Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Dogs more dependent on owners than wolves

Image
ANI Washington
Last Updated : Sep 02 2014 | 3:35 PM IST

A new study has observed that dogs act dumb and are more dependent on their human owner whereas wolves cooperate with each other to solve their problems.

The study presented at the Animal Behavior Society's meeting at Princeton University, advised that they reconsidered the notion of "dog-human cooperation".

Co-author Friederike Range explained that it was not about having a common goal and it was not about being with them, but without conflict and they told dogs something, and they obeyed.

Range and colleague Zsofia Viranyi, who are both scientists at the Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, tested both dogs and wolves to determine the animals' tolerance of their fellow pack members during a mealtime challenge.

Range said that the higher ranking dog monopolized the food, but in the wolf tests, both high- and low-ranking animals had access and were able to chow down at the same time.

The study is published in journal Science.

More From This Section

First Published: Sep 02 2014 | 3:23 PM IST

Next Story