Robert Zakar gives back to community
Some Dog Breeds Benefit More From Observing A Human
How did you learn most of the important skills that you use in your everyday life? If you think about it, you will probably come to the conclusion that you gained this knowledge simply by observing other people, such as your parents, teachers, or friends, and then repeating their actions. You learn language by listening to someone speak it and copying those sounds. You learned how to button your shirt, tie your shoelaces, or use a can opener, by observing another person doing these things.
Psychologists call this social learning, not because it involves learning social manners, customs, or communication, but because it refers to a type of learning that is socially transmitted or socially facilitated. This kind of learning and performance seems to be unique to the most evolutionarily advanced animals that live in a complex social environment, and that includes dogs.
Dog Breeds May Be Divided into Functional GroupsThere is a lot of evidence to show that dogs watch the deliberate or casual actions of human beings or other dogs and use the information that they gather from these observations to guide their own behaviors. However, a new study by Petra Dobos and Péter Pongrácz of the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, suggests that not all dog breeds benefit equally from observing potentially helpful actions from a human demonstrator.
For the purposes of this investigation, these researchers utilized the idea of sorting dog breeds into two functional groups: specifically dogs who were selected for cooperatively working with humans (such as retrievers, herding dogs, and a variety of sporting breeds) versus dog breeds who mainly work without direct human guidance, here referred to as independent working dogs (which would include most terriers, livestock guarding dogs, hounds, and Spitz or Nordic breeds).
They were not the first researchers to hit upon this idea of the functional division of dog breeds. For example, in 1998, I noted that several breeds of dogs clumped together into what I called the "independent" or "self-assured" groups in direct comparison to more cooperative breeds of dogs that fell into what I called "friendly" or "clever" groups. Furthermore, Kathleen Morrill of the University of Massachusetts and her associates sequenced the DNA of more than 2000 dogs and found that biddability (how well dogs respond to human direction) was a heritable characteristic that differed strongly among dog breeds. However, Dobos and Pongrácz were the first to suggest that perhaps cooperative dog breeds were more likely to benefit from simply observing the activities of a person who might provide information as to how to solve a particular problem.
The Detour ProblemFor a number of years, Pongrácz and his associates have been studying whether dogs can learn to solve a problem that involves finding a particular path to a reward by merely observing someone else successfully complete it. The experimental arrangement that they often use is a large V-shaped wire fence, about 3 meters or 10 feet long, with the point of the V facing toward the dog as can be seen in Figure A. A highly desirable treat or toy is placed at the point behind the fence. Psychologists call this kind of situation a "detour problem."
It is an interesting test because the solution requires the animal to move some distance away from its goal before going back to it. In this case, a dog must move down the side of the V-shaped fence for a good distance (which seems to take him farther away from the treat he wants) and then eventually he can reach the end of the fence and be able to curve around and enter the V from the open side and reach his goal.
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Although initially, dogs experience difficulty in solving problems involving such detours, they usually can learn to solve these tasks by trial and error. That trial and error learning, however, is slow and the dogs often need to blunder their way around until they successfully find their way around the fence. It is not unusual for them to try several times before they catch on and have that "Aha!" experience. Once they achieve this insight they quickly and reliably move around the barrier to get their reward.
Suppose that instead of just letting the dog poke around until he finds a solution, he is kept in one place and allowed to watch a human taking the correct path down the side of the V-shaped barrier and in through the back to get the treat (Figure B). Many dogs can learn what to do from observing a person performing the correct behavior and, when given the chance, they solve the problem quickly, usually in one attempt.
Some Dogs May Watch While Others Do NotIn this study, the researchers tested close to 100 dogs, 18 breeds from the independent working group and 16 breeds from the cooperative working group. Each dog had one minute to complete the task and was tested three times. For some dogs the second and third tests were preceded by having a human demonstrate how to get around the detour. As had been predicted by the researchers, the cooperative dog breeds gained a clear advantage in this situation if they watched a human perform the correct action. Unlike the independent dog breeds, cooperative dogs perform faster in subsequent detour tests compared to their baseline trial. The independent dog breeds showed no benefit or increased speed in solving the detour problem following the demonstration.
