Animals, of course, normally require the presence of other individuals of the same species. But the dog and man lived together for 15 000 years. For so long the dogs have adapted to living together so that in many cases, the man has become the main social partners.
According to researchers at the Veterinary University of Vienna (Vienna Vetmeduni) relationships between dogs and their owners have a very similar quality as the deep connections between young children and their parents. The researchers published their research results at the end of June in the journal PLoS ONE.
One aspect of the bond between humans and dogs is the so-called effect of basic trust. The same effect shows the relationship between children and parents. Young children understand their parents or carers as essential safety feature that allows them to safely explore their surroundings.
The effect of trust was not until now not been studied in dogs. When Lisa Horn of Vetmeduni decided behavior of dogs and their owners closer explore. The responses of dogs for three different conditions: if there was not the owner when the owner did not interfere in the situation and, when the dog owner is actively motivated.
Dogs could get a reward like food, if properly handled with dog toys. Food was hidden either within them or below them. Surprisingly, it turned out that dogs much less interested in the reward when their owners were not present. On the contrary, the difference between being the owner of a present or actively supported the dog to reward found was little.
Subsequently Viennese vet tried to replace the animal's owner stranger. Dogs showed little willingness to cooperate with a stranger. Their willingness to seek reward was almost as low as if there's no one there.
Pode scientists is highly influenced by the behavior of dogs confidence in its owner, like children trust their educators. "What really surprised us is that adult dogs behave so much like small children. Therefore, we further investigate how this behavior evolved in dogs and directly compare it with the behavior of children, "says Horn.
Link to study (in English), visit the journal Plos One .
Source: Ekolist.cz