Media release

From: The Royal Society

Unwilling or Unable? Using 3D tracking to evaluate dogs' reactions to differing human intentions

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Summary: Whether dogs understand intentions underlying human actions is still controversial. In this study, dogs encountered a human who gave them treats. Sometimes the food transfer failed, however, either because the human acted as if she was unwilling (by pulling back the treat in a teasing manner) or because she was unable to do so (by clumsily dropping the treat). We used machine-learning-driven 3D tracking to record dogs’ reactions. Dogs reacted more impatiently to actions signalling unwillingness to transfer food rather than inability. Our study highlights the sensitivity of pet dogs to subtle differences in human actions consistent with intention-reading abilities.