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| Canine Eavesdropping |
What science has to say about dogs
Showing posts with label cognitive ability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cognitive ability. Show all posts
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Social eavesdropping in the domestic dog
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Growing old gracefully—Behavioral changes associated with “successful aging” in the dog, Canis familiaris
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| Aging in Dogs |
Abstract
Aging
is associated with behavioral and cognitive changes in all mammals.
Unlike most clinical presentations, changes associated with aging do not
always reflect an underlying pathology and therefore baselines for
normality can be difficult to establish. Using data from a large
cross-sectional survey of older dog owners, we aimed to identify
normative behavioral changes associated with “successful aging” in dogs,
and the rate of deterioration that could be expected over a 6-month
period. Binary logistic regression identified significant age group
effects from 18 items (difference in reported item incidence across age
group: 4.5%-30.3%, P < 0.001-0.038). Significant age group
effects on the percentage of dogs deteriorating over the preceding 6
months were evident in 21 items (difference in item deterioration across
age group: 3.5%-25.7%, P < 0.001-0.033). The modal
frequency of problem behaviors and abnormal ingestive or locomotory
items was found to be low and the effect on memory and learning was
minimal. Despite this, more than half of the items were reported to have
shown a greater than 10% incidence of deterioration. In particular,
activity and play levels, response to commands, and fears and phobias
showed considerable deterioration. These findings represent the first
steps toward the development of baseline values for normal behavioral
changes in “successfully aging” dogs.
Does training make you smarter? The effects of training on dogs’ performance (Canis familiaris) in a problem solving task
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| Benefits of Dog Training |
Abstract
This
study investigates the influence of training experiences on dogs’
performance in a problem solving task, namely opening a box to obtain
food. One hundred and eighteen dogs allocated to two different groups
according to their training experience (no/basic training vs high level
training) were tested. In each group the dogs saw the researcher
manipulating either the paw-pad or the lid, prior to being allowed free
access to the apparatus. No effect of the locus of manipulation was
observed. However, there was a strong effect of training on the dogs’
performance regardless of manipulation condition. Compared to untrained
dogs, highly trained dogs were more successful in opening the box and
spent significantly more time interacting with the apparatus; whereas
untrained dogs spent significantly more time looking back at their
owners and the researcher.
These results indicate that high
levels of training improve dogs’ problem solving ability, with dogs
appearing to be more proactive in the their interaction with novel
objects.
Strategy planning in dogs (Canis familiaris) in a progressive elimination task
Abstract
Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)
were administered a progressive elimination task in which they had to
visit and deplete three baited sites. Dogs were brought back to the
starting point after each visit to any site whether they had made a
correct or an incorrect choice. In Experiment 1 (n = 10) the
results revealed that the dogs randomly selected among the sites when
they were equidistant from the starting point whereas they relied on the
least distance rule when one of sites was closer to the starting point
than were the other sites. In Experiment 2 (n = 12), the dogs
first chose the left target when angular deviation between adjacent
targets varied whether the least angular deviation was on the right of
the left. Results are interpreted in terms of Gibson's hypothesis about
cooperative hunters. The discussion also emphasizes comparisons with
cats (i.e., solitary hunters).
Puppy power! Using social cognition research tasks to improve socialization practices for domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)
Abstract
Understanding
the psychology of the domestic dog is a key element in both research
and clinical applications for veterinary behaviorists. This article
summarizes social cognitive skills observed in dogs in recent cognition
studies. The tasks are grouped into the following 2 categories: those
which facilitate eye contact between dogs and human beings, and social
learning tasks. We also describe easy-to-implement experimental
paradigms, previously used in cognitive tests for adult dogs, which we
recommend adapting for use with puppies as young as 3 weeks of age. We
highlight specific ways by which breeders may alter setup of these tasks
to further generalize the social cognitive benefits for the puppies.
Furthermore, studies of social development in puppies would enable
researchers to explore whether encouragement of the skills examined have
a positive effect on behavior as adults, and should thus be
specifically incorporated into socialization practices by all breeders
and new owners. Thus, the practical applications of this knowledge could
include informing best practices for early age socialization by
breeders, while puppies are still in the litter, and by new owners when
they initially acquire a puppy. This could potentially increase the
number of dogs that are well adjusted for human society and thus reduce
the number surrendered to shelters. Finally, we discuss the ethical
implications of working with puppies in particular and with companion
animals generally; the positioning of veterinary clinicians and
researchers between the scientific and lay worlds can improve
understanding within the community of the benefits that minimally
invasive companion animal research can provide.
What do dogs know about hidden objects?
