Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs
Training experience has been shown to enhance a dog’s cognitive performance when comparing highly trained working or sporting dogs with untrained dogs. However, whether the type or level of training a pet dog receives can alter their performance in cognitive tasks requiring inhibitory control has no...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/3/428 |
| _version_ | 1797319051853168640 |
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| author | Nerys Mellor Sebastian McBride Emma Stoker Sarah Dalesman |
| author_facet | Nerys Mellor Sebastian McBride Emma Stoker Sarah Dalesman |
| author_sort | Nerys Mellor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Training experience has been shown to enhance a dog’s cognitive performance when comparing highly trained working or sporting dogs with untrained dogs. However, whether the type or level of training a pet dog receives can alter their performance in cognitive tasks requiring inhibitory control has not been assessed. Here, we tested whether pet dogs trained in scent work, agility, and obedience differ in cognitive performance. The impact of primary training discipline and combined training experience was assessed using two well-defined tasks that require inhibitory control: (1) the A-not-B task, in which dogs must inhibit a previously learned response in favour of an alternative response; and (2) the detour task, in which dogs must inhibit a direct approach to food to gain a reward. Dogs trained in scent work demonstrated higher levels of inhibitory control and persistence across the two tasks, but this did not affect individual task performance. Increased combined training experience improved learning in the A-not-B task training phase, but did not alter performance during the test phase, whereas it had no effect on success in the detour task. Overall, dogs that performed better in the A-not-B task were also more likely to succeed in the detour task, showing a relationship in the cognitive ability underpinning performance in the two tasks. The effect of the primary discipline on the behavioural phenotype shows that this should be accounted for in future studies, rather than applying the practice of partitioning dogs into highly trained vs. untrained groups. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:01:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e2847dd12454c3e86618e9d251548c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:01:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e2847dd12454c3e86618e9d251548c52024-02-09T15:06:38ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-01-0114342810.3390/ani14030428Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet DogsNerys Mellor0Sebastian McBride1Emma Stoker2Sarah Dalesman3Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UKDepartment of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UKPuppy Plus Training and Behaviour Services, Newtown SY16 3HQ, UKDepartment of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UKTraining experience has been shown to enhance a dog’s cognitive performance when comparing highly trained working or sporting dogs with untrained dogs. However, whether the type or level of training a pet dog receives can alter their performance in cognitive tasks requiring inhibitory control has not been assessed. Here, we tested whether pet dogs trained in scent work, agility, and obedience differ in cognitive performance. The impact of primary training discipline and combined training experience was assessed using two well-defined tasks that require inhibitory control: (1) the A-not-B task, in which dogs must inhibit a previously learned response in favour of an alternative response; and (2) the detour task, in which dogs must inhibit a direct approach to food to gain a reward. Dogs trained in scent work demonstrated higher levels of inhibitory control and persistence across the two tasks, but this did not affect individual task performance. Increased combined training experience improved learning in the A-not-B task training phase, but did not alter performance during the test phase, whereas it had no effect on success in the detour task. Overall, dogs that performed better in the A-not-B task were also more likely to succeed in the detour task, showing a relationship in the cognitive ability underpinning performance in the two tasks. The effect of the primary discipline on the behavioural phenotype shows that this should be accounted for in future studies, rather than applying the practice of partitioning dogs into highly trained vs. untrained groups.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/3/428A-not-B taskcaninecognitiondetour taskdomestic dogsimpulsivity |
| spellingShingle | Nerys Mellor Sebastian McBride Emma Stoker Sarah Dalesman Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs Animals A-not-B task canine cognition detour task domestic dogs impulsivity |
| title | Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs |
| title_full | Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs |
| title_short | Impact of Training Discipline and Experience on Inhibitory Control and Cognitive Performance in Pet Dogs |
| title_sort | impact of training discipline and experience on inhibitory control and cognitive performance in pet dogs |
| topic | A-not-B task canine cognition detour task domestic dogs impulsivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/3/428 |
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