What Separates Dogs from Wolves?
There is a widely held assumption that, unlike their wild counterparts, domestic dogs are able to understand and respond to human actions primarily because they have been bred to do so over many generations. Several studies have seemingly confirmed this notion by showing that wolves hand-raised by humans are not able to locate food in response to human cues, while domestic dogs are able to do so. The authors of this study, published in Animal Behavior, propose that the wolves tested in previous studies failed because of flawed testing methodologies rather than their genetic predispositions. Namely, they note that in all previous studies, domestic dogs were tested indoors, while wolves were tested outdoors and often from behind a fence.
The researchers conducted an experiment involving groups of pet dogs, stray dogs from a shelter, and hand-raised wolves. During the experiment, a person either pointed to or tapped on one of two cans, and if the animal touched or came near the correct can, they were given food as a reward. The experiment was repeated ten times for each animal. In contrast to previous studies, the researchers found that wolves tested outdoors performed at “above chance levels.” This was the same as pet dogs tested inside. In addition, the majority of pet dogs tested outdoors and stray dogs tested inside failed to follow human cues. In a second experiment, the researchers found that pet dogs tested from behind a fence also failed to follow the cues.
The authors conclude that “thoroughly socialized wolves, given daily interaction with humans even into adulthood, can use momentary distal human pointing cues.” They add that “domestic dogs with different life histories (pets vs shelter dogs) show differences in performance.” As an explanation for the differing results between the studies as well as among the groups of dogs, the researchers suggest that both wolves and dogs are genetically capable of responding to social cues, but that they “differ in their ability to use specific forms of cue depending on their individual histories and environments during critical development periods.” In other words, as with people, the social abilities of both wolves and dogs are strongly impacted by their early experiences and environments.