Abstract
Previous
research has found that dogs will search accurately for an invisibly
displaced object when the task is simplified and contextual ambiguity is
eliminated [Doré, F.Y., Fiset, S., Goulet, S., Dumas, M.-C., Gagnon,
S., 1996. Search behavior in cats and dogs: interspecific differences in
working memory and spatial cognition. Animal Learning & Behavior
24, 142–149; Miller, H., Gipson, C., Vaughan, A., Rayburn-Reeves, R.,
Zentall, T.R., 2009. Object permanence in dogs: invisible displacement
in a rotation task. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 16 (1), 150–155].
For example, when an object is placed inside an occluder, one of which
was attached to each end of a beam that could be rotated 90°, dogs
search inside of the appropriate occluder. The current research
confirmed this finding and tested the possibility that the dogs were
using a perceptual/conditioning mechanism (i.e., their gaze was drawn to
the occluder as the object was placed inside and they continued looking
at it as it rotated). The test was done by introducing a delay between
the displacement of the object and the initiation of the dogs’ search.
In Experiment 1, during the delay, a barrier was placed between the dog
and the apparatus. In Experiment 2, the lights were turned off during
the delay. The search accuracy for some dogs was strongly affected by
the delay, however, search accuracy for other dogs was not affected.
These results suggest that although a perceptual/conditioning mechanism
may be involved for some dogs, it cannot account for the performance of
others. It is likely that these other dogs showed true object
permanence.
Reevaluating canine perspective-taking behavior.
Udell MA, Wynne CD
Reevaluating canine perspective-taking behavior.
Learn Behav. 2011 Dec ;39(4):318-23. doi: 10.3758/s13420-011-0043-5.
Abstract
Udell, Dorey, and Wynne (2011) demonstrated that both domesticated and nondomesticated canids-specifically, gray wolves-have the capacity to succeed on perspective-taking tasks, suggesting that dogs' ability to respond to the human attentional state is not a by-product of domestication alone. Furthermore, not all dogs were successful on the task. Instead, the occluder type used was a strong predictor of performance, indicating the important role of environment and experience for tasks of this type. Here, we address several commentaries reflecting on the methods and design of that study, as well as the interpretation of the results. We also discuss the positive shift toward more interactive approaches in the field of canine behavior and cognition. Finally, we question the functionality of describing canine social behavior in terms of theory of mind.Physical size matters in the domestic dog's (Canis lupus familiaris) ability to use human pointing cues
Abstract
Researchers have reported differences between breeds of dogs in their ability to utilize human gestures (Wobber et al., 2009).
These reports could either be the result of underlying differences in
inherent communication abilities or differences in physical capacities
amongst breeds. One physical difference between breeds which may make a
difference in using visual cues is relative size. Larger dogs should,
all other things being equal, have greater inter-ocular distances and
this may improve their visual abilities for some tasks. This hypothesis
was tested in the present study by comparing the performance of larger
(>22.7 kg) and smaller (<22.7 kg) dogs on a pointing choice task.
Larger dogs did perform better on this task than smaller dogs (P = .03).
Researchers need to be careful when making comparisons between breeds
to first consider physical differences before assuming any inherent
cognitive differences.
Effect of reinforcement, reinforcer omission and extinction on a communicative response in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)
Abstract
There
is a controversy about the mechanisms involved in the interspecific
communicative behaviour in domestic dogs. The main question is whether
this behaviour is a result of instrumental learning or higher cognitive
skills are required. The present investigations were undertaken to study
the effect of learning processes upon the gaze towards the human's face
as a communicative response. To such purpose, in Study 1, gaze response
was subjected to three types of reinforcement schedules: differential
reinforcement, reinforcer omission, and extinction in a situation of
“asking for food”. Results showed a significant increase in gaze
duration in the differential reinforcement phase and a significant
decrease in both the omission and extinction phases. These changes were
quite rapid, since they occurred only after three training trials in
each phase. Furthermore, extinction resulted in animal behaviour
changes, such as an increase in the distance from the experimenter, the
back position and lying behaviour. This is the first systematic
evaluation of the behavioural changes caused by reward withdrawal
(frustration) in dogs. In Study 2, the gaze response was studied in a
situation where dogs walked along with their owners/trainers. These
results show that learning plays an important role in this communicative
response. The possible implications of these results for service dogs
are discussed.
A new behavioral test for detecting decline of age-related cognitive ability in dogs
Abstract
A
simple test for detecting decline of cognitive ability in aged dogs is
needed in modern society. We used a basic place-selection test to
develop a new test to assess cognitive ability in dogs, using 25 house
dogs. Three covered bowls were placed in front of the subject. One of
them was the correct bowl, from which the subject was rewarded with a
food treat when he/she chose it. If the subject made an incorrect
selection, he/she was returned to the starting point and the trial was
repeated. Cognitive ability was assessed by the number of errors needed
to fulfill the criterion. We found a significantly high correlation
between the dogs’ ages and the number of error trials, suggesting that
age-related cognitive dysfunction may reliably be assessed by the
documented place-learning test.
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