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Cat or dog? It’s a question that has been debated for years.
Here’s another fact about dogs that might change your mind about which animal to get.
You trust your dog, but does it trust you?!
Because we love facts – especially facts about animals, we have prepared this article for you today.
Study from Japan
A recent study shows that dogs can analyze how reliable a given person is, and we would like to share this information with you!
Dogs, like real detectives, can help us decide whether to trust another person.
The study was conducted by Akiko Takaoka from Kyoto University in Japan. The researcher and his colleagues wanted to know whether a dog trusts someone who lied to it. The scientists divided the experiment into 3 parts. They wanted to know whether the dog can understand if a person is untrustworthy.
The group of scientists claims that the research has potential implications for behavioral studies of dogs. The study tells us that dogs prefer a predictable world, according to John Bradshaw from the University of Bristol.
In the experiment, the dog owners first pointed to the container with food. The dog ran to it. Then they pointed to a container without food. The dogs were fooled and ran to the container again.
It has long been known that dogs run to objects their owner pointed at. Dogs therefore believe they are able to understand human gestures. And if the gestures are inconsistent, the dog can become nervous and stressed.
The third time the dogs did not follow the raised hand. They did not trust the liars. The experiment involved 34 dogs and all showed the same results according to the Animal Cognition Journal. The dogs used their previous experiences to judge whether a person was reliable.
Continuation of the experiment
Mr. Takaoka plans to continue the experiment with wolves, because they are the closest relatives of dogs. The current experiment also shows that dogs are curious about new things.
The research also states that dogs monitor how other people interact with their owner. In the experiment, dog owners asked people for help. Then the people tried to give the dogs a treat. And the pets surprised us!
The dogs did not take the treat from people who treated their owners badly or rudely.
They preferred a treat from those who helped the owners. Even those who did nothing in response to the begging were welcomed. But rude and aggressive people did not win the dogs’ trust.
Another study
Another study, published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, states that dogs clearly read the communication between owners and strangers.
In the experiment, dog owners asked two groups of strangers for a small favor. The dogs showed a good understanding of social rules. They avoided people who treated the owners badly.
It has previously been proven that dogs can read our gestures and facial expressions.
Now we know more about them and they are much smarter than we ever believed! They can decipher our gestures and can also decide whether they want to follow social cues. However, studies show that dogs mostly live in the present, without much regard for the past or the future.
If you deceive your dog, it will not trust you or obey you. If your dog does not like your friends, maybe there is something wrong with your friends…
