The effect of reward-handler dissociation on dogs' obedience performance in different conditions

•The effect of reward-handler dissociation on dog obedience performance is examined.•Food reward is provided either by the handler of by a dispenser device.•The handler's relative distance, visibility and command type are manipulated.•Obedience decreases with increasing distance from the handler.•Reward-handler dissociation affects dogs' obedience in distant conditions.

Dogs' responsiveness to instructions of the handler is known to be influenced by several factors. In this study we examined whether reward-handler dissociation has an effect on the obedience performance of family dogs with basic training history. We looked at situations involving human-dog interactions under controlled laboratory settings by measuring dogs' obedience performance to two known commands ('sit' and 'down') in several different conditions. For two different groups of dogs, we manipulated the source of the food reward: it was provided either by the handler or by a remote controlled food dispenser device during a practising period, when the handler stood in the dog's close vicinity (0.5 m). In three different test conditions the position of the handler was manipulated: he/she stood further away (3 m) from the dog either beside a screen, hid behind the screen or was outside of the room. No food reward was provided during the test trials, which were interrupted by so called reminder sessions, where dog-handler dyads practiced both commands in close vicinity to each other and food reward was also involved. We found that the performance of dogs that experienced receiving food reward from the handler was significantly poorer during the test conditions, i.e. in contexts with increased distance between them and the handler (including handler out of sight), as compared to their performance during the reminder sessions in the handlers' close vicinity. Experience with receiving food reward form the dispenser device lessened the difference in dogs' obedience between the test conditions and reminder sessions, and moreover, it also revealed a more prompt response to the 'sit' than to the 'down' commands. Thus our results show that reward-handler dissociation seems to affect dogs' obedience performance in the investigated conditions.