Communication between dogs and humans: are dogs smart or good learners?

BENTOSELA, M

Conferencia; Canine Ethology and Behavior Lecture Series hosted through E-training for Dogs.; 2013

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have shown remarkable communicative skills towards humans. These abilities allow dogs to solve different problems and achieve several desired objects on their ordinary lives. However, the mechanisms underlying these capacities are still unclear. There is an intense debate between high-level and low-level explanations and regarding the role of domestication and ontogeny in the development of these skills. In this talk I will describe several approaches to study the role of learning and experiences during ontogeny on interspecific communicative responses in dogs. Specifically, three kinds of studies will be discussed: 1. the effects of some associative learning processes upon communicative behaviors (reinforcement, extinction, omission, and stimuli competence), 2. the comparison of the performance of dogs with different levels of social contact with humans (shelter vs. pet dogs) and 3. the comparison between dogs and other no domesticated canids like foxes and wolves. These investigations not only contribute with the debate regarding the mechanisms of communication, but also provide relevant information to applied areas where dogs are useful.