Dogs have a sense of fair play

[Sarah]

Dogs are prone to bouts of envy and refuse to play if they are not treated fairly, scientists have found.

The animals stopped cooperating with researchers and began to show signs of distress if they were not offered the same tasty rewards given to other dogs, the study showed.

Affronted dogs refused to offer their paws when invited to and began scratching and yawning, indicating that their stress levels were rising, the scientists report.

The finding suggests that dogs may share the sense of fairness seen in other social animals that engage in cooperative behaviour, such as monkeys.

Some scientists believe a sense of justice could be crucial for social animals and may have played a role in the evolution of cooperation.

Experiments led by Friederike Range at the University of Vienna tested how pairs of dogs reacted when each was given a different reward either a piece of bread, some sausage, or nothing in return for offering a paw to researchers.

In one of the tests the first dog was given a piece of bread as a reward, while the second received nothing. When the test was repeated a number of times, the dog that went without quickly began to display what appeared to be envy.

When the dogs were tested on their own, they continued to offer a paw even if they were not given a reward, suggesting they only became distressed if they thought they were being treated unfairly.

"It tells us that dogs are sensitive to unequal rewards. Is it envy, is it a sense of fairness? It's hard to say, because a lot depends on how you define those words," said Range, whose study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Writing in the journal, the researchers conclude: "Our results suggest that species other than primates show at least a primitive version of inequity aversion, which may be a precursor of a more sophisticated sensitivity to efforts and pay-offs of joint interactions."

They now plan to test wolves in the same way.

Last year, Frans de Waal at Emory University in Atlanta conducted similar experiments on capuchin monkeys. In this case, the monkeys were trained to give small stones in return for an edible treat. When de Waal tried to give out the treats unfairly, by offering some monkeys cucumbers instead of tastier grapes, the monkeys either refused the food, or took it and threw it on the floor.

[Dunc]

Just like wimmin give um nowt and get nowt back lol

wife dearest prostitute there is

[Sarah]

ohhhh you're gonna get shot when she sees this! lol

[laura_3173]

lol yeh he will be in the dog house lol

[PawPrints]

Just like wimmin give um nowt and get nowt back lol

wife dearest prostitute there is

how dear m8 ? just lookin in my walet? lol jk

[Dunc]

ohhhh you're gonna get shot when she sees this! lol

No dout you'll tell her lol