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Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and...
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Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and Attachment Towards the Owner

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Human-Animal Interactions, Animal Behaviour and Emotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2021) | Viewed by 32406

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Márta Gácsi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ELKH-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
Interests: dogs’ attachment behavior towards their owner; human–animal interactions; evolution of canids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been established that family dogs develop a special affectional bond, attachment, towards their owners. This human–analogue behaviour system serves as a scaffolding for many of their socio-cognitive skills.  Dogs’ dependence on their human partners provides the basis of their efficient interspecific communication and interactions; they pay attention to humans, cooperate with them and learn from them via observation.

With the spread of pet keeping in industrialized countries, dog ownership shows an accelerating trend. Although most dogs are no longer kept for any specific purpose, their ability to communicate and cooperate with the owners is still of crucial importance. We require science-based data, the genetic and/or environmental factors of which may improve our knowledge of the human–dog relationship, ensure the success of their interactions and increase the efficiency of cooperation between family dogs and owners.

Dr. Márta Gácsi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • family dog
  • dog–human interaction
  • attention
  • cooperation
  • interspecific attachment
  • domestication
  • training
  • social learning

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 834 KiB  
Article
Attachment towards the Owner Is Associated with Spontaneous Sleep EEG Parameters in Family Dogs
by Cecília Carreiro, Vivien Reicher, Anna Kis and Márta Gácsi
Animals 2022, 12(7), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12070895 - 31 Mar 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 15679
Abstract
Affective neuroscience studies have demonstrated the impact of social interactions on sleep quality. In humans, trait-like social behaviors, such as attachment, are related to sleep brain activity patterns. Our aim was to investigate associations between companion dogs’ spontaneous brain activity during sleep (in [...] Read more.
Affective neuroscience studies have demonstrated the impact of social interactions on sleep quality. In humans, trait-like social behaviors, such as attachment, are related to sleep brain activity patterns. Our aim was to investigate associations between companion dogs’ spontaneous brain activity during sleep (in the presence of the owner) and their relevant behavior in a task-free social context assessing their attachment towards the owner. In random order, each dog participated in a non-invasive sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement and in the Strange Situation Test (SST) to assess their attachment behavior. We found that higher attachment scores were associated with more time spent in NREM sleep, lower NREM alpha power activity and lower NREM alpha–delta anticorrelation. Our results reveal that, when dogs sleep in a novel environment in the company of their owners, differences in their attachment are reflected in their sleep EEG characteristics. This could be best explained by the different degree that owners could be used as a safe haven in an unfamiliar environment and during the unusual procedure of the first EEG measurement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and Attachment Towards the Owner)
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19 pages, 1368 KiB  
Article
Evaluating ADHD Assessment for Dogs: A Replication Study
by Barbara Csibra, Nóra Bunford and Márta Gácsi
Animals 2022, 12(7), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12070807 - 22 Mar 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4455
Abstract
The family dog, in its natural environment, exhibits neuropsychological deficits redolent of human psychiatric disorders, including behaviours similar to human Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. For dogs, Vas and colleagues developed a 13-item questionnaire to measure inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (Dog ARS; 2007). We re-assessed, [...] Read more.
The family dog, in its natural environment, exhibits neuropsychological deficits redolent of human psychiatric disorders, including behaviours similar to human Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. For dogs, Vas and colleagues developed a 13-item questionnaire to measure inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (Dog ARS; 2007). We re-assessed, in a large sample of dogs (N = 319), psychometric properties of the Dog ARS, to identify possible limitations as a basis for further development. We examined the cross-study stability of factor structure and 40-day temporal stability of item and subscale scores and compared owner-report with expert (dog trainer)-report (n = 86), paralleling human parent/teacher assessments. To identify ambiguous items, we administered a modified version (including “I don’t know” options, N = 520) to a different sample. We could replicate the factor structure with evidence of good internal consistency and test–retest reliability of both subscales. Agreement between owner and trainer ratings was fair (inattention) and moderate (hyperactivity/impulsivity). Three ambiguous items were identified. Overall, we claim that the Dog ARS is a reliable tool to assess ADHD-like behaviour in dogs, but in its current form, it is not suitable to detect diagnosable individuals, as it does not comprise items assessing functional impairment, and also, the inclusion of owner-expert ratings in the evaluation process would be necessary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and Attachment Towards the Owner)
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12 pages, 3420 KiB  
Article
Overimitation in Dogs: Is There a Link to the Quality of the Relationship with the Caregiver?
by Ludwig Huber, Denise Kubala and Giulia Cimarelli
Animals 2022, 12(3), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12030326 - 29 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4263
Abstract
