If I fits I sits: A citizen science investigation into illusory contour susceptibility in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus)

Synchronous citizen science with dogs

Citizen science approaches have grown in popularity over the years, partly due to their ability to reach a wider audience and produce more generalizable samples. In dogs, these studies, though, have been limited in their controls over materials or experimental protocols, with guardians typically reporting results without researcher supervision. Over two studies, we explored and validated a synchronous citizen science approach. We had dog guardians act as experimenters while being supervised by a researcher over Zoom. In study 1, we demonstrated that synchronous citizen science produced equivalent levels of performance to in-lab designs in a choice task. Consistent with past in-lab research, dogs selected a treat (vs. an empty plate) in a two-alternative forced-choice task. In study 2, we showed that Zoom methods are also appropriate for studies utilizing looking time measures. We explored dogs' looking behaviors when a bag of treats was placed in an unreachable location, and dogs' guardians were either attentive or inattentive while dogs attempted to retrieve the treats. Consistent with past work, dogs in the attentive condition looked at their guardian for longer periods and had a shorter latency to first look than dogs in the inattentive condition. Overall, we have demonstrated that synchronous citizen science studies with dogs are feasible and produce valid results consistent with those found in a typical lab setting.

Dogs outperform cats both in their testability and relying on human pointing gestures: a comparative study

The dog is a so far unique species to study interspecific communication and a promising evolutionary model for preverbal human communication. Recently cats were reported to show some similar skills to dogs. Here we directly compared both the testability and the success of companion dogs and cats in relying on human distal pointing gestures. Due to differences in their domestication, social and ecological background, and developmental processes, we expected better performance from dogs compared to cats. Using an object-choice task, cats made considerably fewer choices than dogs in the laboratory environment, and their tendency to make a choice declined during trials. They were slightly more testable at home, where their willingness to choose did not decrease over time. Dogs made more successful choices than cats, both at the group and individual level, irrespective of the type of the pointing gesture. Older cats were more successful. Despite the two species' rather similar role nowadays as human companions, our results support previous findings suggesting that, compared to the dog, the cat is a less ideal model to study some human communicative abilities in a laboratory environment.

Seeing Things: A Community Science Investigation into Motion Illusion Susceptibility in Domestic Cats (Felis silvestris catus) and Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)

Illusions-visual fields that distort perception-can inform the understanding of visual perception and its evolution. An example of one such illusion, the Rotating Snakes illusion, causes the perception of motion in a series of static concentric circles. The current study investigated pet dogs' and cats' perception of the Rotating Snakes illusion in a community science paradigm. The results reveal that neither species spent significantly more time at the illusion than at either of the controls, failing to indicate susceptibility to the illusion. Specific behavioral data at each stimulus reveal that the most common behaviors of both species were Inactive and Stationary, while Locomotion and Pawing were the least common, supporting the finding that susceptibility may not be present. This study is the first to examine susceptibility to the Rotating Snakes illusion in dogs, as well as to directly compare the phenomenon between dogs and cats. We suggest future studies might consider exploring alternative methods in testing susceptibility to motion illusions in non-human animals.

Intranasal Oxytocin Improves Social Behavior in Laboratory Beagle Dogs (Canis familiaris) Using a Custom-Made Social Test Battery

For a long time, oxytocin has been thought to have a generally positive effect on social cognition and prosocial behavior; however, recent results suggested that oxytocin has beneficial effects only under certain conditions. The aim of the present study was to explore potential associations between social competence and the effect of intranasal oxytocin on the social behavior of laboratory beagle dogs. We expected oxytocin treatment to have a more pronounced positive effect on dogs with lower baseline performance in a social test battery. Thirty-six adult dogs of both sexes received 32 IU intranasal oxytocin and physiological saline (placebo) treatment in a double-blind, cross-over design, with 17–20 days between the two sessions. Forty minutes after the treatment, dogs participated in a social test battery consisting of eight situations. The situations were carried out within one session and took 20–30 min to complete. Principal component analysis on the coded behaviors identified four components (Willingness to interact, Preference for social contact, Non-aversive response to nonsocial threat, and Non-aversive response to social threat). The subjects' behavior during the placebo condition was used to assess their baseline performance. We found that oxytocin treatment had a differential effect on the behavior depending on the baseline performance of the individuals in all components, but only two treatment × baseline performance interactions remained significant in a less sensitive analysis. In accordance with our hypothesis, oxytocin administration increased dogs' contact seeking and affiliative behaviors toward humans but only for those with low baseline performance. Dogs with low baseline performance also showed significantly more positive (friendly) reactions to social threat after oxytocin administration than after placebo, while for dogs with high baseline performance, oxytocin administration led to a more negative (fearful) reaction. These results indicate that similar to those on humans, the effects of oxytocin on dogs' social behavior are not universally positive but are constrained by individual characteristics and the context. Nevertheless, oxytocin administration has the potential to improve the social behavior of laboratory beagle dogs that are socially less proficient when interacting with humans, which could have both applied and animal welfare implications.