Your Enemy's Enemy Is Your Dog, Scientists Find

[Boronia]

My lot would snaffle up the food regardless who was feeding them

http://www.theguardi...scientists-find

Your enemy's enemy is your dog, scientists find

Research appears to show dogs will snub people who are mean to their owners

Um – good boy? Japanese researchers have discovered dogs do not like those who are mean to their owners. Photograph: Alamy Agence-France Presse

Friday 12 June 2015 15.46 AEST Last modified on Friday 12 June 2015 19.24 AEST

Dogs do not like people who are mean to their owners and will refuse food offered by people who have snubbed their master, Japanese researchers have said.

The findings reveal that canines have the capacity to cooperate socially – a characteristic found in a relatively small number of species, including humans and some other primates.

Researchers led by Kazuo Fujita, a professor of comparative cognition at Kyoto University, tested three groups of 18 dogs using role plays in which their owners needed to open a box.

In all three groups, the owner was accompanied by two people whom the dog did not know.

In the first group, the owner sought assistance from one of the other people, who actively refused to help.

In the second group, the owner asked for, and received, help from one person. In both groups, the third person was neutral and not involved in either helping or refusing to help.

Neither person interacted with the dog's owner in the control – third – group.

After watching the box-opening scene, the dog was offered food by the two unfamiliar people in the room.

Dogs that saw their owner being rebuffed were far more likely to choose food from the neutral observer, and to ignore the offer from the person who had refused to help, Fujita said on Friday.

Dogs whose owners were helped and dogs whose owners did not interact with either person showed no marked preference for accepting snacks from the strangers.

"We discovered for the first time that dogs make social and emotional evaluations of people regardless of their direct interest," Fujita said.

If the dogs were acting solely out of self-interest, there would be no differences among the groups, and a roughly equal number of animals would have accepted food from each person.

"This ability is one of the key factors in building a highly collaborative society, and this study shows that dogs share that ability with humans," he said.

The trait is present in children from the age of about three, the research papers said.

Interestingly, noted Fujita, not all primates demonstrate this behaviour.

"There is a similar study that showed tufted capuchins [a monkey native to South America] have this ability, but there is no evidence that chimpanzees demonstrate a preference unless there is a direct benefit to them," he said.

The study will appear in the science journal Animal Behaviour to be published later this month, he said.

eta...what would Stan do?

Edited June 12, 2015 by Boronia

[Dame Aussie]

Fascinating. Not surprising though I don't think. Dogs are awesome :)

[persephone]

Of course dogs can work people out. ???? not sure about the taking food thing, but I always take note of how my dogs react to people

[mita]

That's so interesting! Thanks for posting.

[Kirislin]

I dont think my dogs would be deterred by who put the food down. Certainly not Tag or Puck anyway.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Hmm

Needs another study - how your dog reacts to people that you the owner are "mean" to. Ie if I scold someone for letting their dog pee on my stuff, my dog helps.

I'm not sure about the people being mean thing...

I'm routinely made profoundly uncomfortable by my brother's attitude to dog training - and my dog thinks he's icecream. She won't do anything he asks tho, like sit, drop, stop licking...

[Stressmagnet]

I want a study on how to turn a Labrador into a selective attack dog. I want Ernie to scare the crap out of the fex when he comes to get the girls instead of rolling over for a belly rub.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

SM

Maybe if your FEX eats something that is usually Ernie's special treat - Ernie will get mad enough to be an attack dog?

Savoury cheese and spam dog treat biscuits?

[Stressmagnet]

SM

Maybe if your FEX eats something that is usually Ernie's special treat - Ernie will get mad enough to be an attack dog?

Savoury cheese and spam dog treat biscuits?

Actually the fex loves Spam. And that tinned corned beef stuff

So does Ernie...

[Guest donatella]

Yep Lucy is right on tune with people who she takes/doesn't take to pending my actions but she lives to please. Bon will love anyone who will love her and she would fail that study big time

[sandgrubber]

what is fex?

[Boronia]

what is fex?

I have always read it as being short-hand for Stressie's f#*@ing ex husband

[Stressmagnet]

what is fex?

I have always read it as being short-hand for Stressie's f#*@ing ex husband

Um. Yeah. So as not to offend.

Or something. I just like the poetic shorthand. :D