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We assessed how highly trained dogs respond to gestural versus verbal signals when their handlers or an unfamiliar person asked them to perform an obedience task. Dogs were requested to perform four different actions (“Sit”, “Down”, “Stay” and “Come”) upon receiving congruent (only gestural or only verbal) or incongruent signals (gestural and verbal signals contradict each other). The dogs’ performance measures were the frequency of correct responses and their response latency. Generalized Estimation Equation models were used to determine whether the type of signal, the coherence of the signals and familiarity with the signaler influenced dogs’ responses. Our results show that the probability of dogs expressing the requested behaviour was lower when the stranger gave verbal signals, than in any of the other conditions. In the incongruent condition, the probability that dogs expressed the behaviour indicated by the verbal signal was lower for signals provided by the stranger than for signals provided by the owner. The reverse was observed for gestural signals. In general, longer latencies to perform the “Come”, “Down” and “Sit” behaviours were observed in response to the stranger’s verbal signals than when the stranger gave gestural or incongruent signals. Additionally, the response latency to the stranger’s verbal stimuli took longer than verbal stimuli were provided by the owner in the case of “Come” (P = 0.002) and “Sit” (P < 0.001) actions. Our data support the argument that for highly trained dogs, gestural signals are less dependent upon signal-giver familiarity, whereas verbal signals are less effective when they are given by an unfamiliar person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water rescue training produces dog-human dyads specialized in rescuing people in the water by promoting a strong cooperative relationship between dogs and their handlers. The present study aims to assess whether this training also affects the human-dog attachment bond using an adapted version of the "Strange Situation Test" (SST), consisting of 7 episodes of 3 min each. Thirteen mutually exclusive and two non-mutually exclusive behaviours were considered. Sixty-five dogs (Labrador and Golden retrievers) were tested: 29 dogs had a Water Rescue Certificate®(Trained group), 22 dogs had yet to begin the training program (Naïve group), and 14 dogs were untrained (Old group) as an age control that was equivalent to the Trained group. All dogs showed a pattern of attachment behaviours with their owners, as they played with and greeted the owner more than the stranger and remained oriented towards the door more in the presence of the stranger during the separation episodes. Furthermore, all groups engaged in play with the stranger more when their owner was present rather than absent (episode 2 vs. 3). The Trained group was less explorative than the Naïve and Old groups. Trained dogs engaged in different behaviours not for playing purposes holding a ball in their mouth more than the other groups. Social play behaviours were expressed equally by the Trained and the Naïve groups and less in the Old group. Overall, the water rescue training affected the dogs' behaviour in the SST; however these behavioural differences were (probably) not related to differences in attachment quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study analyzes patterns of dogs' attention towards their handlers and trainers. • Guide dogs were tested before and after living with their visually impaired owners. • Trained guide dogs looked at their trainers longer than Working guide dogs to their visually impaired owners. • The results highlight how dogs' attention towards humans is shaped by the specific experiences. • Changes in training procedures may be necessary to prevent decrement in attention towards the owner by guide dogs. This study aimed at improving our understanding of the ontogenesis of dogs' attention toward humans. To this aim, dogs' attention towards their handler while performing a 'Stay-in-place' task was analyzed, in condition of increasing difficulty represented by the introduction of distractors. To highlight the role of experience in the absence of deliberate training to look at humans, two population of dogs were tested: dogs who had just completed training as a guide dog (Trained) and dogs who had been living with their visually impaired owner for one year (Working). The main finding was that Trained dogs looked with longer looks at their handler (the trainer; mean ± SE: 2.3 ± 0.4 s) than at an unfamiliar experimenter (1.0 ± 0.2 s; P < 0.05), while Working dogs, looked at their handler (the visually impaired owner; 1.0 ± 0.2 s) with gazes as short as those paid to the experimenter (1.2 ± 0.1 s). Performance of the 'Stay-in-place' task was worse in Working than in Trained dogs (χ2 = 4.24 P < 0.05). The different attention pattern is likely to be explained by the relevance that the trainer acquires as a predictive source of signals, in consequence of his/her role in the entire training process; the same relevance is not acquired by visually impaired owners, who are only involved in training at a later stage. It is also possible that working dogs learn that looking at their visually impaired owner is less useful for predicting immediate events, rather than looking elsewhere. The results highlight how dogs' attention towards humans is shaped by the specific experiences they undergo, even as adults. Our results also imply that changes in training procedures may be necessary in order to prevent decrement in attention towards the owner by guide dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]