Records |
Author |
Virányi, Z.; Topál, J.; Gácsi, M.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V. |
Title |
Dogs respond appropriately to cues of humans' attentional focus |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
66 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
161-172 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; Bonding, Human-Pet; Communication; *Cues; Dogs; Humans; Recognition (Psychology) |
Abstract |
Dogs' ability to recognise cues of human visual attention was studied in different experiments. Study 1 was designed to test the dogs' responsiveness to their owner's tape-recorded verbal commands (Down!) while the Instructor (who was the owner of the dog) was facing either the dog or a human partner or none of them, or was visually separated from the dog. Results show that dogs were more ready to follow the command if the Instructor attended them during instruction compared to situations when the Instructor faced the human partner or was out of sight of the dog. Importantly, however, dogs showed intermediate performance when the Instructor was orienting into 'empty space' during the re-played verbal commands. This suggests that dogs are able to differentiate the focus of human attention. In Study 2 the same dogs were offered the possibility to beg for food from two unfamiliar humans whose visual attention (i.e. facing the dog or turning away) was systematically varied. The dogs' preference for choosing the attentive person shows that dogs are capable of using visual cues of attention to evaluate the human actors' responsiveness to solicit food-sharing. The dogs' ability to understand the communicatory nature of the situations is discussed in terms of their social cognitive skills and unique evolutionary history. |
Address |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary. zsofi.viranyi@freemail.hu |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:15110918 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4957 |
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Author |
Miklósi, Á.; Soproni, K. |
Title |
A comparative analysis of animals' understanding of the human pointing gesture |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
81-93 |
Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Child; Child, Preschool; Dogs; Fixation, Ocular; *Gestures; Hand; Humans; *Nonverbal Communication; Pinnipedia; Primates; Problem Solving; *Recognition (Psychology); Species Specificity |
Abstract |
We review studies demonstrating the ability of some animals to understand the human pointing gesture. We present a 3-step analysis of the topic. (1) We compare and evaluate current experimental methods (2) We compare available experimental results on performance of different species and investigate the interaction of species differences and other independent variables (3) We evaluate how our present understanding of pointing comprehension answers questions about function, evolution and mechanisms. Recently, a number of different hypotheses have been put forward to account for the presence of this ability in some species and for the lack of such comprehension in others. In our view, there is no convincing evidence for the assumption that the competitive lifestyles of apes would inhibit the utilization of this human gesture. Similarly, domestication as a special evolutionary factor in the case of some species falls short in explaining high levels of pointing comprehension in some non-domestic species. We also disagree with the simplistic view of describing the phenomenon as a simple form of conditioning. We suggest that a more systematic comparative research is needed to understand the emerging communicative representational abilities in animals that provide the background for comprehending the human pointing gesture. |
Address |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Pazmany P 1/c, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary. miklosa@ludens.elte.hu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16235075 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
463 |
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Author |
Gácsi, M.; Kara, E.; Belényi, B.; Topál, J.; Miklósi, Á. |
Title |
The effect of development and individual differences in pointing comprehension of dogs |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
12 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
471-479 |
Keywords |
Age Factors; Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Association Learning; Attention; Chi-Square Distribution; Choice Behavior; *Comprehension; *Concept Formation; Dogs/*psychology; Female; *Gestures; Humans; Male; Orientation; Statistics, Nonparametric |
Abstract |
