Experiments Show that Dogs have Envy

A few months ago I posted that research had found that dogs can feel a kind of empathy through yawning with us.  Now research has indicated that dogs also feel envy or a more technical term called inequity aversion.  Well, dog lovers knew that all along.  Of course our pets have similar emotions!

The inequity experiment took place at the University of Vienna in Austria under Freiderike Range.  The experiment involved placing two dogs together with one human handler who was not the owner.  The handler would ask both dogs in turn to give her their paw.  A basic trick that most dogs know.  However, the handler only gave a treat to one dog, the same dog every time he successfully completed the trick.  

Naturally the other dog began to notice the lack of treats as reward and eventually stopped performing the trick, even when asked multiple times.  

The experiment involved 43 dogs of different breeds from Border Collies, Shepards, Retrievers, mutts, Rottweilers and Terriers to other breeds.  Each one displayed similar results.

Freiderike Range stated, ‘The dogs that were not getting the reward started to hesitate. You had to prompt them more often to give the paw…They would refuse to look at you, start looking at their owners or at the other dog chewing, and eventually refuse to cooperate. They would look away or lay down and not give the paw anymore if they were not getting rewarded."

To ensure the dogs were not sometimes refusing to give their paw out of frustration rather than this ‘inequity aversion’ handlers performed a few experiments where they would occasionally reward the other dog with a treat for continuing to give his paw.  They found that dogs who were still getting a treat every now and then actually continued performing the trick for a longer period of time before giving up completely.

Range was not surprised by her findings, but stated that displaying these results in a carefully controlled study helps dispel any concerns or dispute over the level of dog’s emotional range.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/14/AR2008121401911_2.html?sid=ST2008121402445&s_pos=