Description of the behaviour of domestic dog (Canis familiaris) by experienced and inexperienced people

Although dogs have played an important role in human society since their domestication 100,000 years ago, human ability to interpret dog body language and facial expressions has received little attention in the literature on human–dog interactions. The present study describes a preliminary investigation of this topic involving a survey on the descriptions of dog behaviour by people with different levels of hands-on experience with dogs. Sixty observers, comprising dog-owners, veterinarians, dog trainers and non-owners, were asked to classify the behaviour of nine dogs, shown in different video clips, through the use of adjectives such as friendly and aggressive. The observers also specified which behavioural cues led to their behavioural descriptions.The results suggested that working and living with dogs, without any theoretical knowledge of canine behaviour, may not be determinant for allowing correct description of the majority of dog behaviours. The four categories of observers did not differ significantly in their ability to properly label dog behaviour (p > 0.050), while differences emerged among individual observers irrespective of their level of experience with dogs (p < 0.001). Indifference, fear, friendliness and play solicitation were the most easily recognised behaviours, while observers showed little agreement when classifying aggression, confidence and actual-play. The findings suggest that tail movements were the most common cues used to interpret dog behaviour and that, even if they were not instructed to do so, observers tended to give ‘holistic’ descriptions of dog behaviour, such as ‘the dog wants to…’ or ‘the dog feels…’.