Closed hands dont get fed1/9/2024 Some dogs were gentle, laying their paws delicately on the button and nibbling their reward. These dogs came from over ten different breeds and mixes, with diverse idiosyncrasies to match. To probe this question, the researchers trained 37 pet dogs to press a button for food from a dispenser. His team wondered whether fed dogs would reward food to beneficent humans. McGetrick says his study is the first to look at reciprocity between humans and dogs. Previous studies have observed that dogs repay other generous dogs with food tit-for-tat, and take the initiative to rescue distressed humans from entrapment. “In terms of dog domestication and the evolution of dogs as a species, their cooperativeness with humans might not be related to this form of cooperation: this reciprocal cooperation, where I help you and then you help me at some point in the future,” says McGetrick. The comparative psychologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna in Austria found that in lab experiments, dogs who received treats by humans pushing a button didn’t then return the favor by pushing the same button so humans gained a treat in kind. That lack of reciprocated food sharing in dogs is the key finding of a study published today in PLOS One by dog researcher Jim McGetrick and his team. However close the bond is between humans and dogs, though, food sharing may just be a one-way street: Dogs don’t seem to pay back the hand that feeds them. The rapport started with our ancestors sharing food with wolves, and today, we show our love to our canine pets with treats and train them with goodies as motivation. Food has long been the currency of the 10,000-year-old friendship between humans and dogs.
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