In spite of the rather different procedures actually used in comparative studies to test the ability of different species to rely on the human pointing gesture, there is no debate on the high performance of dogs in such tasks. Very little is known, however, on the course through which they acquire this ability or the probable factors influencing the process. Important developmental questions have remained unsolved and also some methodological concerns should be addressed before we can convincingly argue for one interpretation or another. In this study we tested 180 dogs of different age (from 2 months to adults) to investigate their performance in the human distal momentary pointing gesture. The results, analyzed at both the group and the individual levels, showed no difference in the performance according to age, indicating that in dogs the comprehension of the human pointing may require only very limited and rapid early learning to fully develop. Interestingly, neither the keeping conditions nor the time spent in active interaction with the owner, and not even some special (agility) training for using human visual cues, had significant effect on the success and explained individual differences. The performance of the dogs was rather stable over time: during the 20 trials within a session and even when subsamples of different age were repeatedly tested. Considering that in spite of the general success at the group level, more than half of the dogs were not successful at the individual level, we revealed alternative “decision-making rules” other than following the pointing gesture of the experimenter. |
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Department of Ethology, Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary. gm.art@t-online.hu |
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1435-9456 |
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Notes |
PMID:19130102 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4969 |
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Author |
Gácsi, M; Györi, B; Miklósi, Á; Virányi, Z; Kubinyi, E; Topál,J; Csányi, V |
Title |
Species-specific differences and similarities in the behavior of hand-raised dog and wolf pups in social situations with humans |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Developmental Psychobiology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Dev Psychobiol |
Volume |
47 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
111-122 |
Keywords |
hand-raising • domestication • inborn social preferences • communicative signals • dog • wolf |
Abstract |
In order to reveal early species-specific differences, we observed the behavior of dog puppies (n = 11) and wolf pups (n = 13) hand raised and intensively socialized in an identical way. The pups were studied in two object-preference tests at age 3, 4, and 5 weeks. After a short isolation, we observed the subjects' behavior in the presence of a pair of objects, one was always the subject's human foster parent (caregiver) and the other was varied; nursing bottle (3 weeks), unfamiliar adult dog (3 and 5 weeks), unfamiliar experimenter (4 and 5 weeks), and familiar conspecific age mate (4 weeks). Dogs and wolves did not differ in their general activity level during the tests. Wolf pups showed preference for the proximity of the caregiver in two of the tests; Bottle-Caregiver at the age of 3 weeks and Experimenter-Caregiver at the age of 5 weeks, while dogs showed preference to the caregiver in three tests; conspecific Pup-Caregiver and Experimenter-Caregiver at the age of 4 weeks and dog-caregiver at the age of 5. Compared to wolves, dogs tended to display more communicative signals that could potentially facilitate social interactions, such as distress vocalization, tail wagging, and gazing at the humans' face. In contrast to dog puppies, wolf pups showed aggressive behavior toward a familiar experimenter and also seemed to be more prone to avoidance. Our results demonstrate that already at this early age - despite unprecedented intensity of socialization and the comparable social (human) environment during early development - there are specific behavioral differences between wolves and dogs mostly with regard to their interactions with humans. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 47 – 111-122, 2005. |
Address |
Department of Ethology, Eötvös University, Budapest, Pázmány P. 1/c. 1117 Hungary; Comparative Ethology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Pázmány P. 1/c. 1117 Hungary |
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Copyright © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4985 |
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Author |
Markman, E.M.; Abelev, M. |
Title |
Word learning in dogs? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Trends in Cognitive Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Trends. Cognit. Sci. |
Volume |
8 |
Issue |
11 |
Pages |
479-81; discussion 481 |
Keywords |
Animals; Association Learning; Dogs; *Learning; *Verbal Learning; *Vocabulary |
Abstract |
In a recent paper, Kaminski, Call and Fischer report pioneering research on word-learning in a dog. In this commentary we suggest ways of distinguishing referential word use from mere association. We question whether the dog is reasoning by exclusion and, if so, compare three explanations – learned heuristics, default assumptions, and pragmatic reasoning – as they apply to children and might apply to dogs. Kaminski et al.'s work clearly raises important questions about the origins and basis of word learning and social cognition. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Bldg 420, Stanford, CA 94305-2130, USA |
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1364-6613 |
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PMID:15491899 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
274 |
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Author |
Ward, C.; Smuts, B.B. |
Title |
Quantity-based judgments in the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
10 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
71-80 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Choice Behavior; Dogs; Female; Food; Male; *Size Perception |
Abstract |
