By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
The dog and owner were played dog growls while images of a large and small dog were projected onto the screen. The experiment was recorded with video cameras
Dogs are able to tell how big another dog is just by listening to its growl, a new study has found.
Scientists studied 96 different dogs from a variety of breeds and ages. One group of 24 dogs were shown two images projected onto a screen, one of a large dog, the other a small one.
The dogs were then played the recording of growl from either small or large dog which came from between the two images. The dogs were filmed to see which of the images they looked at first and for longest.
The results, published online in the journal PLoS ONE, showed that 20 of the 24 test dogs looked at the image of the appropriate-sized dog first and looked at it longest.
The team, led by researcher Péter Pongrácz of the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, were testing the dogs using a specific growl used by dogs to protect their food.
A control group of 24 dogs were also played the dog growls but were instead shown silhouettes of large and small cats or geometric shapes. All of them knew what a cat was before the experiment began.
Most of the dogs in this group looked first at the image on the left, a finding that supports earlier studies that have found dogs tend to look to the left when presented with something unexpected.
A final control group of 24 was shown large and small dog images while listening to a type of abstract sound, similar to white noise.
Examples of the dogs' behaviour as the sounds were played. A - looking at the middle. B - looking to the left. C - looking at the right picture. D, Projections of dog pictures. The sound of growling was projected from the centre
The controls presented with images of triangles showed little interest in the images, while those show of cats spent more time looking at them.
To ensure owners did not unconsciously affect their dog’s behaviour they were listening to music via headphones throughout the experiment and were unable to hear the growls.
Pongrácz said the dogs’ ability to match the growl to the photograph of a dog of the same size is a 'complex cognitive talent previously seen only in primates.'
The research also shows that dogs do not lie about their size, and this is the first time research has shown animals can determine another’s size by the sound it makes.
source: dailymail
The dog and owner were played dog growls while images of a large and small dog were projected onto the screen. The experiment was recorded with video camerasDogs are able to tell how big another dog is just by listening to its growl, a new study has found.
Scientists studied 96 different dogs from a variety of breeds and ages. One group of 24 dogs were shown two images projected onto a screen, one of a large dog, the other a small one.
The dogs were then played the recording of growl from either small or large dog which came from between the two images. The dogs were filmed to see which of the images they looked at first and for longest.
The results, published online in the journal PLoS ONE, showed that 20 of the 24 test dogs looked at the image of the appropriate-sized dog first and looked at it longest.
The team, led by researcher Péter Pongrácz of the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, were testing the dogs using a specific growl used by dogs to protect their food.
A control group of 24 dogs were also played the dog growls but were instead shown silhouettes of large and small cats or geometric shapes. All of them knew what a cat was before the experiment began.
Most of the dogs in this group looked first at the image on the left, a finding that supports earlier studies that have found dogs tend to look to the left when presented with something unexpected.
A final control group of 24 was shown large and small dog images while listening to a type of abstract sound, similar to white noise.
Examples of the dogs' behaviour as the sounds were played. A - looking at the middle. B - looking to the left. C - looking at the right picture. D, Projections of dog pictures. The sound of growling was projected from the centreThe controls presented with images of triangles showed little interest in the images, while those show of cats spent more time looking at them.
To ensure owners did not unconsciously affect their dog’s behaviour they were listening to music via headphones throughout the experiment and were unable to hear the growls.
Pongrácz said the dogs’ ability to match the growl to the photograph of a dog of the same size is a 'complex cognitive talent previously seen only in primates.'
The research also shows that dogs do not lie about their size, and this is the first time research has shown animals can determine another’s size by the sound it makes.
source: dailymail
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