Exploring breed differences in discrimination, reversal learning, and resistance to extinction in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).

ABSTRACT: Learning is crucial for shaping domestic dogs' behaviour through life experiences, yet not all breeds exhibit the same learning aptitude towards a particular task. The current study's objective was to identify differences in behaviour and learning performance across and within five breed clades and elucidate the underlying factors contributing into these variations. Dogs (n = 111) from five breed clades (UK Rural, Retrievers, Asian Spitz, European Mastiff, and New World) participated in a virtual learning task with their owners. Owners completed validated questionnaires of Impulsivity and Reward Responsiveness. The learning task comprised of reinforcing an arbitrary behaviour (hand-touch) through multiple sessions of Acquisition (reinforcing the hand-touch), Discrimination (reinforcing the

SUBMITTER: Azadian A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11480501 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature