Dogs’ Remarkable Ability to Detect Lies
Dogs excel at distinguishing truth from lies, a study by scientists from the University of Vienna has shown. They can recognize when you are lying, even if it’s about the weather outside or hidden treats. This ability makes them unique among domestic animals.
Testing the Hypothesis
To test the hypothesis, scientists observed the behavior of 260 dogs in the presence of unfamiliar people. In the study, dogs were offered two bowls of food, one of which contained treats. The initial stages of the experiment showed that dogs trusted the advice of strangers when they indicated where the treats were.
However, in the second stage, dogs disregarded the advice if the person giving it did not see where the treats were hidden. This indicates that dogs could sense when they were being deceived. Their abilities are impressive, especially considering that similar experiments with young children and monkeys showed poorer results.
Conclusion
These findings give us more reasons to love dogs not only for their loyalty and care, but also for their unparalleled ability to understand humans.
