Deferred imitation and declarative memory in domestic dogs

Abstract

10This study demonstrates for the first time deferred imitation of novel actions in dogs (Canis 11 familiaris) with retention intervals of 1.5 minutes and memory of familiar actions with 12 intervals ranging from 0.40 to 10 minutes. 13Eight dogs were trained using the 'Do as I do' method to match their own behaviour to 14 actions displayed by a human demonstrator. They were then trained to wait for a short 15 interval to elapse before they were allowed to show the previously demonstrated action. The 16 dogs were then tested for memory of the demonstrated behaviour in various conditions, also 17 with the so-called 'two-action procedure' and in a control condition without demonstration. 18 Dogs were typically able to reproduce familiar actions after intervals as long as 10 minutes, 19 also if distracted by different activities during the retention interval and were able to match 20 their behaviour to the demonstration of a novel action after a delay of 1 minute. In the two-21 action procedure, dogs were typically able to imitate the novel demonstrated behaviour after 22 retention intervals of 1.5 minutes. 23The ability to encode and recall an action after a delay implies that facilitative processes 24 cannot exhaustively explain the observed behavioural similarity and that dogs' imitative 25 abilities are rather based on an enduring mental representation of the demonstration. 26Furthermore the ability to imitate a novel action after a delay without previous practice 27 suggests presence of declarative memory in dogs. 28 29

Exploring the evolutionary origins of overimitation: a comparison across domesticated and non‐domesticated canids

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Working dogs cooperate among one another by generalised reciprocity

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The dog (Canis familiaris) as a translational model of autism: It is high time we move from promise to reality

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