Human-Dog Relations

When children look at images of faces, there seems to be a bias to look first to the left side of the image(right hemispheric dominance) in human[1] and dog faces[2]. In this pilot experience, we use a mobile eye tracker glasses and SMI experiment suite 360° ™software (SMI), to explore first direction gaze, time and number of fixation in human, dog faces and when both stimuli appear at the same time. Our initial idea was to compare this information with verbal information about their preference for the features in the faces. Due to difficulties in the experiment the information will focus on verbal responses and descriptive first look.

Table of Contents for the 2018 book Dogs in the North: Stories of Cooperation and Co-domestication, edited by Robert Losey, Robert Wishart and Jan P. Laurens Loovers. Chapters on dogs from the circumpolar North written by ethnographers and archaeologists.

Inhibitory control, the ability to overcome prepotent but ineffective behaviors, has been studied extensively across species, revealing the involvement of this ability in many different aspects of life. While various different paradigms have been created in order to measure inhibitory control, only a limited number of studies have investigated whether such measurements indeed evaluate the same underlying mechanism, especially in non-human animals. In humans, inhibitory control is a complex construct composed of distinct behavioral processes rather than of a single unified measure. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the validity of inhibitory control paradigms in dogs. Sixty-seven dogs were tested in a battery consisting of frequently used inhibitory control tests. Additionally, dog owners were asked to complete an impulsivity questionnaire about their dog. No correlation of dogs' performance across tasks was found. In order to understand whether there are some underlying behavioral aspects explaining dogs' performance across tests, we performed principle component analyses. Results revealed that three components (persistency, compulsivity and decision speed) explained the variation across tasks. The questionnaire and dogs' individual characteristics (i.e., age and sex) provided only limited information for the derived components. Overall, results suggest that no unique measurement for inhibitory control exists in dogs, but tests rather measure different aspects of this ability. Considering the context-specificity of inhibitory control in dogs and most probably also in other non-human animals, extreme caution is needed when making conclusions about inhibitory control abilities based on a single test.

Dogs are the most popular animal species in our culture, probably because of their higher tendency to establish emotional and affective roles with humans. Even though the identification of factors that influence in the human-animal relationship may contribute to improve the human and animal wellbeing, few studies have investigated which dogs' characteristics influence in the quality of this relationship. A descriptive study was carried out by means of surveys aiming to describe the demographic characteristics of companion dogs that are associated with the perception of the relation quality by their guardians. An incidental sample of 425 dogs' guardians was taken in the city of Buenos Aires, who filled out a questionnaire with six relational intensity measures: Dog-Owner Interaction, Perceived Emotional Closeness, Perceived Costs, Anthropomorphism, Willingness to Adapt, Perceived Benefits. Dogs' age was associated with lower scores in interaction and perceived benefits and costs. Dogs' size was associated with higher benefits and will to adaptation by guardians, without association with costs perception. Dogs of specific breeds differentiated from those of mixed breeds only in terms of a higher interaction behavior linked to the incorporation of the animal in social activities. No differences were observed related to the dog's breed nor its reproductive status. The associations identification carried out may direct the selection of a dog for adoption, as well as help the development and upkeep of successful human-dog relationship. Potential applied implications are delineated. Human-dog relationship develops mainly at an emotional level, with little involvement of cognitive and social components that increase the complexity of relationships among humans.

Currently, there is still no consensus about whether animals can ascribe mental states (Theory of Mind) to themselves and others. Showing animals can respond to cues that indicate whether another has visual access to a target or not, and that they are able to use this information as a basis for whom to rely on as an informant, is an important step forward in this direction. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) with human informants are an ideal model, because they show high sensitivity towards human eye contact, they have proven able to assess the attentional state of humans in food-stealing or food-begging contexts, and they follow human gaze behind a barrier when searching for food. With 16 dogs, we not only replicated the main results of Maginnity and Grace (Anim Cogn 17(6):1375–1392, 2014) who recently found that dogs preferred to follow the pointing of a human who witnessed a food hiding event over a human who did not (the Guesser–Knower task), but also extended this finding with a further, critical control for behaviour-reading: two informants showed identical looking behaviour, but due to their different position in the room, only one had the opportunity to see where the food was hidden by a third person. Preference for the Knower in this critical test provides solid evidence for geometrical gaze following and perspective taking in dogs.

