A 2024 study by Péter Pongrácz and Csenge Anna Lugosi, published in Animals, demonstrates that breed function shapes dependency on humans during challenging tasks. The researchers investigated how cooperative versus independent dog breeds responded when presented with an unsolvable object-manipulation challenge.
The experiment involved 71 dogs from 36 breeds, divided evenly into cooperative and independent groups. In training, all dogs learned to retrieve a reward from a container. In the test trial, the container was locked, making the task unsolvable. While both groups showed equal persistence at the container, their social strategies diverged significantly. Cooperative breeds performed more frequent gaze alternations between the reward and the nearby human, and they looked back at their handler more often compared to independent breeds.
These findings suggest that functional breed selection, not just domestication, plays a vital role in shaping dog behavior. Cooperative breeds—developed for close work with humans—exhibit higher levels of social dependency, seeking guidance when faced with obstacles, while independent breeds retain more self-reliant problem-solving tendencies.
This research highlights how modern breed history influences canine cognition and social behavior, offering new insights into how dogs interact with humans across different contexts.
Source: Pongrácz, P., & Lugosi, C. A. (2024). Cooperative but Dependent–Functional Breed Selection in Dogs Influences Human-Directed Gazing in a Difficult Object-Manipulation Task. Animals, 14.
