Do you like this story?
Doggy see, Doggy do
By Gina Spadafori
April 29, 2007
On the ScienceNOW Web site, an interesting piece about the ability of dogs to perform behavioriors they’ve watched others do:
To learn more about the evolution of this selective mimicking, ethologist Friederike Range of the University of Vienna, Austria, and colleagues tested whether dogs can also make these decisions. The researchers divided 54 dogs of various breeds into three groups. One group watched a border collie trained to get food by pressing down a bar using just its paws, and not via the easier technique of grabbing it with its mouth. Another watched the same behavior, but this time the border collie had a ball in its mouth. A third group did not witness any demonstrations.
In the first instance, 83% of the dogs imitated the dog using its paws to get the treat. In the second, just 21% used their paws, and in the third, only 15% used their paws. As with the infants turning on the light box, the dogs only imitated another dog when they assumed its behavior was the most efficient way to get a treat, the team reports online today in Current Biology.
The fact that dogs have this behavior suggests one doesn’t need the full repertoire of human cognitive skills to selectively imitate the actions of another, says Range. What’s unclear, she notes, is whether dogs have evolved this ability independently, or because of their close connections with humans.
Go to the latest blog post | Go to the PetConnection home page
Share & Enjoy
|
Facebook
|
Twitter
|
Google Buzz
|
Digg
|
|
Technorati
|
StumbleUpon
|
Delicious
|
Email
|
Home
As a clicker trainer, I’ve seen dogs do some truly amazing problem-solving. I’ve NEVER doubted their cognitive abilities!
Comment by Pat — April 29, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
My dogs have learned how to manipulate me from the experts - my cats. So I KNOW they learn from watching - and not just other dogs, either. :)
Comment by Laura — April 29, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
How interesting—I was just talking to my daughter on the phone last night about this very topic! While we were talking my dog sat upright in her “human” pose and reached out and laid her paw on my shoulder, very human-like.
Since my daughter is minoring in anthro, we talked about dogs mimicking humans, and she informed me this happens all the time in the animal world.
Comment by KathyF — April 29, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Several years, ago our oldest dog, Simon had a series of shots into the cartilage of his front shoulder. He has osteochondritis desicans. Well, he decided then that he didn’t like going to the vet’s office.
In Feb., I took my 2 dogs to the vet & they both were in the exam room at the same time. The vet tech was being a bit rough on Simon ( 110#) as he was crouching in the corner under a chair trying to escape the fearful shot. (yes, quite sad!)
Simon ended up biting the vet tech! Well, Maggie witnessed it!
The next weekend we took the dogs on a long road trip to visit Bryant’s Mom. Maggie was practicing what she learned from Simon — nipping at, but not biting Bryant’s brother when he would try to pet her.
There probably was just too much stimuli for Maggie. Bryant’s brother had 2 cats & 4 dogs.
She’s not doing it any more. I corrected her each time she did it. nope! I’m not putting up with that & now Simon has a soft muzzle for the trips to the vet.
Comment by Kat — April 29, 2007 @ 10:41 pm
Years ago, when I was earning obedience titles on my Saint Bernards, I was training my older dog to do the retrieves and hurdles. I had a young puppy who was just doing puppy training at the time, but who watched with great interest while I was training the older dog. When she got old enough to start retrieving and jumping, I never had to train her at all. She knew it all just from watching. Of course dogs teach other dogs and learn from each other. They are pack animals, after all. I’ve never understood why some people doubt it.
Comment by Marilyn — April 30, 2007 @ 5:05 am