Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs

Anna Gábor; Noémi Kaszás; Ádám Miklósi; Tamás Faragó; Attila Andics

doi:10.1556/019.70.2019.15

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Biologia Futura

Volume/Issue:: Volume 70: Issue 2

Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs

Authors:

Anna Gábor

Anna Gábor Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
MTA-ELTE ‘Lendület’ Neuroethology of Communication Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

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Noémi Kaszás

Noémi Kaszás Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

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Ádám Miklósi

Ádám Miklósi Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary

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Tamás Faragó

Tamás Faragó Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

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, and

Attila Andics

Attila Andics Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
MTA-ELTE ‘Lendület’ Neuroethology of Communication Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

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Pages:: 121–127

Online Publication Date:: 26 Jul 2019

Publication Date:: 01 Jun 2019

Article Category:: Journal Article

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1556/019.70.2019.15

Keywords:: interspecific voice discrimination; dog; two-way choice task

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Background and aims

Conspecific individual recognition using vocal cues has been shown in a wide range of species but there is no published evidence that dogs are able to recognize their owner based on his/her voice alone (interspecific individual recognition).

Methods

In our test, dogs had to rely on vocal cues to find their hidden owner in a two-way choice task. From behind an opaque screen, both the owner and a control person uttered neutral speech (reading sentences from a receipt) before the dogs were allowed to make their choice. Correct choices were reinforced by food and by verbal praise.

Results

During the six-choice trials, dogs chose their owner’s voice significantly more often than the control person’s voice. There was no effect of learning throughout the trials, and dogs did not show side preference.

Discussion

Thus, dogs are able to discriminate interspecific voices, suggesting that they are able to identify their owner based on vocal cues alone. This experimental design allows exploration of the role of individual acoustic parameters (such as fundamental frequency) in voice discrimination.

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Biologia Futura

Print ISSN:: 2676-8615

Online ISSN:: 2676-8607

To see the editorial board, please visit the website of Springer Nature.

Manuscript Submission: HERE

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Biologia Futura
Language	English
Size	A4
Year of Foundation	2019 (1950)
Volumes per Year	1
Issues per Year	4
Founder	Magyar Tudományos Akadémia
Founder's Address	H-1051 Budapest, Hungary, Széchenyi István tér 9.
Publisher	Akadémiai Kiadó Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publisher's Address	H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245. CH-6330 Cham, Switzerland Gewerbestrasse 11.
Responsible Publisher	Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN	2676-8615 (Print)
ISSN	2676-8607 (Online)