23/07/2020
IS YOUR DOG LYING OR MANIPULATING YOU?
Comparing the dogs' behaviour in the presence of the cooperative and the competitive partner, we found an interaction between test day and partner's role in leading them to the food box containing the preferred food," the study's authors write. "On both test days, the dogs were more likely to lead the cooperative partner than the competitive one to the box containing the preferred food, and this effect was stronger on the second than on the first test day."
In other words, more than half of the dogs realized taking the competitive person to the box of sausages would not benefit them in the least, so they lied when asked to show her the food. In fact, two dogs named Arwen and Nelson were so smart, they always led the cooperative person, never the competitive person, to the sausages. Baxter, Cicca, Barni, and Caju also never led the competitive partner to the sausages, although they were less consistent with the cooperative partner.
These results, the authors write, show that dogs are capable of adjusting their behavior and using tactical deception; they understand how their actions affect the behavior of others.
It confirms that dogs are very intelligent animals and can be manipulative. Dogs are very motivated to do what benefits them the most. From the dog's point of view, he is intelligently manipulating the scenario to his benefit, NOT LYING!
The perception of the study's scenario, she continues, is that the dog is lying. But "from the dog's point of view, he is intelligently manipulating the scenario to his benefit."
The question is: Should dog owners start to side eye their pets a little more? Marianne Heberlein, the lead author on the study, suggests maybe so. "A dog still is a loyal, lovely companion," she tells Broadly. "However, the study shows that dogs, like other animals, try to optimize [their] own profit. They seem to know what they want and also can manipulate humans to reach their goal." She recommends owners "be careful and precise in rewarding your dog" as it may have faked a behavior just to get a reward.
