Dog Loyalty Runs Deep!

29/06/2015 - Blog

As experts when it comes to dog training in Kingston, if theres one thing we know for certain, its that we love our dogs and they love us too. Dogs are mans best friend and part of what makes these animals so special, is the incredible loyalty that they show towards their owners. Surprisingly, this loyalty may run a little deeper than you might think too! According to some new research, our canine companions will literally shun people that are nasty to their owners! And as it turns out, your enemy is your dogs enemy too! Intrigued? Then youre in luck, as here were going to take a closer look at this dogtastic discovery! DL1   Your Enemys Enemy is Your Dog! A new study from researchers at Kyoto University has found that dogs can tell when someone is mean to their owner, and thats not all, they will literally shun these individuals too. Thats right, dogs know how to hold a grudge and are really rather adept when it comes to giving people the cold shoulder! Pretty neat right?! We all know that dogs love food. In fact, food is pretty much canine kryptonite. Yet this remarkable study found that canine loyalty runs so deep, they will even refuse food from those that ignore their owner. This remarkable discovery was made when the team of scientists tested three separate groups of dogs, using a series of role play scenarios that involved both the dogs owner and a couple of strangers too. In the first group, the strangers actively refused to help the owner, whilst in the second group the owner did receive help from the strangers. Finally in the third group - the control condition - neither of the strangers interacted with the dogs owner.   No Help - No Thank You! What the scientists found was really rather extraordinary. When the strangers refused to help the dogs owners in these scenarios, the dogs were less likely to accept food from these individuals than from the strangers who did not interact with their owners. Intriguingly, the team also found that the dogs did not exhibit any differences in their behaviour towards those who helped their owners and those who remained neutral. This suggests that the dogs were not simply in it for themselves, and instead were making social decisions regardless of their direct interests. This capacity to cooperate socially is a characteristic found in only a relatively small number of animal species- including humans and some other primates - and demonstrates once again how remarkable our canine friends really are!   DL2   So next time someone offends you, its probably best to ensure that they apologise to both you and your dog too! Here at CK9 Training we love dogs and are experts when it comes to canine behaviour. We can offer a wide range of dog training services to ensure that your pooch stays happy, healthy, and problem free! For more information about our services, simply contact our friendly team, by giving us a call on 07739 815 265 today!

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