Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Reflective belief revision before the age of reason.

Journal of experimental child psychology·2026
Same author

Individual Differences in Great Ape Cognition Across Time and Domains: Stability, Structure, and Predictability.

Psychological science·2026
Same author

Popperian Dogs-Practical Rationality and Inferential Reasoning in Dogs.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI·2026
Same author

Is dogs' tendency to follow human misleading communicative cues influenced by humans' auditory perspective?

Animal cognition·2025
Same author

Adults show selective responses to unreliability based on the strength of counterevidence.

PloS one·2025
Same author

Epistemic Curiosity in Kea Parrots and Human Children.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2025

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading
05:54

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading

Published on: October 18, 2018

6.1K

Using mobile eye tracking to study dogs' understanding of human referential communication.

Christoph J Völter1,2, Karoline Gerwisch1, Paula Berg1

  • 1Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|February 11, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Dogs better understand human communication when pointing and gazing are combined. This dual cueing significantly boosts canine attention and choice accuracy for hidden rewards, outperforming other signals.

Keywords:
canine cognitiongazinghuman–animal interactionmobile eye trackingpointingreferential communication

More Related Videos

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

15.6K
Loneliness Assuaged: Eye-Tracking an Audience Watching Barrage Videos
06:45

Loneliness Assuaged: Eye-Tracking an Audience Watching Barrage Videos

Published on: May 29, 2020

4.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 28, 2025

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading
05:54

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading

Published on: October 18, 2018

6.1K
Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

15.6K
Loneliness Assuaged: Eye-Tracking an Audience Watching Barrage Videos
06:45

Loneliness Assuaged: Eye-Tracking an Audience Watching Barrage Videos

Published on: May 29, 2020

4.1K

Area of Science:

  • Canine cognition
  • Animal behavior
  • Human-animal interaction

Background:

  • Dogs' understanding of human referential communication is extensively studied but remains debated.
  • While dogs follow human signals, the precise cognitive mechanisms are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how ostensive pointing and gaze cues direct dogs' attention and choices.
  • To compare the effectiveness of combined pointing and gazing versus other directional cues in dogs.

Main Methods:

  • Mobile eye tracking was used during real-world object-choice tasks with dogs.
  • Five conditions were tested: pointing, pointing + gazing, gazing, fake throwing, and a no-cue control.
  • The location of a hidden food reward was indicated by each cue.

Main Results:

  • The combination of pointing and gazing significantly enhanced dogs' attention to the referent.
  • Dogs showed prolonged attention and chose the referent significantly above chance levels with pointing + gazing.
  • A fake throwing cue directed gaze but did not improve referent identification.

Conclusions:

  • The joint use of pointing and gazing is highly effective in directing dogs' attention.
  • This combined cueing strategy significantly improves dogs' ability to locate hidden rewards.
  • Findings contribute to understanding sophisticated communication in interspecies interactions.