We examined the ability of domestic dogs to choose the larger versus smaller quantity of food in two experiments. In experiment 1, we investigated the ability of 29 dogs (results from 18 dogs were used in the data analysis) to discriminate between two quantities of food presented in eight different combinations. Choices were simultaneously presented and visually available at the time of choice. Overall, subjects chose the larger quantity more often than the smaller quantity, but they found numerically close comparisons more difficult. In experiment 2, we tested two dogs from experiment 1 under three conditions. In condition 1, we used similar methods from experiment 1 and tested the dogs multiple times on the eight combinations from experiment 1 plus one additional combination. In conditions 2 and 3, the food was visually unavailable to the subjects at the time of choice, but in condition 2, food choices were viewed simultaneously before being made visually unavailable, and in condition 3, they were viewed successively. In these last two conditions, and especially in condition 3, the dogs had to keep track of quantities mentally in order to choose optimally. Subjects still chose the larger quantity more often than the smaller quantity when the food was not simultaneously visible at the time of choice. Olfactory cues and inadvertent cuing by the experimenter were excluded as mechanisms for choosing larger quantities. The results suggest that, like apes tested on similar tasks, some dogs can form internal representations and make mental comparisons of quantity. |
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Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 1012 East Hall, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, USA. rameses@unich.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16941158 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2440 |
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Author |
Bloom, P. |
Title |
Behavior. Can a dog learn a word? |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Science (New York, N.Y.) |
Abbreviated Journal |
Science |
Volume |
304 |
Issue |
5677 |
Pages |
1605-1606 |
Keywords |
Animals; Child; Child, Preschool; *Dogs; Humans; *Learning; *Memory; *Vocabulary |
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Address |
Department of Psychology, Yale University, Post Office Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520-8205, USA. paul.bloom@yale.edu |
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1095-9203 |
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PMID:15192205 |
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no |
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28 |
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Author |
Gazit, I.; Goldblatt, A.; Terkel, J. |
Title |
The role of context specificity in learning: the effects of training context on explosives detection in dogs |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
8 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
143-150 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Conditioning, Classical; *Discrimination Learning; Dogs; *Environment; *Generalization, Stimulus; *Smell |
Abstract |
Various experiments revealed that if an animal learns a stimulus-response-reinforcer relationship in one context and is then tested in another context there is usually a lessening of stimulus control, and the same discriminative stimuli that reliably controlled the behavior in the first context will have less effect in the new context. This reduction in performance is known as the “context shift effect.” The effect of changing context on the probability of detecting explosives was investigated in seven highly trained explosives detection dogs (EDDs). In experiment 1 the dogs were trained alternately on path A, which always had five hidden explosives, and on a very similar path B, which never had any explosives. Within a few sessions the dogs showed a significant decrease in search behavior on path B, but not on path A. In experiment 2 the same dogs were trained only on path B with a target density of one explosive hidden every 4th day. The probability of the dogs now detecting the explosive was found to be significantly lower than in experiment 1. In experiment 3 the effect of the low target density as used in experiment 2 was investigated on a new but very similar path C. Both the detection probability for the one explosive every 4th day on the new path and the motivation to search were significantly higher than found in experiment 2. Finally, in experiment 4, an attempt was made to recondition the dogs to search on path B. Although trained for 12 daily sessions with one explosive hidden every session, the dogs failed to regain the normal levels of motivation they had shown on both new paths and on the paths that they knew usually contained explosives. The findings reveal that even a very intensively trained EDD will rapidly learn that a specific stretch of path does not contain explosives. The dog will then be less motivated to search and will miss newly placed targets. This learning is specific to the formerly always-clean path and is to some extent irreversible. However, the dog will search and detect normally on new paths even if they are very similar to the always-clean path. The data are discussed in terms of variables affecting renewal. The results suggest that following training designed to make a behavior “context independent,” any extinction training will not generalize beyond that specific context used during the extinction training. In addition, if the behavior is extinguished in a specific context, it will be very difficult to restore that behavior in that context. These conclusions should be considered by anyone attempting to extinguish well-established trans-context behaviors. |
