| |
Records |
Links |
|
Author |
Gácsi, M.; Miklósi, Á.; Varga, O.; Topál, J.; Csányi, V. |
|
| |
Title |
Are readers of our face readers of our minds? Dogs (Canis familiaris) show situation-dependent recognition of human's attention |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
7 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
144-153 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Association Learning; *Attention; Bonding, Human-Pet; Cognition; *Concept Formation; Cues; Dogs/*psychology; *Facial Expression; Female; Humans; Male; *Nonverbal Communication; *Recognition (Psychology); Social Behavior |
|
| |
Abstract |
The ability of animals to use behavioral/facial cues in detection of human attention has been widely investigated. In this test series we studied the ability of dogs to recognize human attention in different experimental situations (ball-fetching game, fetching objects on command, begging from humans). The attentional state of the humans was varied along two variables: (1) facing versus not facing the dog; (2) visible versus non-visible eyes. In the first set of experiments (fetching) the owners were told to take up different body positions (facing or not facing the dog) and to either cover or not cover their eyes with a blindfold. In the second set of experiments (begging) dogs had to choose between two eating humans based on either the visibility of the eyes or direction of the face. Our results show that the efficiency of dogs to discriminate between “attentive” and “inattentive” humans depended on the context of the test, but they could rely on the orientation of the body, the orientation of the head and the visibility of the eyes. With the exception of the fetching-game situation, they brought the object to the front of the human (even if he/she turned his/her back towards the dog), and preferentially begged from the facing (or seeing) human. There were also indications that dogs were sensitive to the visibility of the eyes because they showed increased hesitative behavior when approaching a blindfolded owner, and they also preferred to beg from the person with visible eyes. We conclude that dogs are able to rely on the same set of human facial cues for detection of attention, which form the behavioral basis of understanding attention in humans. Showing the ability of recognizing human attention across different situations dogs proved to be more flexible than chimpanzees investigated in similar circumstances. |
|
| |
Address  |
Comparative Ethology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pazmany P. 1/c., 1117, Budapest, Hungary. gm.art@axelero.hu |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1435-9448 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:14669075 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2547 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Aust, U.; Huber, L. |
|
| |
Title |
Picture-object recognition in pigeons: evidence of representational insight in a visual categorization task using a complementary information procedure |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
|
| |
Volume |
32 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
190-195 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Classification; *Cognition; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Form Perception; *Generalization (Psychology); Humans; Perceptual Closure; Photic Stimulation; Photography; *Recognition (Psychology) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Success in tasks requiring categorization of pictorial stimuli does not prove that a subject understands what the pictures stand for. The ability to achieve representational insight is by no means a trivial one because it exceeds mere detection of 2-D features present in both the pictorial images and their referents. So far, evidence for such an ability in nonhuman species is weak and inconclusive. Here, the authors report evidence of representational insight in pigeons. After being trained on pictures of incomplete human figures, the birds responded significantly more to pictures of the previously missing parts than to nonrepresentative stimuli, which demonstrates that they actually recognized the pictures' representational content. |
|
| |
Address |
Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Austria. ulrike.aust@univie.ac.at |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
0097-7403 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:16634663 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2759 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Stoet, G.; Snyder, L.H. |
|
| |
Title |
Task preparation in macaque monkeys ( Macaca mulatta) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
121-130 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Conditioning, Classical; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; Male; Reaction Time; Task Performance and Analysis; Visual Perception |
|
| |
Abstract |
We investigated whether macaque monkeys possess the ability to prepare abstract tasks in advance. We trained two monkeys to use different stimulus-response (S-R) mappings. On each trial, monkeys were first informed with a visual cue which of two S-R mapping to use. Following a delay, a visual target was presented to which they would respond with a left or right button-press. We manipulated delay time between cue and target and found that performance was faster and more accurate with longer delays, suggesting that monkeys used the delay time to prepare each task in advance. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Ave., Box 8108, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. stoet@pcg.wustl.edu |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1435-9448 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:12721788 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2572 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Sebastiani, F.; Meiswinkel, R.; Gomulski, L.M.; Guglielmino, C.R.; Mellor, P.S.; Malacrida, A.R.; Gasperi, G. |
|
| |
Title |
Molecular differentiation of the Old World Culicoides imicola species complex (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae), inferred using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Molecular Ecology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Mol Ecol |
|
| |
Volume |
10 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