The researchers conclude that "cooperative dog breeds, regardless of their ancestry and training levels, utilize human demonstration more effectively." They further note that the functional (genetic) selection for cooperative work with humans seems to be the decisive factor behind their results. Thus it might be beneficial for you to act out the solution to a problem if you own a Labrador Retriever, however, if you have a Scottish Terrier you might be wasting your time.
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Dog Behavior Study Evaluates Social Learning Among Various Breeds
A new study from the Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, showed that dogs may not equally benefit from observing the "helpful action" of a human demonstrator in the classic detour around a V-shaped fence task.
Those who are experienced with the world of ethological conferences, know all too well that if you present your work about dog behavior, the first (or second) question from the audience will be: "And did you check whether the breed of the dog had an effect on your results?"
Actually, this is not surprising as most people are familiar with the mindboggling variability of hundreds of dog breeds that differ not only in their appearance, but also in their behavior. It's only natural to speculate that terriers would behave differently than Huskies, Border Collies would show different preferences than pointers, and so on.
There are of course many experiments in which ethologists found considerable breed differences. But social learning, which is the capacity for learning through observation of someone else's actions, remained an interesting exception, until now. Although dogs are well known for their excellent ability to learn from other dogs, and more importantly, from humans, this significant feature remained stubbornly independent of their breed through more than two decades of investigations.
Now, with their new study published recently in the journal Animals, the researchers of the Department of Ethology showed that some dog breeds seem to be more honed towards human behavior than others, which helps them to improve their performance in an otherwise difficult spatial problem-solving task: to detour around an obstacle. Dr. Péter Pongrácz, who conducted many of the pioneering social learning experiments with dogs in the last two decades, was joined by Petra Dobos, an exceptionally promising undergraduate student, whose bachelor thesis was aimed towards the ambitious goal of finding breed-related differences behind dogs' social learning skills.
The two researchers utilized the idea of sorting dog breeds into two functional groups: those who were selected for cooperatively working with their human handlers (such as herding dogs, pointers, retrievers); and those who mainly work without constant human guidance—the independent working dogs (such as terriers, sighthounds, spitz type breeds and livestock guarding dogs).
Dobos tested nearly 100 dogs in the well-known "V-shaped fence detour" test. Dogs had to find the reward behind the transparent wire-mesh fence, which is a hard task, as many dogs cannot perform the required detour within one minute, which is the standard duration of a trial.
Dogs were tested in three consecutive trials, either without any further help (control group); or after witnessing Dobos as she walked around the fence, demonstrating how to make a detour, before the second and third trials. Upon review of the results, it turned out that the independent and cooperative breeds were equally unsuccessful in the control condition, which was not a surprising result, regarding how hard is the detour task for dogs in general.
However, it turned out that when additional assistance was provided in the form of watching the helpful demonstrator, cooperative working dog breeds were in clear advantage.
Unlike their independently working cousins, cooperative dogs performed faster subsequent detours compared to their baseline trial. Independent dogs on the other hand, did not speed up their detours, even though they were also provided with the same demonstration of walking around the fence.
"The beauty of this finding lays in the fact that we did not find any specific dog breed to be especially talented in social learning," said Pongrácz, supervisor of the research program. "The groups we assembled for the tests consisted of several unrelated dog breeds, positioned at distant branches on the genetic 'tree' of dogs, thus our results highlight the role of functional breed selection that has possibly been aimed at those capacities in dogs that enhance attention and interest towards human behavior."
Dobos concluded the discussion with a remark regarding their future plans. "We won't stop here of course. There are so many things still to discover, for example, whether the cooperative and independent dogs would equally regard our attention calling words interesting, or would we find the cooperative breeds as being more attracted to human encouragement?"
More information: Petra Dobos et al, Would You Detour with Me? Association between Functional Breed Selection and Social Learning in Dogs Sheds Light on Elements of Dog–Human Cooperation, Animals (2023). DOI: 10.3390/ani13122001
Citation: Dog behavior study evaluates social learning among various breeds (2023, June 26) retrieved 29 June 2023 from https://phys.Org/news/2023-06-dog-behavior-social.Html
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Dog Breeds Banned By Home Insurance Companies
Key pointsCertain insurance companies may raise your home insurance rates, or limit or exclude coverage in your policy, if you own a specific dog breed. Owning a banned dog breed could mean your home insurance company will deny a claim if your dog bites or injures someone, leaving you to pay the entire cost of injuries and legal fees.
