Published in Animal Cognition, this study examined referential communicative signals in dogs, commonly referred to as showing, where dogs indicate the location of a target object to a human partner. While previous research has focused primarily on dogs’ communicative abilities, owners have largely been treated as passive recipients of these signals.
The authors aimed to address two questions: whether shared information about the present or past influences dog–human communication success, and whether owner behavior actively shapes the form and effectiveness of dogs’ showing behavior.
Using a hidden-object paradigm, knowledgeable dogs interacted with naïve owners. Shared information about the present was manipulated through the spatial configuration of hiding locations, creating conditions that required either high or low precision in indicating the target. Differences in shared knowledge about the past were tested by varying the order of conditions, representing distinct communication histories.
The results showed that communication history did not significantly affect success or showing effort. In contrast, the spatial set-up influenced both success rates and the types of showing strategies dogs used. Notably, dogs did not systematically adjust their showing effort to match the precision demands of the task.
Analysis revealed that this lack of adjustment was likely linked to owner behavior. Owners generally increased the intensity of their dog’s showing behavior, particularly in conditions requiring low precision. Crucially, owner actions also affected showing accuracy, and this influence was typically obstructive rather than supportive, reducing communicative success.
The study concludes that dog–human communication is a bidirectional process. Even well-intentioned owner behaviors can interfere with dogs’ natural communicative strategies, underscoring the importance of considering the human partner’s role when evaluating canine cognition and cooperative performance.
Source: Henschel, M., Winters, J., Müller, T. F., & Bräuer, J. (2020). Effect of shared information and owner behavior on showing in dogs (Canis familiaris). Animal Cognition. Published July 5, 2020.