Overimitation, the copying of causally irrelevant or non-functional actions, is well-known from humans but completely absent in other primates. Recent studies from our lab have provided evidence for overimitation in canines. Previously, we found that half of tested pet dogs copied their human [...] Read more.
Overimitation, the copying of causally irrelevant or non-functional actions, is well-known from humans but completely absent in other primates. Recent studies from our lab have provided evidence for overimitation in canines. Previously, we found that half of tested pet dogs copied their human caregiver’s irrelevant action, while only few did so when the action was demonstrated by an unfamiliar experimenter. Therefore, we hypothesized that dogs show overimitation as a result of socio-motivational grounds. To test this more specifically, here we investigated how the relationship with the caregiver influenced the eagerness to overimitate. Given the high variability in the tendency to overimitate their caregiver, we hypothesized that not only familiarity but also relationship quality influences whether dogs faithfully copy their caregiver. For this purpose, on the one hand we measured the overimitation tendency (with the same test as in the two studies before) and on the other hand the relationship quality between the dogs and their caregivers. Although we found no significant correlation between the two test results, our data might suggest that, on average, dogs who overimitated seemed to show more referential and affiliative behaviours towards the owner than dogs who showed less or no copying of the irrelevant action. Notably, as a group, those dogs that showed the highest level of copying accuracy of the irrelevant action showed the highest level of gazing and synchronization towards the owner. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and Attachment Towards the Owner)
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14 pages, 1226 KiB  
Article
Social Stimulation by the Owner Increases Dogs’ (Canis familiaris) Social Susceptibility in a Food Choice Task—The Possible Effect of Endogenous Oxytocin Release
by Anna Kis, Henrietta Bolló, Anna Gergely and József Topál
Animals 2022, 12(3), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12030296 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3694
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests a human-like susceptibility to social influence in dogs. For example, dogs tend to ignore their ‘natural’ preference for the larger amount of food after having seen a human’s explicit preference for a smaller quantity. However, it is still unclear whether [...] Read more.
Recent evidence suggests a human-like susceptibility to social influence in dogs. For example, dogs tend to ignore their ‘natural’ preference for the larger amount of food after having seen a human’s explicit preference for a smaller quantity. However, it is still unclear whether this tendency to conform to the partner’s behaviour can be influenced by social stimuli and/or the neurohormone oxytocin as primers to prosocial predispositions. In Experiment I, eighty two dogs were tested using Prato-Previde et al.’s food quantity preference task. In Experiment I, we investigated in a 2 × 2 design how (i) a 10-minute-long social stimulation by the owner versus a socially ignoring pre-treatment as well as (ii) on-line ostensive communications versus no communication during task demonstration affect dogs’ (N = 82) choices in the abovementioned food choice task. Results indicate that the owners’ pre-treatment with social stimuli (eye contact, petting) increased dogs’ susceptibility to the experimenter’s food preference, but the salient ostensive addressing signals accompanying human demonstration masked this social priming effect. In Experiment II, N = 32 dogs from the subjects of Experiment I were retested after oxytocin (OT) or placebo (PL) pre-treatments. This experiment aimed to study whether intranasal administration of oxytocin as compared to placebo treatment would similarly increase dogs’ tendency to re-enact the human demonstrator’s counterproductive choice in the same task. Results showed an increased susceptibility to the human preference in the OT group, suggesting that both socially stimulating pre-treatment and the intranasal administration of oxytocin have similar priming effects on dogs’ social susceptibility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and Attachment Towards the Owner)
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13 pages, 271 KiB  
Article
Development of the Dog Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (D-AISI): A Pilot Study on a Sample of Female Owners
by Giacomo Riggio, Marc Noom, Angelo Gazzano and Chiara Mariti
Animals 2021, 11(12), 3381; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123381 - 26 Nov 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3246
Abstract
To date, the Strange Situation Procedure is the only tool available to investigate the quality of the dog’s attachment bond towards the owner. This study aimed to adapt a parent-report scale, named the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12, originally designed to assess [...] Read more.
To date, the Strange Situation Procedure is the only tool available to investigate the quality of the dog’s attachment bond towards the owner. This study aimed to adapt a parent-report scale, named the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12, originally designed to assess 6- to 12-year-old children’s attachment insecurity, to dog–owner dyads and assess measures of consistency and validity. The online questionnaire was completed by 524 female dog owners. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed five components named, respectively, “physical contact”, “control”, “separation anxiety”, “owner as emotional support”, and “owner as a source of positive emotion”. Because of the three-factor structure of the original AISI, a PCA with a pre-fixed set of three factors was also performed. The resulting subscales mirrored the ones found for the original scale (i.e., ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganized), although four items did not fit the model. Internal reliability appeared to be satisfying for the ambivalent and the disorganized subscales, and good for the avoidant subscale. The theoretical background and the results of this study suggest that the three-dimensional model represents a better solution for the interpretation of the Dog Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (D-AISI). Although promising, this scale requires refinement and assessment of additional validity measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) – Attention To, Cooperation With, and Attachment Towards the Owner)
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