Preference for meat is not innate in dogs

Bhadra, Anandarup; Bhadra, Anindita

doi:10.1007/s10164-013-0388-7

Cited by 36 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Free-ranging dogs live in human dominated environments and heavily depend on humans for food (Bhadra et al, 2016; Bhadra and Bhadra, 2014). Apart from scavenging, they directly beg for food from humans (Bhadra and Bhadra, 2014; Sen Majumder et al, 2014). However, getting or retrieving food items can lead to consequences like beating and harassment, which probably have made these dogs opportunistic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free-ranging dogs understand human intentions and adjust their behavioral responses accordingly

Bhattacharjee

Bhadra

2018

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

12Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are remarkably sensitive and responsive while 13 interacting with humans. Pet dogs are known to have social skills and abilities to display 14 situation-specific responses, but there is lack of information regarding free-ranging dogs 15 which constitute majority of the world's dog population. Free-ranging dogs found in most of 16 the developing countries interact constantly with familiar and unfamiliar humans receiving 17 both positive and negative behavior. Thus, understanding human intentions and subsequent 18 behavioral adjustments are crucial for dogs that share habitats with humans. Here we 19 subjected free-ranging dogs to different human social communicative cues (friendly and 20 threateninglow and high), followed by a food provisioning phase and tested their 21 responsiveness. Dogs exhibited higher proximity seeking behavior as a reaction to friendly 22 gesture whereas, they were prompted to maintain distance depending on the impact of the 23 threatening cues. Interestingly, only the high-impact threatening showed to have a persistent 24 effect which also remained during the subsequent food provisioning phase. An elevated 25 approach in the food provisioning phase elicited the dependency of free-ranging dogs on 26 humans for sustenance. Our findings suggest that free-ranging dogs demonstrate behavioral 27 plasticity on interacting with humans; which provides significant insights into the 28 establishment of the dog-human relationship on streets. 29 30 Dog-human relationship.32 33 Recent trends in research on interspecific interactions have unveiled several important 35 aspects regarding the interplay of the component species. Investigating the eco-ethology of 36 one component species and its trajectories can provide adequate information on the other 37 (Bertness and Callaway , 1994; Thompson, 1999). Human-animal interaction is one such field 38 that attracts researchers to find solutions for evolving problems like human-animal conflict, 39 spread of zoonoses, uncontrolled population growth of unwanted species, etc. In the recent 40 times, studies on human-animal interactions have enabled us to apprehend evolutionary 41 processes like domestication (Hare et al., 2002; Miklósi and Soproni, 2006). Such scientific 45 (Larson et al., 2012; Morey, 2006; Perri, 2016). Thus, exploring the dog-human interaction 46 paradigm, is specifically helpful to analyse the underlying dynamics of the domestication 47 process that enabled the transition of wolf-like ancestors to man's best friend. 48Domesticated dogs interact with humans regularly and possess social abilities to respond to 49 various human actions (Hare and Tomasello, 2005; Miklósi and Soproni, 2006). Dogs are 50 highly sensitive to human communicative cues like pointing, touching, body orientation etc. 51 and in utilising such cues to find hidden rewards such as food (Hare et al., 2002; Miklósi and 52 Soproni, 2006). It has been suggested that domestication played a pivotal role in the 53 development of hu...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free-ranging dogs understand human intentions and adjust their behavioral responses accordingly

Bhattacharjee

Bhadra

2018

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Though free-ranging dogs tend to avoid direct human contact, studies have shown that they gaze and even seek help from strangers when faced with an unfamiliar task (Bhattacharjee et al, 2017a). Free-ranging dogs are also known to regularly beg from humans, using the gazing behaviour (Bhadra and Bhadra, 2014). They often experience negative interactions with humans, and their tendency to avoid direct physical contact with unfamiliar humans could be a possible outcome of cumulative negative experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free-ranging dogs prefer petting over food in repeated interactions with unfamiliar humans

Bhattacharjee

Das

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dogs () are the first species to have been domesticated and, unlike other domesticated species, they have developed a special bond with their owners. The ability to respond to human gestures and language, and the hypersocial behaviours of dogs are considered key factors that have led them to become man's best friend. Free-ranging dogs provide an excellent model system for understanding the dog-human relationship in various social contexts. In India, free-ranging dogs occur in all possible human habitations. They scavenge among garbage, beg for food from humans, give birth in dens close to human habitations, and establish social bonds with people. However, there is ample dog-human conflict on the streets, leading to morbidity and mortality of dogs. Hence, the ability to assess an unfamiliar human before establishing physical contact could be adaptive for dogs, especially in the urban environment. We tested a total of 103 adult dogs to investigate their response to immediate social and long-term food and social rewards. The dogs were provided a choice of obtaining food either from an experimenter's hand or the ground. The dogs avoided making physical contact with the unfamiliar human. While immediate social reward was not effective in changing this response, the long-term test showed a strong effect of social contact. Our results revealed that these dogs tend to build trust based on affection, not food. This study provides significant insights into the dynamics of dog-human interactions on the streets and subsequent changes in behaviour of dogs through the process of learning.

show abstract

“…Free-ranging dogs are found in most of the developing countries and live without direct human supervision (Cafazzo et al, 2010). They are primarily scavengers depending on human leftover food but also display occasional begging from humans (Bhadra and Bhadra, 2014;Sen Majumder et al, 2014). Free-ranging dogs interact with humans regularly and receive both positive (food, social petting, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free-Ranging Dogs Are Capable of Utilizing Complex Human Pointing Cues

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dogs are one of the most common species to be found as pets and have been subjects of human curiosity, leading to extensive research on their socialization with humans. One of the dominant themes in dog cognition pertains to their capacity for understanding and responding to human referential gestures. The remarkable sociocognitive skills of pet dogs, while interacting with humans, is quite well established. However, studies regarding the free-ranging subpopulations are greatly lacking. The interactions of these dogs with humans are quite complex and multidimensional. For the first time, we tested 160 adult free-ranging dogs to understand their ability to follow relatively complex human referential gestures using dynamic and momentary distal pointing cues. We found that these dogs are capable of following distal pointing cues from humans to locate hidden food rewards. However, approximately half of the population tested showed a lack of tendency to participate even after successful familiarization with the experimental setup. A closer inspection revealed that anxious behavioral states of the individuals were responsible for such an outcome. Finally, we compared the results using data from an earlier study with dynamic proximal cues. We found that free-ranging dogs follow distal cues more accurately compared to proximal cue. We assume that life experiences with humans probably shape personalities of free-ranging dogs, which in turn influence their responsiveness to human communicative gestures.

show abstract

Preference for meat is not innate in dogs

Cited by 36 publications

References 48 publications

Free-ranging dogs understand human intentions and adjust their behavioral responses accordingly

Free-ranging dogs understand human intentions and adjust their behavioral responses accordingly

Free-ranging dogs prefer petting over food in repeated interactions with unfamiliar humans

Free-Ranging Dogs Are Capable of Utilizing Complex Human Pointing Cues

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About