Dogs understand human perspective, say researchers

Dogs understand human perspective, say researchers

www.bbc.co.uk

Dogs are more capable of understanding situations from a human's point of view than has previously been recognised, according to researchers.

They found dogs were four times more likely to steal food they had been forbidden, when lights were turned off so humans in the room could not see.

This suggested the dogs were able to alter their behaviour when they knew their owners' perspective had changed.

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Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Another reason dogs rule: They know what you're thinking

This is a really interesting study I came across, as being a lover of animals and pet parent to two dogs. It seems that dogs can really understand us more than we previously thought, which can be very groundbreaking. Sure the article is mentioning dogs stealing food in a dark room while thinking humans are out, but perhaps this perspective can show us how they empathize with us and maybe how they became the companions they are today.

Your thoughts Animal lovers of ATS?

Also, check this article below of something similar:

www.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by TheToastmanCometh
Makes perfect sense to me. My dog thinks he's just one of my kids- a contemporary of my daughters and granddaughter. He doesn't really seem to know that he is an animal, and I'm surely never going to tell him.

I saw a dog program where they proved that the dogs knew that if the human's eyes were closed, they couldn't see what he was doing. Living with four dogs, I spend a lot of time observing them and their communications. It doesn't surprise me at all that they understand how they are viewed. People don't give dogs enough credit.

Wow how amazing.. To think people eat these animals in certain countries. Knowing how smart dogs are really puts things in perspective.

My dogs do this all the time, If I go to bed when I've been drinking (alcohol) then 100% of the when I wake up they have raided the bin in the kitchen on a normal weekday or whatever they never touch it, its like they know I'm stone cold asleep and they can do what they want, sneaky buggers!

Yeah, I admit, my 2 have got me sussed and play me like a fiddle. I long ago figured this out and have learnt to accept it. They know how to get what they want from me, and sometimes try to figure out what i want from them (if it suits them) They're better at it with me, than I am with them.

Seems legit to me. My dog can tell when my wife comes home from work, knows when I need to let him out, understands my emotions.

Good read. Star and flag.

-SAP-

Dogs definitely know when they're being bad. You can see it on their guilty little faces when you tell them why you're upset with them. Such sweet, loving companions though. They've been brought up for thousands of years alongside us so it doesn't surprise me that they know a bit more about us than what's typically attributed to them.

Wow, they just figured this out? My dog used to do this stuff when he chewed on stuff a lot as a puppy, he would wait until you weren't around to do it. Every time.

My dog knows when I can and can't see him. I could be talking to the neighbor, he will stick around for a few minutes, but once he knows I'm not focused on him anymore, he'll wander off and go start trouble

He is very clever. Just look at him, plotting...




as you can see, I removed the keys.. because you just can't trust him sometimes.

"These results suggest humans might be right, where dogs are concerned, but we still can't be completely sure if the results mean dogs have a truly flexible understanding of the mind and others' minds. It has always been assumed only humans had this ability."

And still yet, another anthropocentric view of man. Of course they understand! That's why we use them as rescue dogs and that's why when no one has been rescued, trainers stage rescues to help with the dog's moral.

Ha. Good find op.
Sure fits my gsd. He's forever eating stuff he shouldn't when I go out without him.
It's the hiding when I get back that's the first clue.

I definitely agree with those findings. My own experience led me to believe that they can feel our emotions. Many years ago, I had a small terrier that was very protective of me. My ex boyfriend at the time took care of her as a puppy and later gave her to me as a gift. She was very close to both us until one day. One day we were hanging out together and he lost his temper at me and had me cornered in my room. He was about to lay a hand on me when she suddenly turned on him and started to attack him. She knew that I was about to be hurt so she turned on him. Its not like he was a stranger but she sensed danger. After that day, I knew that the connections between dogs and us is something really extraordinary and beyond our understanding.

I'll never forget her as long as I live

I am not overly suprised by this. Many people recount stories of thier dogs ability to take on human characteristics, from the way they look when they desire the food YOU are trying to eat, to the way that they behave when they have been chastised for some infraction of the rules that any sensible owner will lay down. Myself, I have never owned a dog, but I know plenty of pet owners who are both mystified and full of wonder, at the ability of thier four legged friends, to become furry people, to fit into the hybrid pack of which they find themselves a part.

The behaviours mentioned in the article fit so well with the testimony of pet owners, I am suprised that such studies have not been done before!

Domesticated animals have been evolving alongside human beings. As technology has been introduced both our capacities in fluid intellect seems to have gone up as well.

You ever seen animals stare at a t.v. and notice some of it? My cat watches certain programs for some periods of time. Always notices another cat on screen.

She has music preferences as well. Some animals are more self aware than others. I would imagine a bell shaped curve for IQ just as human intellect varies greatly.

I'm not entirely surprised, given the plastic genome of dogs AND the amount of selective breeding we've done over millennia. This is the one animal that we have which has been selected for its ability to integrate with human households and families -- it's the right size (not too large (like a horse) and not too small (like a mouse) and has pack social structure that allows it to fit into a human pack. Its habits are relatively clean, and it can eat most of the same foods that we eat.

There are other animals (including cats) that apparently exhibit these same traits, but I feel that because they have been more selectively bred for this that dogs are the creatures who exhibit the most sophistication in this area.

reply to post by TheToastmanCometh


I don't find this hard to believe, in fact it supports what I always believed about dog's and their ability to read humans

I own one of these:


A patterdale terrier, possibly the most intelligent dog I have ever had the pleasure to know, the thing is though he is a crafty little bugger and if you give him half a chance he'll take it. For instance he's become very famous with friends for his taste for beer and his ingenious ways of getting at it.With dogs though I believe it's a lust issue, they always want what they are not allowed, just like us and those apples so to speak.

Dogs have an amazing sense of awareness that's why we chose them to be our best friend, a best friend that just happens to eat your food when your not looking I don't mind though I love dogs

BTW I do not endorse feeding dogs beer... It should be their choice and they need to be of age first
But seriously don't do it, it does not agree with some dogs a friend of mine found that out the hard way`and rightly so... Idiot was trying to train it as a fighting dog and it picked a fight with him

I'm finding that I'm not surprised by these findings either just from watching my own two dogs. The one's barely a year old, still a pup in my eyes and the older 10 year old dog is always trying to fool him. The dog will spot a toy he really wants and so will stage a decoy toy to attract the pup's attention. After he tricks the dog with the decoy, he'll grab the toy he really wanted all along and make a mad dash away with it.

The two also conditioned themselves to know when my dad comes home from work. They figured out that whenever the goose honks on the bird clock that that is time for dad to come home and they will both go running to look for his car parking. Smart little creatures.

We owe our canine companions an enormous debt.....Without them we'd still be living in caves!

This BBC documentary contains some truly eye opening data on dogs:



These two reprobates are mine:

reply to post by squarehead666


Nice dogs
Almost got licked to death by greyhounds before

Thanks for the youtube video, I forgot about that show and really wanted to watch it before

nearly finished watching it, well worth the watch for anyone interested in this topic and as squarehead666 said very eye opening with it's research and experiments