Studies Indicate That Dogs Prefer Cuddling To Flattery

People often believe that a compliment can act as a reward to “reinforce” the dog’s ability to repeat an action. However, it is easy to understand that the dog will always prefer a treat in the form of gluttony rather than praise. Not only that, it has recently been shown that flattery is also supplanted by cuddling, as well as by food.

Some research

Researchers from Carroll College and Arizona State University (United States) subjected dogs from shelters and others owned by them to some experiments in which the animals were asked to choose either a caress or a kind word. The results obtained showed that dogs have a great preference for cuddling.  It may seem obvious to most. However, many owners take it for granted that the dog obeys in exchange for a “bravo!” You should know that from a dog’s point of view, swapping a good deed for a compliment isn’t such a tempting scenario.

A test was carried out to measure the effectiveness of flattery. The results showed that praise is almost insignificant for dogs. What matters is the prize, a delicacy, which usually follows the compliment. It is the  prize in the form of food that gives meaning to the flattery. This is what many bosses ignore.

It is interesting to make a comparison with cats. In 2013, a research was carried out which revealed that cats, while recognizing their owners’ voice, do not pay much attention to what is said to them. For some strange reason it is believed that in dogs it must be different. You need to know that this is just commonplace because dogs behave just like cats. In fact, experiments have shown that, in the absence of the conditioning of caress or food, dogs show the same indifference as cats.

As we said before, the experiments were conducted on dogs from shelters and on owned dogs. The hypothesis that had to be demonstrated through such tests was that the dogs in the shelter would appreciate the cuddles more. Well, the hypothesis has been confirmed. During the early stages of the experiment, shelter dogs were more attracted to cuddles than to food or flattery.

The behavior of 114 dogs of different breeds and ages was studied.  At first the dogs could choose between two people: one offered them a caress and the other a flattery. Every five minutes, roles were swapped. The research revealed that, despite being the owner to make a flattery, dogs always preferred the caress, even if it came from a stranger.

At a later time, and with other dogs, a person alternated cuddling, flattering or remained impassive. The dogs’ responses were filmed and the time during which they interacted with that person in relation to what he was offering them was measured.

Conclusions

Scientists have come to the conclusion that cuddling is very important for dogs. These gestures of affection are the basis of the dog’s social behavior and cement the inter-species bond . In the case of the shelter dogs, cuddling was even able to reduce their stress level.

Furthermore, the study wanted to verify if there is a limit beyond which dogs can no longer tolerate cuddling. The dogs were petted for 20 minutes. During this time, the animals were comfortable. Not only did they show no signs of impatience, but they moved closer and closer to the person to receive further pampering. This research was also an opportunity to determine that dogs prefer to be stroked in specific areas of the body. They prefer to be touched on the chest and under the chin.

All the dogs that participated in the experiment were sociable individuals. Probably if aggressive or fearful specimens had taken part in the study, the results would have been different. The researchers’ conclusions help decipher the function of physical contact within the human-dog relationship. Today we know that flattery is useless if it is not accompanied by a caress or a little food.