29 research outputs found
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Editorial : New Directions in Canine Behavior
It has been just over five years since the first ‘Canine Special Issue’ was published in Behavioral Processes. As predicted in that issue, we have seen exponential growth in the number of researchers studying canine behavior, and consequently in the number of new publications arising from laboratories around the world. Pet domestic dogs have been the focus of much of this new research, however the number of studies investigating the behavior of wild canines, feral dogs, working dogs and shelter dogs has also grown significantly. Given the unique place pet and working dogs hold in many societies (Udell and Wynne, 2008), the billions of dollars such societies invest in dogs each year (APPA, 2014) and the important benefits and risks associated with human–dog interactions world-wide (e.g. McCardle et al., 2010, Overall and Love, 2001), this trend is likely to continue. Dogs have also become an important model for understanding social development, cognitive evolution and human ageing and disease, including cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (Head, 2013, Topál et al., 2009). However despite our 14,000+ year relationship with dogs (Nobis, 1979), cohabitation, and many years of fruitful scientific study, it is clearer than ever that we are just beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to understanding the rich behavior and cognition of the dogs we live with. We have even more ground to cover with non-pet populations including working dogs, strays, and free-roaming dogs – populations that represent the majority of the domestic dog species. Due to shrinking habitats, increased urbanization and human–predator conflicts the study of non-domesticated canids, including wolves, foxes and coyotes, has also become more critical than ever
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Animal pointing: changing trends and findings from 30 years of research
The past 30 years have witnessed a continued and growing interest in the production and comprehension of manual pointing gestures in nonhuman animals. Captive primates with diverse rearing histories have shown evidence of both pointing production and comprehension, though there certainly are individual and species differences, as well as substantive critiques of how to interpret pointing or “pointing-like” gestures in animals. Early literature primarily addressed basic questions about whether captive apes point, understand pointing, and use the gesture in a way that communicates intent (declarative) rather than motivational states (imperative). Interest in these questions continues, but more recently there has been a dramatic increase in the number of papers examining pointing in a diverse array of species, with an especially large literature on canids. This proliferation of research on pointing and the diversification of species studied has brought new and exciting questions about the evolution of social cognition, and the effects of rearing history and domestication on pointing production and, more prolifically, comprehension. A review of this work is in order. In this paper we examine trends in the literature on pointing in nonhumans. Specifically, we examine publication frequencies of different study species from 1987 to 2016. We also review data on the form and function of pointing, and evidence either supporting or refuting the conclusion that various nonhuman species comprehend the meaning of pointing gestures
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What’s inside your cat’s head? A review of cat (Felis silvestris catus) cognition research past, present and future
The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) has shared an intertwined existence with humans for thousands of years, living on our city streets and in our homes. Yet, little scientific research has focused on the cognition of the domestic cat, especially in comparison to human’s other companion, the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris). This review surveys the current status of several areas of cat cognition research including perception, object permanence, memory, physical causality, quantity and time discrimination, cats’ sensitivity to human cues, vocal recognition and communication, attachment bonds, personality, and cognitive health. Although interest in cat cognition is growing, we still have a long way to go until we have an inclusive body of research on the subject. Therefore, this review also identifies areas where future research must be conducted. In addition to the scientific value of future work in this area, future research on cat cognition could have an important influence on the management and welfare of pet and free-roaming cats, leading to improved human-cat interactions.Keywords: Human-Cat Communication, Domestication, Human-Cat Bond, Cat, Cognition, Social Cognitio
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Dog–human behavioral synchronization : family dogs synchronize their behavior with child family members
Research on dog social cognition has received widespread attention. However, the vast majority of this research has focused on dogs’ relationships and responsiveness towards adult humans. While little research has considered dog–child interactions from a cognitive perspective, how dogs perceive and socially engage with children is critical to fully understand their interspecific social cognition. In several recent studies, dogs have been shown to exhibit behavioral synchrony, often associated with increased affiliation and social responsiveness, with their adult owners. In the current study, we asked if family dogs would also exhibit behavioral synchrony with child family members. Our findings demonstrated that dogs engaged in all three measured components of behavioral synchrony with their child partner—activity synchrony (p < 0.0001), proximity (p < 0.0001), and orientation (p = 0.0026)—at levels greater than would be expected by chance. The finding that family dogs synchronize their behavior with that of child family members may shed light on how dogs perceive familiar children. Aspects of pet dog responsiveness to human actions previously reported in studies with adult humans appear to generalize to cohabitant children in at least some cases. However, some differences between our study outcomes and those reported in the dog–adult human literature were also observed. Given the prevalence of families with both children and dogs, and the growing popularity of child-focused animal-assisted interventions, knowledge about how dogs respond to the behavior of human children may also help inform and improve safe and successful dog–child interactions.Keywords: Behavioral synchronization,
Human Animal interaction,
Family,
Synchrony,
Children,
Do
