Dogs are natural detectives. Our ancestors knew it pretty well and we have kept our ancestral hunch within us. They can identify people for who they are. But then, in this day of science and facts, we don’t always believe in old wives’ tales. Many of us need some good scientific proof. If you are someone like that, we have good news for you – science shows that dogs can really identify if someone is a really sh*t person or not. The study mesmerized everyone but for us, dog lovers, it’s just one more thing to love our dogs more!
Are they lying?
Akiko Takaoka of the Kyoto University was the one who went forward in conducting the study. It was previously known that dogs wanted their world to be certain. The first experiment conducted was to see whether dogs trusted a person who had lied to them. The dog-owners would point out a food container to their dogs. The dogs, as usual, would run towards it. Then they will be pointed towards another container without food. Now, the dog’s been tricked. What’s he going to do now?
It’s already known that dogs understand human gestures and would run to any object their owner points at. But when these human gestures become inconsistent, it makes the dog nervous and confused. The next time, the dog won’t be heeding your command. He knows a liar and wouldn’t trust the dog owner anymore. All 34 dogs that had been used in this experiment showed the same result. At least they are pretty consistent in this regard. Based on experience, they can spot an unreliable person easily.
But how would dogs behave if their owner is treated badly?
Researchers also took up this question. In a recent study in Neuroscience and Behavioral studies, it was said that dogs adjust their behavior based on the behavior of people. Researchers tried to test it. They made the owners try to open a container and then ask for help from two other researchers. In the first case, one of the researchers would help while the other would remain passive. In the second case, one researcher would stand passively, while the other would refuse to help at all. So, what did all these prove? Interesting results came up when the researchers tried to treat the dog. The dog would take food from both the researchers in the first scenario, but when it came to the researcher who acted rudely, the dog would just ignore him.