THE FIDELITY OF THE DOG TO THE MAN

It's scientifically proven: the dog puts his interest aside to remain loyal to his master

A serious study, conducted by researchers at Kyoto University, showed that dogs were sensitive to arguments their masters might have with another person. Published in the journal "Animal Behavior", this study reinforces the links between man and dog.

To understand this study, let's take an example first. Imagine a meal with your neighbor: you are arguing quite strongly and your neighbor's dog, calmly sitting in his basket, attends the scene. It may be that after seeing you arguing with his master, your neighbor's dog refuses any loving contact with you. At least until you make "peace" with your neighbor.

Japanese scientists have shown that dogs are less receptive to the food proposals of people having quarreled with their master; that is to say, they "sulked" in some way. On the other hand, dogs were more likely to accept the food offered by a neutral observer. "We discovered for the first time that a dog could evaluate the sociability of an individual regardless of his or her direct interest," said Kazuo Fujita, who led the study.

The experiment was divided into three groups of 18 dogs. The first group received a meal from a person who, under the eyes of the dogs, refused to help their master open a box of food. Then, the dogs had the choice between a plate served by a person unknown to the animals and a plate served by the person having disputed with their master. Animals in the second group had the choice between a plate served by an individual who helped their master to open the box of food and, again, a neutral actor. Finally, the dogs of the last group were served by two people without interaction with their master.

Repeated four times for each group, the tests revealed a rather unusual preference for dogs in the choice of meal. In group 1, only one dog out of 18 tasted the bowl offered by the non-cooperative person, while in the other two groups, the dogs showed no preference according to the bowls. As a reminder, in the last two groups, no uncooperative individual was to report. This "preference" behavior is really unusual for a canine that usually does not reject any appreciable food that is offered to it.

Kazuo Fujita has shown that, just like humans, dogs have the ability to act independently of their personal interest. "A similar study showed that black-tailed Capuchins (a species of South American monkeys, ed) had this ability, but there is no evidence that chimpanzees show a preference unless there is a benefit for them "concluded the Japanese researcher.

This study by Kazuo Fujita is absolutely uplifting. To say that the dog is the best friend of the man seems so far from being insane. Sensible to the feelings of their masters, canines show that they know how to put aside their personal interests to prove their loyalty to the said masters.