Birmingham loves animals. One of the most famous animal survivors in 2011 comes from Alabama. Although state and local budget constraints have limited the funding of animal shelters many individuals have stepped up to cere for lost and abandoned dogs and other pets in Birmingham. The following may be one reason for the relationship between people and dogs.
Dogs have been shown in a series of experiments to understand and respond to human intent according to research published in the journal Current Biology on January 5, 2012.
Dogs were shown to have the social cognitive kills of 6 month to two year old humans. It is not known at present if the locus of the brain processing of the signals from humans to dogs is the same as in humans.
This explains why dogs respond better to ostentatious demonstrative verbal commands that include eye contact. Just like small children, dogs respond in a similar fashion if addressed directly with their name and a hand signal or sign that infers the intent of the person. The intent of the person is an action by the dog.
The researchers readily admit that dog owners and trainers already know this but this is the first direct scientific proof of the similar behavior in dogs and young humans using eye tracking methodology.
Paper
Dogs' Gaze Following Is Tuned to Human Communicative Signals
Authors
Ern}o Te´gla´s, 1,2 Anna Gergely,3 Krisztina Kupa´n, 2 A´ da´m Miklo´ si, 3 and Jo´ zsef Topa´ l 2,*
1Cognitive Science Department, Central European University, Na´ dor 9, 1051 Budapest, Hungary
2Comparative Behavioural Research Group, Research Institute for Psychology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Victor Hugo Street, 18-22, 1132 Budapest, Hungary 3Department of Ethology, Lora´ nd Eo¨ tvo¨ s University, Pa´zma´ ny P. 1c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
The research was reviewed at the Eureka Alert web site on January 5, 2012.
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