Familiar Dog or Familiar Person: Who Do Pet Dogs Best Synchronize with?

Area of Science:

• Canine Cognition
• Ethology
• Animal Behaviour

Background:

• Behavioural synchronization in dogs studied intraspecifically and interspecifically.
• Previous research has not directly compared synchronization with familiar dogs versus familiar people in outdoor settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare dogs' behavioural synchronization and gaze behaviour with a familiar dog (FD) versus a familiar person (FP) during outdoor walks.
• To test if dogs synchronize more with FDs due to locomotor patterns and direct more gaze towards FPs.

Main Methods:

• Twenty dogs were observed walking outdoors in two conditions: with an FD and with an FP.
• Key metrics included distance, speed difference, body alignment, and gaze behaviour.

Main Results:

• Dogs maintained a significantly shorter distance to FDs than FPs.
• Speed synchronization was better with FDs, but only in dogs not cohabiting with other dogs.
• No significant differences in body alignment or gaze behaviour were found between conditions.

Conclusions:

• Dogs exhibit behavioural synchronization with familiar dogs and people, influenced by factors like cohabitation.
• Findings suggest behavioural synchronization is an instance of evolutionary convergence.
• This research deepens understanding of canine cognition in conspecific versus heterospecific interactions.