Domestic dogs: Born human whisperers

Kaminski, Juliane

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.063

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Moreover, two studies demonstrated that dogs, already as puppies, follow human gestural-communication and show an interest in human faces 48 , which was not observed in wolf puppies 73 . They could link variation in these socio-cognitive abilities to genetic factors, suggesting that dogs’ attention to humans might be the results of selection pressure during domestication 74 . Dog body- and animate-sensitive areas might therefore be tuned to respond equally to both human and dog stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They could link variation in these socio-cognitive abilities to genetic factors, suggesting that dogs' attention to humans might be the results of selection pressure during domestication 74 . Dog body-and animate-sensitive areas might therefore be tuned to respond equally to both human and dog stimuli.…”

Section: Previous Behavioural Investigations Of How Dogs Perceive Bod...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functionally analogous body- and animacy-responsive areas in the dog (Canis familiaris) and human occipito-temporal lobe

Boch

Wagner

Karl

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Accurately recognizing other individuals is fundamental for successful social interactions. While the neural underpinnings of this skill have been studied extensively in humans, less is known about the evolutionary origins of the brain areas specialized for recognising faces or bodies. Studying dogs (Canis familiaris), a non-primate species with the ability to perceive faces and bodies similarly to humans, promises insights into how visuo-social perception has evolved in mammals. We investigated the neural correlates of face and body perception in dogs (N = 15) and humans (N = 40) using functional MRI. Combining uni- and multivariate analysis approaches, we identified activation levels and patterns that suggested potentially homologous occipito-temporal brain regions in both species responding to faces and bodies compared to inanimate objects. Crucially, only human brain regions showed activation differences between faces and bodies and partly responded more strongly to humans compared to dogs. Moreover, only dogs represented both faces and dog bodies in olfactory regions. Overall, our novel findings revealed a prominent role of the occipito-temporal cortex in the perception of animate entities in dogs and humans but suggest a divergent evolution of face and body perception. This may reflect differences in the perceptual systems these species rely on to recognize others.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Previous Behavioural Investigations Of How Dogs Perceive Bod...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Functionally analogous body- and animacy-responsive areas in the dog (Canis familiaris) and human occipito-temporal lobe

Boch

Wagner

Karl

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…The global population of companion animals is constantly increasing, with the number of domestic dogs currently estimated to be approximately 900 million worldwide ( 1 ). The growing number of domestic dogs has raised concerns regarding the safety and nutritional value of pet food ( 2 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing immune response, antioxidant capacity, and gut health in growing beagles through a chitooligosaccharide diet

Cheng,

Hu,

Zeng

et al. 2024

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Chitooligosaccharides (COS) have attracted significant attention due to their unique biological activities, water solubility, and absorbable properties. The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of COS-supplemented diets on the immune response, antioxidative capacity, hematology, serum biochemistry, and modulation of intestinal microbiota in growing beagles. Twelve weaning male beagles (6 weeks old; weighing 3.6 ± 0.6 kg) were fed either a control diet (food without COS, n = 6) or a COS-supplemented diet (n = 6) twice daily for 7 weeks. Blood samples collected at weeks 4 and 7 indicated that hematology and serum biochemistry remained unaffected by COS supplementation. Compared with the control group, the test group showed higher levels of serum antibodies against the canine distemper virus and parvovirus, higher levels of immunoglobulin A, G, and M, and increased activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase. In addition, COS was observed to modulate the intestinal flora by enhancing the presence of probiotics, such as Muribaculaceae, Prevotellaceae_Ga6A1_group, Lactobacillus, Collinsella, Blautia, and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group. In summary, a COS-supplemented diet could effectively improve dog health by regulating immune function and antioxidant responses and modulating intestinal microbiota. This study highlights the potentiality of using COS as a valuable nutraceutical for growing dogs.

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“…Our goal is to resituate dogs within an objective and biological research framework, as animals whose behaviour is adapted to human-dominated niches, but is not meaningfully "human like" (cf. (9)(10)(11)). Dogs and humans have lived in symbiosis for over 15,000 years (12), but that does not imply that the fundamental principles of evolutionary, ecological and behavioural analysis are not the most appropriate ones to understand this relationship.…”

Section: Introduction Dogs Have Been Of Interest To Scholars Sincementioning

confidence: 99%

The unfulfilled potential of dogs in studying behavioural evolution during the Anthropocene

Hansen Wheat,

Wynne

2023

Preprint

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While dogs represent an exceptional resource for studying ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes, they are severely under-represented within these fields due to the anthropomorphisation of dog behaviour, and the view that dog domestication was solely human-driven. These widespread misconceptions have not only led to significant problems in understanding dog behaviour, but also inhibited the use of dogs as valuable study systems to advance diverse areas of biological sciences. Here we argue that dogs should be studied using the same fundamental principles of ecology and evolution applied to other species. Specifically, two of Tinbergen’s four questions remain critical, yet understudied, in understanding dog behavioural traits: 1) What is the current value of these behaviours, and 2) How did they arise and subsequently evolve? We address dog behaviour in a range of ecologies beyond just the pet niche. In doing so three main facts emerge: 1) dogs show a wide range of behavioural adaptations to human proximity, 2) the behaviour of dogs has changed rapidly over time within human niches, and 3) the behaviour of dogs can be understood as modifications of pre-existing variation in their ancestral species, wolves. As this point is commonly overlooked in the majority of the dog behavioural literature, the result is a growing body of biassed research that cannot be meaningfully integrated with, for example, canine functional genomic studies. Resituating dogs within biological research will: 1) advance behavioural genetics and genomics, 2) help establish how certain species are able to adapt to anthropogenic environments where so many fail, 3) enable dogs to serve as model organisms in a range of sciences.

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Domestic dogs: Born human whisperers

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

Functionally analogous body- and animacy-responsive areas in the dog (Canis familiaris) and human occipito-temporal lobe

Functionally analogous body- and animacy-responsive areas in the dog (Canis familiaris) and human occipito-temporal lobe

Enhancing immune response, antioxidant capacity, and gut health in growing beagles through a chitooligosaccharide diet

The unfulfilled potential of dogs in studying behavioural evolution during the Anthropocene

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