Do dogs judge people? Research finds that even big dogs remain neutral

We like to see our dogs as wise judges in the role – quickly suppressing a selfish stranger and being kind to someone. But a new observational study from Kyoto University shows that even our most experienced canine companions may not have made such judgments. The researchers tested whether pet dogs of different ages could form opinions on humans based on generous people, and found that young people or older people were more useful than small dogs.

Dogs watch others interact – and then randomly choose

A research team led by Hoi-Lam Jim observed how 40 pet dogs performed after watching two strange humans interact with another dog. One person plays a “generous” role, feeding the dog, while the other person withheld the food. Later, the dogs were released to interact freely with the two people.

Among all ages, young (1-3 years old), adult (4-7 years old) and senior (8-12 years old) – dogs have no consistent preference for generous people. “It’s obvious that reputation formation may be more complicated than previously thought for animals like dogs that work closely with humans,” Jim explained. Even after a direct firsthand experience of generosity and selfishness, dogs still don’t reliably support such friendly companions.

The main findings of the study:

• Dogs of all ages choose randomly between generous and selfish humans.
• Even direct interactions with humans did not significantly change their choices.
• Times to engage in affiliation with everyone also do not favor generous companions.
• Before the experiment began, no baseline deviation was detected, pre-existing preferences were excluded.

Why does the dog seem to have no judgment?

This finding is in stark contrast to the recommendations of some earlier studies – dogs may avoid helpless or unfriendly people. However, many studies have suffered from subtle design flaws, such as the inability to control “local enhancement”, and dogs simply follow the tips of where the food is, rather than making real judgments about personality. The Kyoto team tried to eliminate these confusions, which might help explain why their results were different.

Jim notes that the design of the experiment itself may limit the dog’s ability to show subtle preferences. “Methodological challenges in experimental design can be challenging, especially the use of two-choice tests, which may explain our negative findings rather than lack of competence,” they wrote in the paper.

What is the next step in dog cognitive research?

Research points to a bigger question: Do dogs even need to evaluate our reputation for success with humans? The authors suggest that future research should use more ecologically effective scenarios to test dogs, including working dogs such as service or police dogs, as well as free-range street dogs, which may rely more on social assessments in daily life.

For now, dog lovers can rest assured that their pet loyalty seems unconditional. Do we make money? This is a question that science has not answered yet.

Research: “Dogs form human reputation?

Related