies among studies regarding apparatus, number of trials, and other factors. The proxies used, for instance, gaze duration or frequency of gaze alternation, also vary, and there are discrepancies and a debate regarding what the task actually measures. Therefore, in this study, we reviewed the usage of the unsolvable task in canids of the genus Canis, searching Web of Science and Scopus for the terms "dog*", "Canis", "dingo*", "wolf" or "wolves" in the title and "unsolvable task" or "impossible task" in the topic. We included thirty-five studies in this review and discussed their different methodologies and proxies, such as different apparatuses, number of solvable trials, and different interpretations of "looking back", pointing out how they can affect results and hinder comparisons. Lastly, we used current data to propose strategies to homogenize the use of this important paradigm, with an ethogram of possible behaviors and their interpretation and a predefined set of methodological aspects for future research.
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Bray EE, Gruen ME, Gnanadesikan GE, Horschler DJ, Levy KM, Kennedy BS, Hare BA, MacLean EL. Cognitive characteristics of 8- to 10-week-old assistance dog puppies. Anim Behav 2020; 166:193-206. [PMID: 32719570 PMCID: PMC7384752 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
To characterize the early ontogeny of dog cognition, we tested 168 domestic dog, Canis familiaris, puppies (97 females, 71 males; mean age = 9.2 weeks) in a novel test battery based on previous tasks developed and employed with adolescent and adult dogs. Our sample consisted of Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and Labrador × golden retriever crosses from 65 different litters at Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that breeds, trains and places assistance dogs for people with disabilities. Puppies participated in a 3-day cognitive battery that consisted of 14 tasks measuring different cognitive abilities and temperament traits such as executive function (e.g. inhibitory control, reversal learning, working memory), use of social cues, sensory discriminations and reactivity to and recovery from novel situations. At 8-10 weeks of age, and despite minimal experience with humans, puppies reliably used a variety of cooperative-communicative gestures from humans. Puppies accurately remembered the location of hidden food for delays of up to 20 s, and succeeded in a variety of visual, olfactory and auditory discrimination problems. They also showed some skill at executive function tasks requiring inhibitory control and reversal learning, although they scored lower on these tasks than is typical in adulthood. Taken together, our results confirm the early emergence of sensitivity to human communication in dogs and contextualize these skills within a broad array of other cognitive abilities measured at the same stage of ontogeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily E Bray
- Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
- Canine Companions for Independence, National Headquarters, Santa Rosa, CA, U.S.A
| | - Margaret E Gruen
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, U.S.A
| | - Gitanjali E Gnanadesikan
- Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
- Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
| | - Daniel J Horschler
- Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
- Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
| | - Kerinne M Levy
- Canine Companions for Independence, National Headquarters, Santa Rosa, CA, U.S.A
| | - Brenda S Kennedy
- Canine Companions for Independence, National Headquarters, Santa Rosa, CA, U.S.A
| | - Brian A Hare
- Duke Canine Cognition Center, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, U.S.A
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, U.S.A
| | - Evan L MacLean
- Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
- Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A
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Pérez Fraga P, Gerencsér L, Lovas M, Újváry D, Andics A. Who turns to the human? Companion pigs' and dogs' behaviour in the unsolvable task paradigm. Anim Cogn 2020; 24:33-40. [PMID: 32681198 PMCID: PMC7829225 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01410-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
When facing an unsolvable problem, dogs exhibit spontaneous human-oriented behaviours (e.g. looking at the human partner, gaze alternations between the human and the target) sooner and for longer than domestic cats and hand-raised wolves. These behaviours have been interpreted as interspecific communicative acts aimed to initiate interaction. Here, we compare the emergence of human-oriented behaviours (e.g. orientation towards humans, orientation alternations, vocalizations) in similarly raised family dogs and miniature pigs utilising an unsolvable task paradigm which consists of Baseline (no task), Solvable and Unsolvable phases. Relative to the Baseline phase in which both species showed human-oriented behaviours to a similar extent, during the Unsolvable phase dogs showed more and pigs showed less such behaviours. Species-predispositions in communicative behaviour may explain why dogs have a higher inclination than pigs to initiate interspecific interactions with humans in problem-solving contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Pérez Fraga
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Pázmány P. s. 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary.
| | - Linda Gerencsér
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Pázmány P. s. 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE 'Lendület' Neuroethology of Communication Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Melinda Lovas
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Pázmány P. s. 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - Dóra Újváry
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Pázmány P. s. 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - Attila Andics
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Pázmány P. s. 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE 'Lendület' Neuroethology of Communication Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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