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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs
08:59

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

Published on: October 13, 2017

How dogs know when communication is intended for them.

Juliane Kaminski1, Linda Schulz, Michael Tomasello

  • 1Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany. kaminski@eva.mpg.de

Developmental Science
|February 24, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Domestic dogs use eye contact and their name to understand human communication. Puppies and adult dogs rely on these cues, similar to human infants, but may not grasp gestures directed at others.

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Published on: October 26, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Animal Behavior
  • Comparative Psychology
  • Canine Cognition

Background:

  • Domestic dogs exhibit unique abilities in understanding human gestural communication compared to other species.
  • The specific cues dogs use to interpret human communicative intent remain largely unknown.
  • Understanding these cues is crucial for deciphering the nuances of human-dog interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific communicative cues (eye contact, name-calling) that domestic dogs use to determine human communicative intent.
  • To compare the reliance on these cues between adult dogs and puppies.
  • To explore potential differences in comprehension when gestures are directed towards other recipients.

Main Methods:

  • Four studies employed object choice tasks with adult dogs and puppies.
  • Human communicators used pointing or gazing gestures to indicate one of two opaque cups.
  • Variations included eye contact, name-calling, and the intended recipient of the communication.

Main Results:

  • Eye contact was a significant cue for dogs to understand communicative intent.
  • Calling the dog's name also played a role, though to a lesser extent than eye contact.
  • No significant differences were observed between adult dogs and puppies in their use of these cues.
  • Dogs did not appear to comprehend gestures directed at another human, unlike human infants.

Conclusions:

  • Domestic dogs, like human infants, rely on eye contact and name-calling to identify communicative intent.
  • These findings highlight shared developmental pathways in understanding social cues between humans and dogs.
  • Dogs' potential interpretation of all human communication as directives may explain their limited understanding of gestures aimed at third parties.