Factors Affecting Persistence of Canines at an Independent Task

Graduation date: 2016Access restricted to the OSU Community, at author's request, from June 14, 2016 - June 14, 2018The development of problem-solving behaviors in canines, including persistence, has implications for canine training, welfare, and the human-dog bond. Past research has shown that a variety of factors, including genetics (domestication) and training experience, play a role in a how a canine might behave during a problem-solving task. Less well understood is how certain populations of dogs may behave differently during a problem-solving task or how the actions of the human during the test and the dog's relationship with or perception of humans may affect a dog's behavior during a problem-solving task; in particular, one that the dog must solve independently of a human. To evaluate these questions, three experiments were conducted utilizing an independent task to compare the performance and persistence of wolves and domestic dogs from different populations, and under different environmental and testing contexts. Experiment one compared the problem-solving behavior of socialized wolves, pet dogs and free-ranging dogs from India. In experiment two, trained search and rescue dogs and untrained pet dogs were compared performing the same independent task under three conditions: a neutral, human-present condition; an alone condition; and an encouragement condition. In experiment three, pet dogs were compared for their ability to solve the task when they were presented with the testing apparatus in one of three conditions: a neutral condition, followed by encouragement; an encouragement condition followed by a neutral condition; and a neutral condition followed by a neutral condition. Results demonstrated that factors such as lifetime experience, relationship with humans, testing environment, and actions of the human during testing all influence a canine's behavior during an independent task. Further research is needed to better understand the impact of genetic and lifetime factors that affect persistence in canines and to identify ways that this information can be used to increase the persistence of dogs in working and training contexts. Promising areas of future research include investigations into possible breed differences and the influence of the human-canine relationship on problem solving behavior