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Interspecific communication from people to horses (Equus ferus caballus) is influenced by different horsemanship training styles
The ability of many domesticated animals to follow human pointing gestures to locate hidden food has led to scientific debate on the relative importance of domestication and individual experience on the origins and development of this capacity. To further explore this question we examined the influence of different prior training histories/methods on the ability of horses (Equus ferus caballus) to follow a momentary distal point. Ten horses previously trained using one of two methods (Parelli Natural Horsemanship or traditional horse training) were tested using a standard object choice task. The results show that neither group of horses was able to follow the momentary distal point initially. However, after more experience with the point, horses previously trained using Parelli’s Natural Horsemanship method learned to follow momentary distal points significantly faster than those previously trained with traditional methods. The poor initial performance of horses on distal pointing tasks, coupled with the finding that prior training history and experimental experience can lead to success on this task, fails to support the predictions of the Domestication Hypothesis, and instead lends support to the Two-Stage Hypothesis.This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association and can be found at: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/com/ This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.Keywords: Momentary distal point, Object-choice task, Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Social cognition, Traditional horse training, Learning, Equus ferus caballu
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Animal Pointing: Changing Trends and Findings From 30 Years of Research
The past 30 years have witnessed a continued and growing interest in the production and comprehension of manual pointing gestures in nonhuman animals. Captive primates with diverse rearing histories have shown evidence of both pointing production and comprehension, though there certainly are individual and species differences, as well as substantive critiques of how to interpret pointing or "pointing-like" gestures in animals. Early literature primarily addressed basic questions about whether captive apes point, understand pointing, and use the gesture in a way that communicates intent (declarative) rather than motivational states (imperative). Interest in these questions continues, but more recently there has been a dramatic increase in the number of articles examining pointing in a diverse array of species, with an especially large literature on canids. This proliferation of research on pointing and the diversification of species studied has brought new and exciting questions about the evolution of social cognition, and the effects of rearing history and domestication on pointing production and, more prolifically, comprehension. A review of this work is in order. In this article, we examine trends in the literature on pointing in nonhumans. Specifically, we examine publication frequencies of different study species from 1987 to 2016. We also review data on the form and function of pointing, and evidence either supporting or refuting the conclusion that various nonhuman species comprehend the meaning of pointing gestures
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Exploring breed differences in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris): Does exaggeration or inhibition of predatory response predict performance on human-guided tasks?
Domestic dogs’, Canis familiaris, responsiveness to human action has been a topic of scientific interest for almost two decades. However, are all breeds of domestic dog equally prepared to succeed on humanguided object-choice tasks? In the current study we compared three breeds of dog with distinct predatory motor pattern sequences still under direct selection pressure today based on their traditional working roles. Airedale terriers (hunting dogs) are bred for a fully intact predatory sequence, matching the wild-type form. Border collies (herding dogs) are bred for an exaggeration of the eye-stalk-chase component of the predatory sequence. Anatolian shepherds (livestock-guarding dogs) are bred for the inhibition of the full predatory sequence. Here we asked whether and how these opposing selection pressures correspond with each breed’s tendency to track and follow a human point to a target in an object-choice task. Our results suggest that the presence or exaggeration of key components of the predatory sequence may in fact predict superior initial performance on pointing tasks when compared to a breed selected for its inhibited predatory response. This is the first time relative success on a pointing task has been tied to a known heritable behavioural mechanism (breed-specific motor patterns). However, we also demonstrate that breed-specific differences can sometimes be overcome with additional experience. Thus, an individual’s performance on human-guided tasks is still best predicted by a combination of genetic and lifetime factors. Broader implications for the understanding and investigation of canine social cognition are discussed.Keywords: Canis familiaris, Predatory motor patterns, Genes, Social, Cognition, BreedKeywords: Canis familiaris, Predatory motor patterns, Genes, Social, Cognition, Bree
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Assessment of attachment behaviour to human caregivers in wolf pups (Canis lupus lupus)
Previous research suggested that 16-week old dog pups, but not wolf pups, show attachment behaviour to a human caregiver. Attachment to a caregiver in dog pups has been demonstrated by differential responding to a caregiver compared to a stranger in the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test. We show here that 3–7 week old wolf pups also show attachment-like behaviour to a human caregiver as measured by preferential proximity seeking, preferential contact, and preferential greeting to a human caregiver over a human stranger in a modified and counterbalanced version of the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test. In addition, our results show that preferential responding to a caregiver over a stranger is only apparent following brief isolation. In initial episodes, wolf pups show no differentiation between the caregiver and the stranger; however, following a 2-min separation, the pups show proximity seeking, more contact, and more greeting to the caregiver than the stranger. These results suggest intensive human socialization of a wolf can lead to attachment-like responding to a human caregiver during the first two months of a wolf pup's life.Keywords: Strange Situation Test, Canis lupus, Domestication, Wolves, AttachmentKeywords: Strange Situation Test, Canis lupus, Domestication, Wolves, Attachmen