Canines know how big their foes are just by listening to them
As any dog owner knows, dogs pay close attention to each others growls—and with good reason. A new study reveals that dogs can tell another canines size simply by listening to its growl. The size information is so accurate that a dog hearing a growl can match the sound to a photograph of the growler—a complex cognitive talent previously seen only in primates.
In a previous study, Péter Pongrácz, an ethologist at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, and colleagues showed that dogs use a specific growl (“this bone is mine”) when guarding a tasty bone. The growl always causes a listening dog to stop in its tracks. In their new study, the scientists tested the responses of dogs seated next to their owners, so that the animals felt comfortable in the lab. Twenty-four of the 96 dogs were shown s of two dogs projected onto a screen in front of them (see picture). One showed a small dog less than 52 centimeters tall; the other was of the same dog but projected as being taller than 60 cm (a 30% increase in size). The other dogs were shown control s, either of large and small triangles or of the silhouettes of large and small cats.
The researchers then played recorded food-guarding growls—from either a large or a small dog—on a speaker placed between the two projected s. The scientists filmed the dogs, recording where the canines looked as they listened to the growls (see video). Credit: Tamas Farago
Dogs that listened to the growls when either s of cats or dogs were shown spent more time looking at the pictures than did dogs looking at the triangles, the team reports online today in PLoS ONE. And 20 of the 24 dogs that were shown two dog s while listening to the growl matched the sound and photograph by looking at the correct first and for a longer period of time. Dogs that were shown a cats while listening to the growl generally looked to the left—a reaction that supports other studies suggesting that dogs look to the left when they encounter something new and unexpected.
The findings mean that “when growling, dogs dont lie about their size,” says Pongrácz. “So a listening dog can find out exactly the other dogs size”—and then decide whether to fight or step away. “Its the first time,” he adds, “that scientists have shown that a listening animal can determine the size of another animal via its call.”
“Its a great study,” says Marc Bekoff, a cognitive ethologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, “and a clear demonstration that dogs have mental representations” of their world. “It just makes so much sense and demonstrates what animals in the wild have to do daily. They have to have some noninteractive way of assessing the size of a rival, especially if theyre likely to be beaten up, or lose their territory or their mates.”
The study is also likely to spark other research projects using dogs ability to match sounds to photographs, says Brian Hare, an animal cognition researcher at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. “If dogs have expectations regarding the size of a dog based on its growl, does that mean that they do something similar with humans?”
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Clubs Offering:
I was sitting in front of a coffee shop drinking an overpriced cappuccino with two friends. At the table next to us sat two women, one who had a Chihuahua with a red leather, rhinestone-studded collar. The dog hovered near her feet and paced back and forth to the extent that his leash would allow, acting in an excited and vigilant manner.
The pavement next to the coffee shop had the usual collection of pedestrians, but when a young man wandered by with a large, mature Labrador Retriever, the Chihuahua became frantic—barking and lunging toward the bigger dog. The Lab slowed a bit to look at the tiny, noisy dog and then resumed his leisurely strolling pace as though nothing particularly interesting had happened. One of my friends leaned over to me and said in a low voice, “Another example of a yappy, frenzied small dog and a calm and reserved bigger one. It seems like it’s always the case.”
My friend was expressing a commonly believed stereotype that suggests there are behavioral differences between larger and smaller dogs, with the small dogs being viewed as more excitable and anxious. Some research suggests there may be a bit of truth in the stereotype, with the most recent report coming from a research team headed by Christine Arhant from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.
In this study, 1,276 surveys were gathered from dog owners. For the purposes of statistical analysis, the dogs were divided by size, arbitrarily classifying as big dogs those who were larger than 44 pounds and as small dogs those who were less than this weight. The data show three major behavioral differences between the small and large dogs whose owners were surveyed:
These results seem to confirm the stereotypes about small dogs, namely that they are less obedient, and more excitable, scrappy, and skittish. However, the Austrian team of researchers next asked the question “Are these differences due to genetic factors or the way that small dogs are treated in comparison with large dogs?”
Does a dog know it’s a dog?
So, the short answer to the question “does my dog think I’m a dog?” is no—and that’s primarily because of how you smell. … Your dog can tell instantly whether they’re interacting with another dog or a human by scent alone—so when your dog gets a whiff of you, they know they’re dealing with a human.
Are BIG DOGS SMARTER than SMALL DOGS?
There does happen to be a professional opinion on how much a small dog weighs, and we’ll cover that in this article.
Not only do we discuss the typical upper limit of weight of a small dog, but we also offer helpful information on how to determine how big your puppy will be.