The average cost of a dog bite claim in 2021 was $49,025, according to the Insurance Information Institute. When insurance companies review dog liability claims, certain breeds show up more often than others. Knowing what homeowners insurance companies ban dog breeds may help you decide which carrier to use and what to do if you own a banned dog breed.
Dog breeds most often banned by homeowners insurance companiesInsurance companies are not always open about the breeds they ban, making it harder for homeowners to decide which company to choose. We analyzed more than 40 home insurance companies across the country to find the most common banned dog breeds.
The top 12 banned dog breeds most often banned by homeowners insurance companies are:
Pit bull is a term used to encompass several Bull Terrier breeds and mixes of these breeds. American Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers all fall under the pit bull umbrella.
Why do some insurance companies deny certain breeds?The simple answer to why some insurance companies deny certain breeds is risk exposure. In 2021, there were 17,989 dog bite liability claims filed resulting in more than $882 million paid by home insurance carriers, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
"These breeds are responsible for a high number of dog bite claims and insurance companies want to minimize paying expensive claims," states Elissa Weimer-Sentner, professional dog trainer and owner of Paw & Order Dog Training. It's like an insurance company requiring a self-latching gate if you own a swimming pool. The more risk mitigation factors you provide, the less risk exposure you and your insurer have.
While some companies may focus more on each individual dog's temperament and history, many go with blanket bans on the breeds most likely to bite. Blanket breed bans leave no option for professionally trained assistance, search and rescue or therapy dogs that fall under these breed types, advises information website PetPlace.
Is dog breed discrimination legal?Yes, dog breed discrimination is legal in most states. However, in a few states, legislation has been passed to limit or eliminate breed discrimination by home insurance companies. Some states may not allow breed discrimination but have other requirements, like a minimum amount of liability insurance coverage you'll need if you own a specific dog breed.
States with limitations to breed discrimination or no breed discrimination include:
Not only can insurance companies use breed-specific legislation (BSL), but local cities and counties can also ban certain dog breeds. For instance, if you live in Prince George's County, Maryland, it is against the law to own a pit bull. Even if you have homeowners insurance through a company that doesn't ban dog breeds, your liability claim may be denied if you are held legally responsible for owning a banned breed in your area.
The consequences of dog breed bans"Breed bans often force dog owners to surrender their pets to animal shelters that are already overcrowded," warns Tom Bohne, founder of pit bull advocacy group Kennel to Couch. Shelter life can not only affect their temperament but also build anxiety and other negative behaviors. It can make it more difficult for banned dogs to be adopted, especially when insurance companies and BSL make it harder for them to find loving homes with good owners willing to put in the work to train and exercise them properly.
Banning a breed can also encourage irresponsible dog ownership, says Weimer-Sentner. Owners may avoid seeking veterinary care, neglect their dogs' health and avoid outside activities, limiting their socialization. It can also lead to fewer dogs being microchipped and spayed or neutered, all to avoid detection.
"Rather than considering a dog's breed or size when it comes to insurance coverage, insurers should look at the individual dog and consider its history, upbringing and temperament," Bohne advises. Just like people, every dog has its own personality, agrees Weimer-Sentner.
When are dogs not covered by homeowners insurance?Breed bans are not the only thing that can cause a dog to not be covered by homeowners insurance. A home insurance policy may not cover a dog of any breed if it has a history of property damage or biting.
Biting historyIf your dog has a bite history, your insurance company may require you to sign a liability waiver before issuing a homeowners policy. The insurer could exclude the dog from liability coverage, which means if you file a claim for legal or medical bills relating to your dog biting, it won't be covered. Owning a dog with a bite history could also cause an insurance company to deny coverage or not renew your policy.
If your dog bites you or someone in your household, regardless of its breed, your homeowners insurance will not cover your medical bills. Personal liability coverage under a home policy only covers injuries or damage to others, not household members.