1773-1786 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Africa; Animals; Ceratopogonidae/*classification/*genetics; Ecology; Evolution, Molecular; Female; *Genetic Markers; Madagascar; Phylogeny; *Polymorphism, Genetic; *Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; Variation (Genetics) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Samples of seven of the 10 morphological species of midges of the Culicoides imicola complex were considered. The importance of this species complex is connected to its vectorial capacity for African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and bluetongue virus (BTV). Consequently, the risk of transmission may vary dramatically, depending upon the particular cryptic species present in a given area. The species complex is confined to the Old World and our samples were collected in Southern Africa, Madagascar and the Ivory Coast. Genomic DNA of 350 randomly sampled individual midges from 19 populations was amplified using four 20-mer primers by the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. One hundred and ninety-six interpretable polymorphic bands were obtained. Species-specific RAPD profiles were defined and for five species diagnostic RAPD fragments were identified. A high degree of polymorphism was detected in the species complex, most of which was observed within populations (from 64 to 76%). Principal coordinate analysis (PCO) and cluster analysis provided an estimate of the degree of variation between and within populations and species. There was substantial concordance between the taxonomies derived from morphological and molecular data. The amount and the different distributions of genetic (RAPD) variation among the taxa can be associated to their life histories, i.e. the abundance and distribution of the larval breeding sites and their seasonality. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Animal Biology, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 9, I-27100 Pavia, Italy |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
0962-1083 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:11472544 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2647 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Jackson, R.R.; Li, D. |
|
| |
Title |
One-encounter search-image formation by araneophagic spiders |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
7 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
247-254 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Appetitive Behavior; *Association Learning; *Attention; Choice Behavior; Field Dependence-Independence; *Food Preferences; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; *Predatory Behavior; Signal Detection (Psychology); *Spiders |
|
| |
Abstract |
An experimental study of search-image use by araneophagic jumping spiders (i.e., salticid spiders that prey routinely on other spiders) supports five conclusions. First, araneophagic salticids have an innate predisposition to form search images for specific prey from their preferred prey category (spiders) rather than for prey from a non-preferred category (insects). Second, single encounters are sufficient for forming search images. Third, search images are based on selective attention specifically to optical cues. Fourth, there are trade-offs in attention during search-image use (i.e., forming a search image for one type of spider diminishes the araneophagic salticid's attention to other spiders). Fifth, the araneophagic salticid's adoption of search images is costly to the prey (i.e., when the araneophagic salticid adopts a search, the prey's prospects for surviving encounters with the araneophagic salticid are diminished). Cognitive and ecological implications of search-image use are discussed. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore. dbslidq@nus.edu.sg |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1435-9448 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:15118915 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2524 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Viscido, S.V.; Miller, M.; Wethey, D.S. |
|
| |
Title |
The dilemma of the selfish herd: the search for a realistic movement rule |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Journal of theoretical biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Theor. Biol. |
|
| |
Volume |
217 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
183-194 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Mass Behavior; Models, Biological; *Motor Activity; Predatory Behavior |
|
| |
Abstract |
The selfish herd hypothesis predicts that aggregations form because individuals move toward one another to minimize their own predation risk. The “dilemma of the selfish herd” is that movement rules that are easy for individuals to follow, fail to produce true aggregations, while rules that produce aggregations require individual behavior so complex that one may doubt most animals can follow them. If natural selection at the individual level is responsible for herding behavior, a solution to the dilemma must exist. Using computer simulations, we examined four different movement rules. Relative predation risk was different for all four movement rules (p<0.05). We defined three criteria for measuring the quality of a movement rule. A good movement rule should (a) be statistically likely to benefit an individual that follows it, (b) be something we can imagine most animals are capable of following, and (c) result in a centrally compact flock. The local crowded horizon rule, which allowed individuals to take the positions of many flock-mates into account, but decreased the influence of flock-mates with distance, best satisfied these criteria. The local crowded horizon rule was very sensitive to the animal's perceptive ability. Therefore, the animal's ability to detect its neighbors is an important factor in the dynamics of group formation. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA. viscido@u.washington.edu |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
0022-5193 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:12202112 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
554 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Dirikolu, L.; Lehner, A.F.; Karpiesiuk, W.; Hughes, C.; Woods, W.E.; Boyles, J.; Harkins, J.D.; Troppmann, A.; Tobin, T. |
|
| |
Title |
Detection, quantification, metabolism, and behavioral effects of selegiline in horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Veterinary Therapeutics : Research in Applied Veterinary Medicine |
Abbreviated Journal |
Vet Ther |
|
| |
Volume |
4 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
257-268 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Administration, Oral; Animals; Behavior, Animal/drug effects; Female; Horses/*metabolism; Mass Spectrometry/veterinary; Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors/administration & dosage/blood/*pharmacokinetics/pharmacology/urine; Selegiline/administration & dosage/blood/*pharmacokinetics/pharmacology/urine; Substance Abuse Detection/veterinary |
|
| |
Abstract |
Selegiline ([R]-[-]N,alpha-dimethyl-N-2- propynylphenethylamine or l-deprenyl), an irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase, is a classic antidyskinetic and antiparkinsonian agent widely used in human medicine both as monotherapy and as an adjunct to levodopa therapy. Selegiline is classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) as a class 2 agent, and is considered to have high abuse potential in racing horses. A highly sensitive LC/MS/MS quantitative analytical method has been developed for selegiline and its potential metabolites amphetamine and methamphetamine using commercially available deuterated analogs of these compounds as internal standards. After administering 40 mg of selegiline orally to two horses, relatively low (<60 ng/ml) concentrations of parent selegiline, amphetamine, and methamphetamine were recovered in urine samples. However, relatively high urinary concentrations of another selegiline metabolite were found, tentatively identified as N- desmethylselegiline. This metabolite was synthesized and found to be indistinguishable from the new metabolite recovered from horse urine, thereby confirming the chemical identity of the equine metabolite. Additionally, analysis of urine samples from four horses dosed with 50 mg of selegiline confirmed that N-desmethylselegiline is the major urinary metabolite of selegiline in horses. In related behavior studies, p.o. and i.v. administration of 30 mg of selegiline produced no significant changes in either locomotor activities or heart rates. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1528-3593 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:15136987 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
