Dogs and humans are similar in how they regulate their behavior. The ability to follow instructions, control physical impulses, and use working memory are some of the key markers of executive function in dogs.
Maike Foraita said that dogs regulate their behavior in a similar way to young children.
According to Foraita, a pet dog learns to control its impulses just like a child does.
When we wait to receive a piece of cake instead of grabbing the whole cake with our hands, we exhibit delay inhibition and motor inhibition.
According to Foraita, dogs are likely to have developed these human-like cognitive structures over tens of thousands of years.
Dogs have depended on behavior regulation suited to the human environment for their own survival over the last 30,000 years.
A dog that lashed out at its owners or stole food from their plates would not be welcome, so they have developed cognitive functions that mirror that of humans to shore up their food and care.
The study shows that dogs have a special relationship with humans, according to the co-author.
There are other animals that have the same levels of cognitive functioning as dogs, but they don't regulate their behavior in the same way that humans would.
During the study, focus groups were held with people who work with dogs, including staff from Seeing Eye Dogs, to identify behaviors that might be relevant to executive function. Dog owners were asked to rate their dogs on these behaviors. The dog executive function scale shows six components of executive functioning in dogs: behavioral flexibility, attention towards owner, motor inhibition, instruction following, delay inhibition and working memory.
According to Foraita, the most developed executive function is that of a working dog.
"Seeing Eye Dogs, for example, have to be excellent at regulating their behavior, since their ability to follow instructions and not chase cats or play with other dogs while they're working shows highly developed executive function," Foraita said.
According to the study, dogs from breeders had higher levels of executive function than those from shelters, and that training is the key factor in the development of executive function, meaning that with the right interventions most dogs will be able to exhibit these important markers of behavior regulation.
More information: Maike Foraita et al, Development of the dog executive function scale (DEFS) for adult dogs, Animal Cognition (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01629-1 Journal information: Animal Cognition
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