Dogs are more likely to respond to treats from those with positive interactions with owner

Study shows that your dog can tell when someone is being rude

If you ever had a rude house guest and felt that that your dog was uneasy, a new study shows that you're not wrong. The study published in January's edition of "Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews" shows that dogs can sense bad behavior in humans and are less likely to accept treats from the perpetrators. Researchers set up a scenario where a dog watched his owner attempt to open a container while two actors were on set. In a series of three trials, one of the actors would help, respond neutrally, or refuse to help. The other actor responded neutrally every time. Afterwards, both actors would offer the dog a treat at the same time. In the trials where the actor who helped the owner or responded neutrally, the dog was equally likely to accept a treat from either actors. However, in the scenario where the actor responded rudely, the dog was more likely to choose the neutral actor. James Anderson, a comparative psychologist who worked on the study at Kyoto University said that dogs likely have a similar capacity to detect negativity as infants do. “If somebody is behaving antisocially, they probably end up with some sort of emotional reaction to it,” Anderson told Science Daily. Babies have been shown to react to these negative connections around age one. The study also tested Capuchin monkeys and their reactions to people who help other people by having actors share toy balls.

If you ever had a rude house guest and felt that that your dog was uneasy, a new study shows that you're not wrong.

The study published in January's edition of "Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews" shows that dogs can sense bad behavior in humans and are less likely to accept treats from the perpetrators.


Researchers set up a scenario where a dog watched his owner attempt to open a container while two actors were on set. In a series of three trials, one of the actors would help, respond neutrally, or refuse to help.

The other actor responded neutrally every time.

Afterwards, both actors would offer the dog a treat at the same time. In the trials where the actor who helped the owner or responded neutrally, the dog was equally likely to accept a treat from either actors.

However, in the scenario where the actor responded rudely, the dog was more likely to choose the neutral actor.

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James Anderson, a comparative psychologist who worked on the study at Kyoto University said that dogs likely have a similar capacity to detect negativity as infants do.

“If somebody is behaving antisocially, they probably end up with some sort of emotional reaction to it,” Anderson told Science Daily.



Babies have been shown to react to these negative connections around age one.

The study also tested Capuchin monkeys and their reactions to people who help other people by having actors share toy balls.