Study suggests curiosity and focus could be key factors that make man’s best friend a ‘genius’
Dogs who can learn hundreds of objects by name take part in international study led by the University of Portsmouth
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One of the participating dogs, Flynn, a border collie from the UK.
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Peer-reviewed, experimental study, animals
First study to investigate what traits distinguish dogs who can learn the labels (names) of hundreds of objects from dogs without this special skill
Curiosity, focus and inhibition are key characteristics that distinguish label learning dogs from other dogs
Study could help to inform tests to determine a dog’s suitability to become a service animal
Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it could prove to be one of the keys to dogs’ cognitive abilities, according to a study by the University of Portsmouth’s Dog Cognition Centre in England and the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena’s DogStudies Unit in Germany.
The research, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, shows for the first time, that certain cognitive traits - such as curiosity - are the main factors playing a role in the exceptional ability of ‘label-learning dogs’ to recognise many objects by their name.
Label-learner dogs, as scientists call them, can recognise hundreds of objects by their labels. This means that they can identify a wide range of objects just by being told the name (label), without any additional clues.
Associate Professor, Dr Juliane Kaminski from the University of Portsmouth’s School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences, said: “Being able to pick out such a wide variety of objects is not something any dog can do. It is extremely rare and appears to be an inherent natural ability which is specific to the dog and not a quality that many dogs have.”
Dr Kaminski and her German collaborator, Dr Juliane Bräuer, searched to find dogs deemed by their owners to be label learners. They found 11 from five countries, including the UK, USA, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.
The dogs had to pass a pre-test to be selected for the research. During this test, the dogs had to demonstrate their label-learning abilities and fetch the correct object out of several objects upon hearing the name, while not being able to see their owner or any other person when making the choice.
As the dogs lived so far apart, the study was conducted as a ‘citizen-science’ project, where the person conducting the study was in fact the dogs’ owner. Owners across the five different countries were instructed in detail, on how to administer a series of eight cognitive tests to their dogs, which tested for things like learning, interest in objects, and communicative skills, for example.
All the tests were filmed by the owners, which enabled the research team to check that they were conducted correctly as well as to analyse all behaviours and choices of each dog.
The selected dogs - border collies, crossbreeds, a Spanish waterdog and a pug among them - took part in eight different cognitive tasks to try and identify why these dogs outperform in their ability to learn hundreds of labels of objects.
Each dog’s curiosity, problem solving, learning, memory, and human communication were tested. Importantly, the same tests were conducted with a corresponding number of dogs who lacked label-learning skills (the control group), and matched in age, sex and breed.
Dr Bräuer said: “Label learner dogs are so rare that it was not possible to find more than 11 for this particular study. However, to find such clear differences between label learners and the average dogs, was really surprising.”
In the label learner dogs, three distinct character traits were found to set them apart:
Curiosity - a heightened interested in objects that were new to them
Focus - specific interest in certain objects
Inhibition - an ability to control their reactions to certain objects
“I am not so surprised that inhibition plays a role here,” added Dr Bräuer. “My own dog who is not a label learner always struggled to inhibit her preferences when solving problems. She likes a ball so much, that she would not fetch a ring when a ball is present.”
Dr Kaminski added: “We will be carrying out further research as we must explore whether these traits are part of the make-up of some individual dogs from the puppy stage, or whether they develop over time and can be influenced by training.”
While further research is needed, this study could be the first step towards developing a type of ‘Puppy IQ Test’ whereby young dogs could be assessed for their potential to be able to retrieve a large number of household objects by name, and, in turn, determine their suitability to become service dogs - for example helping the sight and hearing impaired at home, or in police work.
One of the participating dogs is Harvey, who was recently dubbed one of Britain’s smartest dogs for memorising the names of 203 dog toys. His owner Irene, from Reading, said this latest study has helped shed light on why he has such a unique talent: “It's great to know Harvey’s curiosity is a big part of why he’s so good at identifying objects by name. As an owner, it also helps to be curious. I've always encouraged his interest in toys, so much so that we have over 220 of them!”
Dr Kaminski’s pioneering research into dog cognition began as a PhD student over 20 years ago after watching a TV show in Germany which featured one exceptionally gifted border collie, named Rico. Dr Kaminski devised a test which showed Rico could label 200 items and could recall words for weeks after being taught them. The study, published in Science in 2004, was the first of its kind.
She said: “After seeing Rico on TV, I was intrigued and convinced that he was responding to other clues from his owner, but that wasn’t the case. I am still amazed and constantly surprised by what dogs learn.”
It has been almost a decade since Britain’s first facility dedicated exclusively to studying dogs’ ability to understand humans and the world around them officially opened at the University’ of Portsmouth’s Langstone campus.
Since then, hundreds of dogs have taken part in games and been given tasks to solve to better understand how they interact with their environment, other dogs or people.
The research carried out at the centre is strictly observational, and there are no invasive methods of any kind. Dogs are always rewarded with food or play for completing their tasks and games.
In one study, the team discovered dogs have evolved new muscles around the eyes to better communicate with humans. Dr Kaminski’s research showed dogs moved their eyebrows significantly more when humans were looking at them. The hypothesis being that these ‘puppy dog eyes’ trigger a nurturing response in humans.
The team has also mapped the facial movements of dogs, naming the movement responsible for a raised inner eyebrow the Action Unit (AU) 101.
Dr. Juliane Bräuer is head of the research group DogStudies that has just moved from the Max-Plack-Institute of Geoanthropology to the Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena. She is especially interested in dog and human cooperation, and cultural differences in dog human interactions In a recent study she and her team have investigated how dogs read human emotions.
Sign up for future studies about label learners
The team is continually on the lookout for these special label learner dogs. Anyone interested in taking part in future studies, can contact them via email on findingricodogs@gmail.com.
Journal
Scientific Reports
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Animals
Article Title
What makes a dog a label-learner: individual cognitive differences underlying label-learning abilities in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)
