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Wallner Werneck Mendes J, Vindevogel M, van Peer I, Martínez M, Cimarelli G, Range F. Dogs understand the role of a human partner in a cooperative task. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10179. [PMID: 38702498 PMCID: PMC11068782 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60772-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans are exceptionally flexible in cooperation, partly due to our ability to recognize the roles of cooperative partners. While some non-human animals understand the need for a partner in such interactions, it is unclear whether they grasp the consequences of their partner's actions and adjust accordingly. Previous studies utilizing economic games with non-human animals yielded mixed results. We investigated dogs, known for their close cooperation with humans, in a stag hunt game. Dogs could cooperate for better rewards or defect for lower ones, while their human partners would either cooperate, never cooperate, or act randomly. We control for attraction to food, side bias, and local enhancement. Dogs were more likely to coordinate with their partners when it led to better rewards, suggesting that they understood their partner's actions. By highlighting this cognitive skill in dogs, we advance our knowledge of the intricate mechanisms driving cooperative behavior in non-human animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ilka van Peer
- HAS University of Applied Sciences, Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
| | - Mayte Martínez
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Language Research Center, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Giulia Cimarelli
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Friederike Range
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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2
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Mellor N, McBride S, Stoker E, Dalesman S. Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:428. [PMID: 38338071 PMCID: PMC10854632 DOI: 10.3390/ani14030428] [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: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Training experience has been shown to enhance a dog's cognitive performance when comparing highly trained working or sporting dogs with untrained dogs. However, whether the type or level of training a pet dog receives can alter their performance in cognitive tasks requiring inhibitory control has not been assessed. Here, we tested whether pet dogs trained in scent work, agility, and obedience differ in cognitive performance. The impact of primary training discipline and combined training experience was assessed using two well-defined tasks that require inhibitory control: (1) the A-not-B task, in which dogs must inhibit a previously learned response in favour of an alternative response; and (2) the detour task, in which dogs must inhibit a direct approach to food to gain a reward. Dogs trained in scent work demonstrated higher levels of inhibitory control and persistence across the two tasks, but this did not affect individual task performance. Increased combined training experience improved learning in the A-not-B task training phase, but did not alter performance during the test phase, whereas it had no effect on success in the detour task. Overall, dogs that performed better in the A-not-B task were also more likely to succeed in the detour task, showing a relationship in the cognitive ability underpinning performance in the two tasks. The effect of the primary discipline on the behavioural phenotype shows that this should be accounted for in future studies, rather than applying the practice of partitioning dogs into highly trained vs. untrained groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nerys Mellor
- Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UK; (N.M.); (S.M.)
| | - Sebastian McBride
- Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UK; (N.M.); (S.M.)
| | - Emma Stoker
- Puppy Plus Training and Behaviour Services, Newtown SY16 3HQ, UK;
| | - Sarah Dalesman
- Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UK; (N.M.); (S.M.)
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Ren W, Huang K, Li Y, Yang Q, Wang L, Guo K, Wei P, Zhang YQ. Altered pupil responses to social and non-social stimuli in Shank3 mutant dogs. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:3751-3759. [PMID: 37848709 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02277-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Pupillary response, an important process in visual perception and social and emotional cognition, has been widely studied for understanding the neural mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, there have been few studies on pupil response to social and non-social stimuli in animal models of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Here, we developed a pupilometer using a robust eye feature-detection algorithm for real-time pupillometry in dogs. In a pilot study, we found that a brief light flash induced a less-pronounced and slower pupil dilation response in gene-edited dogs carrying mutations in Shank3; mutations of its ortholog in humans were repeatedly identified in ASD patients. We further found that obnoxious, loud firecracker sound of 120 dB induced a stronger and longer pupil dilation response in Shank3 mutant dogs, whereas a high reward food induced a weaker pupillary response in Shank3 mutants than in wild-type control dogs. In addition, we found that Shank3 mutants showed compromised pupillary synchrony during dog-human interaction. These findings of altered pupil response in Shank3 mutant dogs recapitulate the altered sensory responses in ASD patients. Thus, this study demonstrates the validity and value of the pupilometer for dogs, and provides an effective paradigm for studying the underlying neural mechanisms of ASD and potentially other psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Ren
- State Key Laboratory for Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kang Huang
- Shenzhen Bayone BioTech Co. Ltd, Shenzhen, 518100, China
| | - Yumo Li
- State Key Laboratory for Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Qin Yang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Liping Wang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Kun Guo
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - Pengfei Wei
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
| | - Yong Q Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430415, China.
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Pahl A, König von Borstel U, Brucks D. Llamas use social information from conspecifics and humans to solve a spatial detour task. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1623-1633. [PMID: 37410341 PMCID: PMC10442258 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01808-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Learning by observing others (i.e. social learning) is an important mechanism to reduce the costs of individual learning. Social learning can occur between conspecifics but also heterospecifics. Domestication processes might have changed the animals' sensitivity to human social cues and recent research indicates that domesticated species are particularly good in learning socially from humans. Llamas (Lama glama) are an interesting model species for that purpose. Llamas were bred as pack animals, which requires close contact and cooperative behaviour towards humans. We investigated whether llamas learn socially from trained conspecifics and humans in a spatial detour task. Subjects were required to detour metal hurdles arranged in a V-shape to reach a food reward. Llamas were more successful in solving the task after both a human and a conspecific demonstrated the task compared to a control condition with no demonstrator. Individual differences in behaviour (i.e. food motivation and distraction) further affected the success rate. Animals did not necessarily use the same route as the demonstrators, thus, indicating that they adopted a more general detour behaviour. These results suggest that llamas can extract information from conspecific and heterospecific demonstrations; hence, broadening our knowledge of domesticated species that are sensitive to human social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annkatrin Pahl
- Department of Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf, Germany.