Property damageYour homeowners insurance also won't cover a claim if your dog damages your home, belongings or other structures on your property. That means if your dog destroys all the clothes in your closet or chews your drywall or carpets, you won't get reimbursed to repair the damage or replace your belongings.
Your insurance company may also not cover damage your dog causes to someone else's property if the dog is on the insurer's banned breed list.
What do I do if my insurer won't cover my dog?If your insurer won't cover your dog, you have a few options. Asking about exceptions, shopping around and considering alternate insurance are good places to start.
Ask about exceptionsAlthough some insurance companies ban dog breeds without exception, others may assess individual dogs on a case-by-case basis. Ask the insurer if you can provide documentation that proves your dog's temperament. This could be the dog's foster parents, your neighbors or your veterinarian, says Bohne.
"Your insurance company may require you to get training or have a certain kind of yard or fence for your dog" before agreeing to cover your dog's liability, says Weimer-Sentner. If your pet is certified as a therapy or service dog, let your insurance company know. Completing these programs is a sign that your dog can be controlled in many situations and is less prone to bite or cause damage.
Shop aroundNot all home insurance companies ban dog breeds. Shopping around can help you find an insurer that doesn't ban your dog's breed or has pet restrictions. Be up front that you have a dog and ask if there are any reasons the company would exclude them from coverage.
The insurance company might charge you a higher premium because of your dog's breed, warns Weimer-Sentner. Shopping around can help determine which insurer is best for your needs and budget.
Consider alternative insuranceIf you prefer to stick with your insurance company or can't find one that will accept your dog's breed, it may be time to consider alternative insurance options.
This could include an umbrella insurance policy with another carrier. Umbrella insurance offers excess liability coverage when you exhaust the underlying limits on your home or car insurance policy. If you go this route, make sure the umbrella insurer is aware of the breed restriction on your home insurance policy. The insurance company can then confirm if it would cover your dog under the umbrella policy if you have to file a liability claim.
Weimer-Sentner suggests another option: a canine liability, or pet liability, insurance policy. This policy will take the place of your homeowners liability coverage in the event you have to file a liability claim.
What can I do to help prevent my dog from biting?"Many things can affect a dog's tendency to be aggressive, such as their family lineage, overall health, early socialization and training," explains Weimer-Sentner. Appropriate veterinary care and proper training can go a long way in preventing your dog from biting. Buying pet insurance is one way to offset the costs of vet care over your pet's lifetime.
There are other things the American Veterinary Medical Association recommends you can do to help prevent your dog from biting:
On top of socializing your dog, you should also know its triggers, advises the Insurance Information Institute. If your dog gets overly excited when someone comes to the door, secure your dog in a crate or other room to limit the risk of them injuring someone. If loud noises, unfamiliar surroundings, strangers or unexpected touch triggers your pet, it may be best to leave the dog at home instead of putting it in a situation it may react negatively to.
Owning a dog comes with a great deal of responsibility. If you can't care for your dog properly, it can increase the chance of it biting or damaging property in the future. Making your dog a good canine citizen and having the right insurance coverage in place is a great way to protect yourself and your dog.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Do renters insurance companies have breed restrictions?Just like homeowners companies, renters insurance companies can have breed restrictions. If there is a ban on certain dog breeds under a home policy, the same insurer likely bans dog breeds on a renters insurance policy. You can contact your insurance company to determine if there is a breed restriction.
Does homeowners insurance cover dog bites?Yes, homeowners insurance covers dog bites under the liability insurance portion of your policy. However, there could be restrictions or exclusions under the policy. For instance, if your dog has a bite history, it could be excluded from coverage, even if it's not a banned dog breed.
If your dog doesn't have a bite history but then bites someone, causing medical or legal bills, these expenses would typically be covered by homeowners insurance, up to the limits in your policy.
Will my dog's breed increase my home insurance premiums?Your dog's breed could increase your home insurance premiums, depending on the insurance company.
Each insurer has its own policy on covering dogs, so it's best to let the insurance company know you have a dog, its breed and its history, especially if it's bitten someone before or shown aggression. The company may exclude your dog and have you sign a liability waiver or choose to not insure your home at all.
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