Volume 98, September 2013, Pages 112–116
Highlights
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- Using a high-speed camera, we examined whether dogs show facial laterality.
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- The specific laterality was found when dogs reunited with their owners.
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- This laterality likely reflects dog's attachment to the owner.
Abstract
Domestic
dogs demonstrate behavioral laterality in response to emotional
stimuli; those responses include tail wagging and head turning. The dog
is the species with the closest relationship to humans; dogs can express
strong social emotions (e.g., attachment and separation anxiety) to
specific persons, such as their owners. In this study, we examined
whether dogs demonstrate more facial laterality when reunited with their
owners than when they encounter an unfamiliar person in an unfamiliar
situation. We also examined whether the observed laterality was specific
to positive social stimuli (i.e., the owner) or a general response to
nonsocial positive stimuli (i.e., toys). The dogs’ facial expressions
were recorded by a high-speed video camera during the presentation of
emotional stimuli and the acceleration rates of parts of their faces
were analyzed. The results showed that the left eyebrow moved more when
the owner was present than at baseline. No bias in terms of eyebrow
movement was observed when the dogs saw attractive toys. These results
suggest that dogs show facial laterality in response to emotional
stimuli. This laterality was specific to social stimuli, probably
reflecting the dog's attachment to the owner.
Keywords
- Acceleration rate;
- Attachment;
- Dog;
- Emotional stimuli;
- Facial lateralization
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
