Social learning in dogs from an ecologically valid perspective

Social learning is one of the most adaptive capacities for collecting information, which can enhance several key aspects of survival. Dogs represent a special case among other highly social species as they have been exposed within the anthropogenic environment to humans as source of information since their domestication. In this review article, we surveyed the literature of the various empirical approaches to social learning in dogs, with specific emphasis on biological relevance of the research methodologies. We applied a critical evaluation by comparing the included studies from the aspect of whether and how, the authors handled the question of evolutionary adaptiveness of social learning. Based on 61 publications that fulfilled our selection criteria, we identified three categories that corresponded with the focus of the investigations: (i) ecological validity was not included; (ii) copy the demonstrator when non-social learning is costly; (iii) copy the more successful demonstrator. We used the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) evaluation paradigm to highlight each of these techniques' advantages and shortcomings. According to our survey, most of the empirical papers took into consideration ecologically valid hypotheses. Other studies aimed at testing particular social learning mechanisms, usually with applied conclusions. Hopefully our evaluation will help researchers to design biologically valid experiments, especially in such understudied areas as the relationship between social learning and the genetic relatedness of dog breeds, social learning between puppies and their mother, or in the case of free ranging dogs.