1901 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Held, S.; Baumgartner, J.; Kilbride, A.; Byrne, R.W.; Mendl, M. |
|
| |
Title |
Foraging behaviour in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa): remembering and prioritizing food sites of different value |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
8 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
114-121 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; *Association Learning; Feeding Behavior/*psychology; Female; *Space Perception; Sus scrofa/*psychology |
|
| |
Abstract |
This experiment investigated whether domestic pigs can remember the locations of food sites of different relative value, and how a restricted retrieval choice affects their foraging behaviour. Nine juvenile female pigs were trained to relocate two food sites out of a possible eight in a spatial memory task. The two baited sites contained different amounts of food and an obstacle was added to the smaller amount to increase handling time. On each trial, a pig searched for the two baited sites (search visit). Once it had found and eaten the bait, it returned for a second (relocation) visit, in which the two same sites were baited. Baited sites were changed between trials. All subjects learnt the task. When allowed to retrieve both baits, the subjects showed no preference for retrieving a particular one first (experiment 1). When they were allowed to retrieve only one bait, a significant overall preference for retrieving the larger amount emerged across subjects (experiment 2). To test whether this preference reflected an avoidance of the obstacle with the smaller bait, 15 choice-restricted control trials were conducted. In control trials obstacles were present with both baits. Pigs continued to retrieve the larger bait, indicating they had discriminated between the two food sites on the basis of quantity or profitability and adjusted their behaviour accordingly when the relocation choice was restricted. This suggests for the first time that domestic pigs have the ability to discriminate between food sites of different relative value and to remember their respective locations. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Centre for Behavioural Biology, University of Bristol, Langford, BS40 5DU, UK. suzanne.held@bris.ac.uk |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1435-9448 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:15871038 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2487 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Morales, J.L.; Manchado, M.; Vivo, J.; Galisteo, A.M.; Aguera, E.; Miro, F. |
|
| |
Title |
Angular kinematic patterns of limbs in elite and riding horses at trot |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
1998 |
Publication |
Equine Veterinary Journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Equine Vet J |
|
| |
Volume |
30 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
528-533 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Biomechanics; Breeding; Extremities/*physiology; Gait/*physiology; Horses/*physiology; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Joints/*physiology; Male; Video Recording |
|
| |
Abstract |
Normal speed videography was used to determine the angular parameters of 28 Spanish Thoroughbreds at trot. Horses were divided into 3 groups: Group UT, comprising 9 animals (provided by the VII National Stud, Cordoba, Spain) which had undergone no specific training programme and which were hand led at the trot; Group T, formed by 19 horses considered to be highly bred and trained, and which were also hand led; and Group RT, comprising the same horses as the latter group but this time trotted by a rider. Each animal was filmed 6 times from the right-hand side, using a Hi8 (25 Hz) video camera. Angular parameters for fore- and hindlimb joints were measured in each stride from computer-grabbed frames and entered into a spreadsheet for calculation; parameters included maximum and minimum angles, range of motion, and angles at landing, lift off and maximum hoof height; the times at which maximum angle, minimum angle, lift off and maximum hoof height occurred were calculated as percentages of total stride duration. Stride velocity (mean [s.d.]) was 4.01 (0.62), 3.60 (0.34) and 3.07 (0.36) m/s for Groups UT, T and RT, respectively. Data were then compared between Groups UT-T and Groups T-RT. Compared with Group UT, horses from Group T featured a shorter stance percentage (P<0.001) in both fore- and hindlimbs. The range of motion in forelimbs was smaller (P<0.05), due to lower retraction (P<0.001); moreover, maximum retraction appeared earlier (P<0.05). Greater scapular inclination was in evidence (P<0.05) and the shoulder joint extended further (P<0.05). Fore- and hind fetlock joints revealed a relatively shorter hyperextension period during the stance phase (P<0.01). Compared with Group T, horses from Group RT had a longer stance percentage, with belated maximum retraction of the fore- and hindlimbs. The range of movement in scapular inclination was greater (P<0.05), due to a smaller minimum angle (P<0.01), and the shoulder joint flexed more (P<0.05). The elbow joint extended more and for longer during the stance phase. Initial extension of the hip joint (P<0.05) and tarsus (P<0.001) lasted longer. The carpal and fore and hind fetlock joints recorded relatively longer hyperextension times, in addition to greater hyperextension during the stance phase. The results from the present study suggest that rider-effect must be taken in consideration when well gaited horses are selected for dressage purposes. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Compared Anatomy and Pathology, University of Cordoba, Veterinary Faculty, Spain |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
0425-1644 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:9844972 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
3734 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
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. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary. gm.art@t-online.hu |
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1435-9456 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:19130102 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4969 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