| | - Uta König von Borstel
- Animal Husbandry, Behaviour and Welfare Unit, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Désirée Brucks
- Animal Husbandry, Behaviour and Welfare Unit, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
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Dobos P, Pongrácz P. Would You Detour with Me? Association between Functional Breed Selection and Social Learning in Dogs Sheds Light on Elements of Dog-Human Cooperation. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2001. [PMID: 37370511 DOI: 10.3390/ani13122001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Interspecific social learning is a main synchronizing mechanism that enables dogs to adapt to the anthropogenic niche. It is not known whether dogs in general possess the capacity of learning from humans or whether more recent selective events have affected their ability to learn from humans. We hypothesized that cooperative and independent working dog breeds may behave differently in a social learning task. Dogs (N = 78 from 16 cooperative and 18 independent breeds) had to detour a transparent, V-shaped wire mesh fence. The experiment consisted of three one-minute-long trials. The control condition did not include a demonstration. In the demonstration condition, the experimenter placed a reward in the inside corner by walking around the fence. Cooperative dogs reached the target significantly faster, while independent dogs did not detour faster in trials 2 and 3 after the human demonstration. Detour latencies were not associated with the keeping conditions and training level of the subjects. As we assembled both test groups from several genetically distantly related breeds, we can exclude the explanation that higher cooperativity emerged only in particular clades of dogs; instead, functional selection for particular working tasks could enhance capacities that affect a wide range of socio-cognitive traits in dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Dobos
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Pongrácz
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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Junttila S, Valros A, Mäki K, Väätäjä H, Reunanen E, Tiira K. Breed differences in social cognition, inhibitory control, and spatial problem-solving ability in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Sci Rep 2022; 12:22529. [PMID: 36581704 PMCID: PMC9800387 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26991-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The extraordinary genetic and behavioural diversity of dog breeds provides a unique opportunity for investigating the heritability of cognitive traits, such as problem-solving ability, social cognition, inhibitory control, and memory. Previous studies have mainly investigated cognitive differences between breed groups, and information on individual dog breeds is scarce. As a result, findings are often contradictory and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to provide more clarity on between-breed differences of cognitive traits in dogs. We examined the performance of 13 dog breeds (N = 1002 dogs) in a standardized test battery. Significant breed differences were found for understanding of human communicative gestures, following a human's misleading gesture, spatial problem-solving ability in a V-detour task, inhibitory control in a cylinder test, and persistence and human-directed behaviour during an unsolvable task. Breeds also differed significantly in their behaviour towards an unfamiliar person, activity level, and exploration of a novel environment. No significant differences were identified in tasks measuring memory or logical reasoning. Breed differences thus emerged mainly in tasks measuring social cognition, problem-solving, and inhibitory control. Our results suggest that these traits may have come under diversifying artificial selection in different breeds. These results provide a deeper understanding on breed-specific traits in dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saara Junttila
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Department of Production Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anna Valros
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Department of Production Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Heli Väätäjä
- grid.448926.50000 0004 4649 1976Digital Solutions, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Jokiväylä 11C, 96300 Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Elisa Reunanen
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Department of Finnish and Finno-Ugric Languages, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Katriina Tiira
- smartDOG Ltd, 05800 Hyvinkää, Finland ,grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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Shajid Pyari M, Vékony K, Uccheddu S, Pongrácz P. Companion Cats Show No Effect of Trial-and-Error Learning Compared to Dogs in a Transparent-Obstacle Detour Task. Animals (Basel) 2022; 13:ani13010032. [PMID: 36611642 PMCID: PMC9817999 DOI: 10.3390/ani13010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We tested companion cats and dogs in similar indoor conditions using identical procedures in the classic detour task around a V-shaped transparent wire-mesh fence. Besides the control group, we used two types of laser light-pointing demonstration (moving around the fence, or pointing straight at the reward). We found that dogs reached the food reward faster than cats; across consecutive trials, only the dogs showed improvement in their speed and dogs continued to use the same side for detouring after a preceding successful attempt, while cats chose the side for detouring irrespective of their previous successful trials. In addition, 'demonstrating' a detour with the laser did not influence the speed or direction of the detour of the subjects; and dogs looked back to their owner more frequently than the cats did. We discuss the possibility that for dogs, detouring along a transparent obstacle represents a more problematic task than for cats; therefore, dogs strongly rely on their previous experiences. This is the first time that cats were successfully tested in this detour paradigm in direct comparison with dogs. The results are relevant from the aspect of testing cognitive performance in companion cats, which are known to be notoriously reluctant to engage with novel experimental situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhzina Shajid Pyari
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem—Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Kata Vékony
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem—Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Stefania Uccheddu
- Comparative Ethology Research Group, MTA-ELTE Magyar Tudományos Akadémia-Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Pongrácz
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem—Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Correspondence:
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Vékony K, Prónik F, Pongrácz P. Personalized dominance – a questionnaire-based analysis of the associations among personality traits and social rank of companion dogs. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Addendum: Pongrácz et al. Grumpy Dogs Are Smart Learners—The Association between Dog–Owner Relationship and Dogs’ Performance in a Social Learning Task. Animals 2021, 11, 961. Animals (Basel) 2021. [PMCID: PMC8532882 DOI: 10.3390/ani11102815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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