Wolves outperform dogs in following human social cues

Udell, Monique A. R.; Dorey, Nicole R.; Wynne, Clive D. L.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.07.028

Cited by 311 publications

(302 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In the first of these studies, Udell et al (2008) present findings suggesting that wolves are more skilled than dogs in using human communicative cues in a food retrieval task. Specifically they found that wolves were more skilled than shelter dogs and pet dogs tested outdoors, and equally as skilled as pet dogs tested indoors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Unlike all previous studies, Udell et al (2008) gave subjects four warm-up trials in which they placed food on top of one of two hiding locations in view of subjects so that, once placed, the food was visible to the subject (usually in a warm-up phase with primates or dogs, food is hidden under different hiding locations as the subjects watch). During this warm-up, food was always completely visible and all subjects correctly retrieved the visible food in all four trials.…”

Section: Reanalysis Of Udell Et Al (2008): Are Wolves More Skilled Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this section we describe the method of Udell et al (2008), highlight important methodological differences with previous studies and re-examine their data. The authors kindly provided us with a trial-by-trial data set of both studies so that we could use a more conventional data analysis to re-examine the performance of their subjects.…”

Section: Reanalysis Of Udell Et Al (2008): Are Wolves More Skilled Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors kindly provided us with a trial-by-trial data set of both studies so that we could use a more conventional data analysis to re-examine the performance of their subjects. Udell et al (2008) examined the use of a pointing cue by five experimental groups of canids (one group of wolves, four groups of dogs), each with eight subjects of adult age. Unlike and Viranyi et al (2008), none of the subjects were reared for the purposes of the experiment, so the authors could not be sure of the subjects' previous relevant experiences.…”

Section: Reanalysis Of Udell Et Al (2008): Are Wolves More Skilled Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To evaluate the evidence presented in these studies, we first discuss several methodological concerns that we have about the approach of Udell et al (2008), then we reanalyse their data based on these methodological concerns. We also present a test of shelter dogs naïve to cognitive testing to examine whether it is the case that shelter dogs are less skilled at using human communicative cues than other groups of dogs.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The domestication hypothesis for dogs' skills with human communication: a response to Udell et al. (2008) and Wynne et al. (2008)

et al. 2010

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mentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Reanalysis Of Udell Et Al (2008): Are Wolves More Skilled Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reanalysis Of Udell Et Al (2008): Are Wolves More Skilled Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reanalysis Of Udell Et Al (2008): Are Wolves More Skilled Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The domestication hypothesis for dogs' skills with human communication: a response to Udell et al. (2008) and Wynne et al. (2008)

et al. 2010

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Commentary by Gácsi et al. (2023) highlights general misconceptions within the field of dog domestication and dog–wolf comparisons

Hansen Wheat,

Larsson,

Berner

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Human‐directed attachment behavior in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human–dog attachment bonds

Wheat

Larsson

Berner

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Domesticated animals are generally assumed to display increased sociability toward humans compared to their wild ancestors. Dogs (Canis familiaris) have a remarkable ability to form social relationships with humans, including lasting attachment, a bond based on emotional dependency. Since it has been specifically suggested that the ability to form attachment with humans evolved post‐domestication in dogs, attempts to quantify attachment behavior in wolves (Canis lupus) have subsequently been performed. However, while these rare wolf studies do highlight the potential for wolves to express human‐directed attachment, the varied methods used and the contrasting results emphasize the need for further, standardized testing of wolves. Here, we used the standardized Strange Situation Test to investigate attachment behavior expressed in wolves and dogs hand‐raised and socialized under standardized and identical conditions up until the age of testing. We found that 23‐week‐old wolves and dogs equally discriminated between a stranger and a familiar person, and expressed similar attachment behaviors toward a familiar person. Additionally, wolves, but not dogs, expressed significantly elevated stress‐related behavior during the test, but this stress response was buffered by the presence of a familiar person. Together, our results suggest that wolves can show attachment behaviors toward humans comparable to those of dogs. Importantly, our findings demonstrate that the ability to form attachment with humans exists in relatives of the wild ancestor of dogs, thereby refuting claims that this phenotype evolved after dog domestication was initiated.

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Wolves outperform dogs in following human social cues

Cited by 311 publications

References 11 publications

The domestication hypothesis for dogs' skills with human communication: a response to Udell et al. (2008) and Wynne et al. (2008)

The domestication hypothesis for dogs' skills with human communication: a response to Udell et al. (2008) and Wynne et al. (2008)

Commentary by Gácsi et al. (2023) highlights general misconceptions within the field of dog domestication and dog–wolf comparisons

Human‐directed attachment behavior in wolves suggests standing ancestral variation for human–dog attachment bonds

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