Our dogs have different personalities. Some are well-behaved, some are drama kings and queens, others are naughty, and some are plain sneaky.
Do you have a sneaky dog? Were there instances when your dogs deceived you? Other dog owners have similar stories. New research backs up the use of deception by dogs, saying dogs will most likely deceive the people around them to get what they want. This is true, especially if it involves food.
According to a study held by Marianne Heberlein, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Experimental Studies at the University of Zurich,
she has observed her dogs deceiving one another in hopes of getting a better spot by pretending they are seeing something outside. Heberlein tested whether humans would use the same deception.
Process of the Study
This particular study involved twenty-seven dogs that were observed. These dogs are then paired with their respective owners, who always give them treats. They are also given two different partners- the competitive partner and the other, the generous one. To determine which of which, the dogs were all taught to “find the food.” This was done by bringing each of their pair mates to two boxes. These two boxes both contained a treat. The competitive one would keep the treat to themself, while the generous partner would gladly reward the treat to the dog. After the dogs figured out which partner was giving and who was not, they were presented with a new task. A biscuit and a sausage were placed under three new boxes, with one box containing nothing. Then, they were asked to find the food in the presence of their partners. Following the first test, the generous partner gave the treat to the dog, while the competitive one kept it to themself. The dogs were returned to their owners after this test of leading their partners to one of the three boxes. Then, the process is repeated. The owner would ask their dogs to choose among the boxes. If the box contained a treat, they would give it to their dogs.
This test was conducted over two days. They followed when the dogs were asked to show their partners the food boxes. However, as soon as they understood that the competitive partner wouldn’t give them the treats, they were observed to lead them to the empty boxes often.
Experts were in awe of how fast these dogs learned about getting the snacks. They have more snacks and treats since they led their competitive partners to empty boxes. This study paved the way to the knowledge that dogs can differentiate between competitive and cooperative partner- thus using a good tactic to work on their benefit. According to the research, dogs look into their options and use deception to get their desired snacks.
Through this study, experts further believed in the sophistication and ability of dog cognition. In truth, our dogs are indeed sneaky and clever—working to get that much-coveted extra treat.