Address |
Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel. iritgazi@post.tau.ac.il |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:15449101 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2509 |
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Author |
Hare, J.F.; Sealy, S.G.; Underwood, T.J.; Ellison, K.S.; Stewart, R.L.M. |
Title |
Evidence of self-referent phenotype matching revisited: airing out the armpit effect |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
65-68 |
Keywords |
Alleles; Animals; Birds; Cricetinae; Dogs; Humans; Invertebrates; Learning; *Odors; Pedigree; Phenotype; *Recognition (Psychology); Self Psychology; *Social Behavior |
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Department of Zoology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada. harejf@cc.umanitoba.ca |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12701614 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2576 |
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Author |
Giangaspero, A.; Traversa, D.; Otranto, D. |
Title |
[Ecology of Thelazia spp. in cattle and their vectors in Italy] |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Parassitologia |
Abbreviated Journal |
Parassitologia |
Volume |
46 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
257-259 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cattle/parasitology; Cattle Diseases/epidemiology/*parasitology/transmission; Disease Transmission, Horizontal; Dog Diseases/epidemiology/parasitology/transmission; Dogs/parasitology; Ecosystem; Eye Infections, Parasitic/epidemiology/transmission/*veterinary; Horse Diseases/epidemiology/parasitology/transmission; Horses/parasitology; Humans; Insect Vectors/*parasitology; Italy/epidemiology; Muscidae/*parasitology; Species Specificity; Spirurida Infections/epidemiology/transmission/*veterinary; Thelazioidea/classification/*isolation & purification |
Abstract |
The genus Thelazia (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) includes a cosmopolitan group of eyeworm spirurids responsible for ocular infections in domestic and wild animals and transmitted by different species of muscids. Bovine thelaziosis is caused by Thelazia rhodesi Desmarest 1828, Thelazia gulosa Railliet & Henry 1910, and Thelazia skrjabini Erschow 1928, which occur in many countries; T. gulosa and T. skrjabini have been reported mainly in the New World, while T. rhodesi is particularly common in the Old World. In Italy, T. rhodesi was reported in southern regions a long time ago and, recently, T. gulosa and T. skrjabini have been identified in autochthonous cattle first in Apulia and then in Sardinia. Thirteen species of Musca are listed as intermediate hosts of eyeworms, but only Musca autumnalis and Musca larvipara have been demonstrated to act as vectors of Thelazia in the ex-URSS, North America, ex-Czechoslovakia and more recently in Sweden. In Italy, after the reports of T. gulosa and T. skrjabini in southern regions, the intermediate hosts of bovine eyeworms were initially only suspected as the predominant secretophagous Muscidae collected from the periocular region of cattle with thelaziosis were the face flies, M. autumnalis and M. larvipara, followed by Musca osiris, Musca tempestiva and Musca domestica. The well-known constraints in the identification of immature eyeworms to species by fly dissection and also the time-consuming techniques used constitute important obstacles to epidemiological field studies (i.e. vector identification and/or role, prevalence and pattern of infection in flies, etc.). Molecular studies have recently permitted to further investigations into this area. A PCR-RFLP analysis of the ribosomal ITS-1 sequence was developed to differentiate the 3 species of Thelazia (i.e. T. gulosa, T. rhodesi and T. skrjabini) found in Italy, then a molecular epidemiological survey has recently been carried out in field conditions throughout five seasons of fly activity and has identified the role of M. autumnalis, M. larvipara, M. osiris and M. domestica as vectors of T. gulosa and of M. autumnalis and M. larvipara of T. rhodesi. Moreover, M. osiris was described, for the first time, to act as a vector of T. gulosa and M. larvipara of T. gulosa and T. rhodesi. The mean prevalence in the fly population examined was found to be 2.86%. The molecular techniques have opened new perspectives for further research on the ecology and epidemiology not only of Thelazia in cattle but also of other autochthonous species of Thelazia which have been also recorded in Italy, such as Thelazia callipaeda, which is responsible for human and canid ocular infection and Thelazia lacrymalis, the horse eyeworm whose epidemiological molecular studies are in progress. |
Address |
Dipartimento PR.I.M.E., Universita degli Studi di Foggia |
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Italian |
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Ecologia di Thelazia spp. e dei vettori in Italia |
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0048-2951 |
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PMID:15305729 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2633 |
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