In a study published in Scientific Reports, researchers Amin Azadian and Anastasia Protopopova (2024) explored cognitive and behavioral variation across five major dog breed clades: UK Rural, Retrievers, Asian Spitz, European Mastiff, and New World. The study included 111 dogs who participated in a structured virtual learning task designed to measure acquisition, discrimination, reversal learning, and extinction—key processes in behavioral adaptability.
Each dog performed a “hand-touch” behavior across four phases: acquiring the behavior, choosing between two hands (discrimination), switching to the opposite hand (reversal learning), and finally experiencing no reward (extinction). Owners also completed standardized assessments on their dogs’ impulsivity and reward responsiveness.
The findings revealed significant differences among the breed clades in learning ability and behavioral traits. For instance, some clades adapted more quickly during reversal learning, while others exhibited greater resistance to extinction. However, the researchers caution that these differences might not be purely genetic. Instead, they appear to be partially shaped by human-dog relational dynamics—especially the degree of cooperativity in communication, a trait historically embedded in breed functions.
Interestingly, the study also found that different factors predicted learning success depending on breed clade. This suggests that historical breeding purposes—such as hunting, guarding, or companionship—continue to influence not only a dog’s temperament but also how it learns and behaves in structured tasks.
These results point to the importance of tailoring training strategies to individual dogs, taking into account their breed background and behavioral predispositions. Understanding these distinctions could enhance training effectiveness and improve welfare outcomes across a diverse dog population.
Source: Amin Azadian, Anastasia Protopopova. “Exploring breed differences in discrimination, reversal learning, and resistance to extinction in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).” Scientific Reports, Volume 14, 2024-10-15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76283-3