The purpose of my Master’s Thesis research is to determine if and what type of relationship exists between owner-to-dog attachment levels and the degree of aversion used in dog training. I also sought to determine if owner characteristics such as parental status, income, gender, and the like influenced the degree of aversion used. My primary hypothesis is that a negative correlation exists between attachment to one’s dog and aversion used in training. That is, as attachment scores increase, aversion scores decrease. In addition to testing this hypothesis, I collected data to determine if there are correlations between the following: gender and aversion used in dog training; parental status and aversion used in dog training; and, socioeconomic status and aversion used in dog training.
Data collection took place via online, self-report surveys and included demographic information on owners and their dogs, assessment of owner to dog attachment levels (utilizing the Pet Attachment Life Impact Scale), and a measure of aversion used in training. The survey also included open-ended questions that provided owners with the opportunity to add ethnographic value to the data. To validate the breakdown of training philosophies, I completed a pilot survey of professional trainers in which I asked them to classify training philosophies and assign degrees of aversion to commonly recommended methods and techniques. The results of this dog trainer survey aided in the construction of the aversion measurement tool included in the dog owner survey mentioned above.
My recruitment strategy involved multiple Internet outlets along with local canvassing. The sample consisted of 673 respondents from across the United States. Of that population, 90.1% were female and 88.0% identified as white. Additionally, 78.6% were not parents, but a large percentage of the population (65%) considered themselves their dog’s parent or guardian. A weak positive correlation (r=.217, p<.001) was found between participants’ attachment and the reported frequency of aversion used in training their dogs. These results run contrary to my hypothesis. This thesis discusses the interpretations of these findings, including with respect to changing human-dog interactions in the United States.
This thesis provides a window into a growing phenomenon of “pet parents,” with data that could drive future research. The human-canine bond is an area of study still in development. In addition, a growing population of individuals identify as “childfree,” choosing not to raise children. Many of these individuals are “parenting” their pets, instead, and the majority of the current sample seems to reflect that population. A large and growing body of research exists concerning the perspective of the dog (cognition, neuroscience, and emotion research in particular), while most data collected from the human perspective focuses on epidemiological and physiological assessments of dog ownership. Future research could focus more on the emotionality of dog ownership to uncover driving factors behind, and to improve, the choices made in care and training. 

The traditional uses for many or our modern breeds of dog have changed or become unnecessary. However, there are new opportunities developing in the field of therapy and service dogs, which can give dogs new professions that are of great value to us.  It is important, however, to know how to choose dogs that will be suitable for these tasks.

Lietuvoje kontakto su šunimi panaudojimas socialinės pagalbos procese yra netyrinėta tema. Randasi privačios iniciatyvos užsiimti šia veikla, tačiau profesionalų ši sritis yra gana apleista, kai užsienyje ji įgyja vis didesnį pripažinimą tiek akademikų ir praktikų, tiek mokslininkų bendruomenėje ir jos taikymo laukas tampa vienu plačiausių žmogaus sveikatos priežiūros ir socialinės pagalbos procese. Socialinio darbo studijų programoje nėra įvertinama ryšio su augintiniais svarba socialinės pagalbos procese ir nėra plačiai žinoma apie gerąją užsienio praktiką.
Darbo tikslas – per ekspertų asmenines patirtis panaudojant kontaktą su šunimi socialinės pagalbos procese atskleisti to panaudojimo galimybes.
           

This thesis present an ethnography of the experiences of owners of aggressive family dogs, discusses how (the issue of) dog aggression is constructed by the society and experienced by individuals, and examines what these processes indicate about human- animal (owner-dog) relationships and the status of the dog in the contemporary US society. My analysis is mainly based on the fieldwork I undertook in San Francisco in August 2011, but is also informed by an internet survey I conducted in December 2011 as well as some general observations about the representation of dog aggression in books, media and the legal system. I frame my discussion in terms of ideologies about dog ownership and appropriate (dog) behavior, conceptions of home, family and personal identity, and I place it within the human-animal boundary framework that has been of interest to anthropologists for decades. I hope that this thesis will contribute to the anthropological study of human-animal relationships and of contemporary US society, as well as be a potential resource for individuals dealing with dog aggression.