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Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use a physical marker to locate hidden food.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Riedel, J; Buttelmann, D; Call, J; Tomasello, M
Published in: Animal cognition
January 2006

Dogs can use the placement of an arbitrary marker to locate hidden food in an object-choice situation. We tested domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in three studies aimed at pinning down the relative contributions of the human's hand and the marker itself. We baited one of two cups (outside of the dogs' view) and gave the dog a communicative cue to find the food. Study 1 systematically varied dogs' perceptual access to the marker placing event, so that dogs saw either the whole human, the hand only, the marker only, or nothing. Follow-up trials investigated the effect of removing the marker before the dog's choice. Dogs used the marker as a communicative cue even when it had been removed prior to the dog's choice and attached more importance to this cue than to the hand that placed it although the presence of the hand boosted performance when it appeared together with the marker. Study 2 directly contrasted the importance of the hand and the marker and revealed that the effect of the marker diminished if it had been associated with both cups. In contrast touching both cups with the hand had no effect on performance. Study 3 investigated whether the means of marker placement (intentional or accidental) had an effect on dogs' choices. Results showed that dogs did not differentiate intentional and accidental placing of the marker. These results suggest that dogs use the marker as a genuine communicative cue quite independently from the experimenter's actions.

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Published In

Animal cognition

DOI

EISSN

1435-9456

ISSN

1435-9448

Publication Date

January 2006

Volume

9

Issue

1

Start / End Page

27 / 35

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Signal Detection, Psychological
  • Recognition, Psychology
  • Nonverbal Communication
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Gestures
  • Female
  • Dogs
  • Cues
 

Citation

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Riedel, J., Buttelmann, D., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2006). Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use a physical marker to locate hidden food. Animal Cognition, 9(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-005-0256-0
Riedel, Julia, David Buttelmann, Josep Call, and Michael Tomasello. “Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use a physical marker to locate hidden food.Animal Cognition 9, no. 1 (January 2006): 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-005-0256-0.
Riedel J, Buttelmann D, Call J, Tomasello M. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use a physical marker to locate hidden food. Animal cognition. 2006 Jan;9(1):27–35.
Riedel, Julia, et al. “Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use a physical marker to locate hidden food.Animal Cognition, vol. 9, no. 1, Jan. 2006, pp. 27–35. Epmc, doi:10.1007/s10071-005-0256-0.
Riedel J, Buttelmann D, Call J, Tomasello M. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use a physical marker to locate hidden food. Animal cognition. 2006 Jan;9(1):27–35.
Journal cover image

Published In

Animal cognition

DOI

EISSN

1435-9456

ISSN

1435-9448

Publication Date

January 2006

Volume

9

Issue

1

Start / End Page

27 / 35

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Signal Detection, Psychological
  • Recognition, Psychology
  • Nonverbal Communication
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Gestures
  • Female
  • Dogs
  • Cues