Age Differences in Canine Mutual Gaze Tasks Can

Help Optimize the Age at Which Training Starts

By: Seraphina Wong

Mentors: Dr. Brian Hare and the Hare Group

Duke Canine Cognition Center, Duke University

Eye Contact

• Helps with:

• Emotional cues

• Facial recognition

• Attentional focus

• Infants less likely to smile when no eye

contact1

• Able to understand gaze cues by age six4http://www.projects.aegee.org/euroislam/upload

s/RTEmagicC_eyecontact.gif.gif

How This Applies to Dogs

• Important factor in communicating with humans2

• Alternating gaze to communicate location3

• Alternating gaze to ask for permission to access

various things2

Why does this matter?

• Longer eye contact = more reliant on humans5

• Can optimize age at which training starts

• If nothing is done:

• Will slow down training process

• Potentially waste time and money

Goal and Hypothesis

• Goal: To determine if there is an optimal age at which dogs maintain eye

contact the longest

• Hypothesis: Younger dogs will maintain eye contact longer than older dogs

Methods

• Mutual Gaze Task

• Wubba/large squeaky toy

• Engages dog for 10 seconds

• Observes dog for 20 seconds

• Time latency of eye contact with experimenter

• 4 trials totalhttp://dogstory.in/upload_images/Wubba

_Friends_Bear.jpg

Methods, cont’d

• Unsolvable Task

• Tennis ball and treat in sealed container

• 1 minute for retrieval

• Time latency of eye contact with experimenter

• 4 trials total

Photo courtesy of: Seraphina Wong

Results

-2.00

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8 9, 10 11, 12 13, 14 15, 16

Avg.

% o

f tr

ial sp

ent

loo

kin

g at

Exp

.

Age Range

Mutual Gaze

Results, cont’d

-0.05

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8 9, 10 11, 12 13, 14 15, 16

Avg.

% o

f tr

ial sp

ent

loo

kin

g at

Exp

.

Age Range

Unsolvable

Conclusion

• Dogs look to humans the most when they are about 9-10 years old

• Unsolvable Task less reliable due to unreliable sample

• Not an equal number of subjects per age range

Applications and Future Studies

• Improves training programs

• Would not waste time and money on a dog less likely to pass training

• Future Studies

• Sex differences in mutual gaze

Special Thanks

• Dr. Brian Hare and the Hare Group

• Carolina Livery

• North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

• Dr. Sarah Shoemaker

Works Cited

1. Itier, R., Batty, M. (2009). Neural bases of eye and gaze processing: The core of social cognition. Neuroscience

& Biobehavioral reviews, 33 (6), 843-863.

2. Jakovcevic, A., Mustaca, A., Bentosela, M. (2012). Do more sociable dogs gaze longer to the human face

than less sociable ones? Behavioural Processes, 90 (2), 217-222.

3. Miklósi, A., Polgárdi, R., Topál, J., Csányi, V. (2000). Intentional behaviour in dog-human communication:

An experimental analysis of “showing” behaviour in the dog. Animal Cognition. 3, 159–166

4. Vida, M., Maurer D. (2012). The development of fine-grained sensitivity to eye contact after 6 years of age.

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 112, 243-256

5. Yamamoto, M., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M. (2011). The response of dogs to attentional focus of human beings: A

comparison between guide dog candidates and other dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 6, 4-11.