ARISTODOGS are extremely smart. And, in many ways, their senses are more developed than ours. The ability to "recognize" people and see beyond what meets the eye is one of them. That's why (you've probably experienced it more than once), there are times when a dog feels a special predisposition towards someone they don't even know (of course, if the person is known, this "feeling" is accentuated). While other times, the dog reacts unusually and shows displeasure towards someone, regardless of whether they know them or not.
This is because, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Kyoto University, both dogs and monkeys track how humans behave with each other and show more affection for people who help others than for selfish people or those who don't treat their fellow beings very well. You might have suspected it, right? Well, you were right. And we finally have the academic explanation.
In experiments led by comparative psychologist James Anderson, capuchin monkeys were observed watching an actor trying to retrieve a toy from a container. The animals watched as another actor approached and either helped him retrieve the toy from the container or refused to help. Afterwards, both actors offered food to the monkeys. When the second actor helped the first, the monkeys showed no preference for who gave them the food. But when the second actor refused to help, the monkeys preferred to go with the first actor and only accepted his food.
Similarly, dogs also showed their rejection of people who were not very pleasant. Researchers had a dog owner pretend to struggle to get a ball out of a container while two actors observed. In one scenario, one of the actors helped the dog owner, while the other passively observed. In another scenario, the actor refused to help while the other watched.
When both actors offered kibble to the dogs, the dogs showed no preference. However, when the actor refused to help the owner, the dogs took the kibble from the actor who had only passively observed. And, according to this, in the eyes of dogs, it is unforgivable for someone not to be entirely kind to their ARISTOPARENT. And it is a feeling comparable to what we might feel when someone doesn't treat our children, parents, or partner well.
Anderson believes that these animals have an emotional response to antisocial behavior, similar to what humans would have. So much so that the reactions of dogs and monkeys to unhelpful people could even be a way of correcting behavior.
This shows that dogs are sensitive to human behavior. But not only to those related to other beings of their own species, but also in relation to people with each other. ARISTODOGS see everything, hear everything, feel everything, and, although they cannot say it in words, they side with all those who contribute to making the world a little better.
If you want to learn about other studies related to animal behavior, you can continue reading these posts: "Your dog understands what you say and how you say it" or "The anthrozoologist who proves that your heart is synchronized with your dog's".
