Brother, can you spare a sausage?

[ksmith]

Man’s best friend can figure out who his/her best friend is:

Researchers and pet owners have long known that dogs can learn spoken commands and understand certain human gestures. But can they actually eavesdrop—that is, pick up information simply by watching interactions between people? Animal cognition researcher Sarah Marshall-Pescini and her colleagues at the University of Milan believe that dogs do indeed engage in interspecies snooping.

To test their hypothesis, the scientists allowed 84 dogs to observe, one by one, food-sharing interactions between humans. During each trial, 
a human “beggar” repeatedly approached two other people holding bowls of aromatic sausages. (Mmm. For more on this topic, see 20 Things.) When the beggar asked for a bite, one of the sausage keepers rejected her, saying no and flicking one hand in a dismissive shooing gesture. The other person willingly shared, saying “have it” while offering a morsel. After the beggar left the room, the dog was let off its leash.

Once freed, pooches could approach either one of the people, each still holding bowls of sausage. The dogs decided to beg from the charitable person five times as often as from the stingy one. “It was intriguing to discover that dogs assess us in terms of how generous we are,” Marshall-Pescini says, perhaps because “they view us as potential cooperative partners.” That, or an easy mark for delicious meats.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Comments

[goingferal.livejournal.com]

Excellent--thanks for the link.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.

I remember how well Mickey used to read moods, and how he could pick out the swear words even if I muttered under my breath. And I swear Gaby understands complete sentences.

They're smart. Sometimes too smart.

[naomikritzer]

Awww, those heartless researchers don't give the doggies any of the sausage? Even when they go for the soft touch? Meanies.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I would hope they were rewarded off-camera. Who could resist those waggy tails?

[naomikritzer]

I KNOW.

I spent the afternoon with a friend and her golden retriever (we took our kids to the playground). There was a bag of Pirate's Booty (a sort of crunchy kid snack) and it's a good thing I don't have a dog because I probably would have fed her half the bag. And this is a dog with a weight problem, so it's not as if she NEEDS Pirate Booty. But the wagging tail! the bright eyes! the eager look every time the bag so much as rustled!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

They're relentless. When King and Gaby come in from outdoors, they go directly to the bakers rack where the jar of treats awaits. Now, if King so much as sticks his head out the door, he goes to the bakers rack because you never know. I've broken down and given him a treat often enough that he knows there's a chance.

Gaby's not so much the treat junkie. But when she wants the squeaky toy on top of the refrigerator, she will sit in front of the fridge and look up at it, then at me. Those bright eyes. That waggy tail.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Not at all surprised by those findings, and I suspect that the dogs that did approach the stingy person were being cued by something they thought familiar in that person's appearance...

Unfortunately my dog is not treat orientated. There are times when I have attracted a whole pack of other peoples' dogs with my bag of tasty sausage. But not my own.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Sounds like Gaby. She's not averse to treats if she's hungry, but they're not a driving force as they are with King. There has to be something *really* interesting going on outside for King to choose it over a treat.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

I suspect cats do the same thing.

People forget that "not being human" isn't the same thing as "stupid."

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I hear stories about horse dynamics from horsefolk. Fishplay from fishfolk. The personalities and apparent thought processes.

It makes life easier for some if they hold to the "dumb animal" idea. But I don't believe it's true, and oh does it complicate matters.