Study Suggests That Dogs Can Tell When You're Keeping Snacks From Them on Purpose

Dogs, most of them, are pretty smart. We also know that dogs are very tuned into their beloved humans. This might go even further than we ever thought, in that dogs may be able to intuit our intentions by our behavior, and that they can learn this in human terms about behavior they would never see in other dogs.  

The average pooch may know when you’re choosing not to give them treats, new research from Germany suggests. The study found that dogs reacted differently when people withheld food from them intentionally or seemingly by accident, indicating that they could tell the difference. The findings could mean that dogs possess an aspect of cognition often considered unique to humans: the ability to acknowledge the inner workings of others.

In psychology, there’s a concept known as theory of mind. Put simply, it’s our capacity for recognizing that others around us have their own thoughts, perceptions, and mental states and that these can differ from ours. This knowledge can then help us empathize with other people, predict their behavior, and generally understand them better. Though most everyone seems to have a theory of mind, it’s a skill that doesn’t emerge until we reach our toddler years and continues to develop over time.

Read about the experiment that sheds light on the disappointment and blame (or lack of it) that dogs go through when denied a treat at Gizmodo.

(Image credit: cogdogblog)

#dog #dogcognition #dogintelligence



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