A small study found no evidence that wolves or dogs might establish reputations of people as “generous” or “selfish” with food following direct or indirect interactions. 

The findings of the study, led by Hoi-Lam Jim and associates from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria, were presented today in the publication PLOS ONE.

When animals live in groups, a person’s reputation can be a big part of how well they work together. Some studies have proposed that because dogs and humans can collaborate, dogs may be able to form opinions on particular humans based on how those humans interact with others.

However, outcomes from studies on the subject have been contradictory. If dogs really possess this ability, it is unknown whether it developed as a result of domestication or whether it always existed in their wolf forebears.

Jim and colleagues studied nine wolves and six canines at the Wolf Science Center in Austria to help with clarification. Each subject watched a scenario involving two people and a dog in which one person was “generous” and fed the dog while the other person was “selfish” and withheld food.

After that, the test animal chose which of the two people to approach to show if it had learned anything about their reputations.

A second step was to see if each animal got a reputation after directly interacting with people who either fed them or didn’t.

According to statistical analysis of the data, neither the wolves nor the dogs developed reputations for the humans through either direct or indirect observation. The results refute the notion that wolves and dogs may develop reputations.

However, while seeing interactions with a dog, the wolves did pay greater attention to the kind human.

Furthermore, after the combined experience of indirect observation and direct engagement, two wolves and three dogs did express a preference for the generous human.

The researchers want more research to be done on the topic, maybe with a larger number of dogs and wolves and a careful look at the situation.

For example, it could be that some animals are more likely to get a bad reputation when they are in a stressful or dangerous situation. However, this is not something that can be tested in an experiment as it would be unethical.

“Overall, neither dogs nor wolves,” according to the authors, “distinguished between a generous or selfish human after indirect or direct experience.”

“However,” as explained by the authors, “wolves showed more attention toward the generous person during the observation phase, and some dogs and wolves did prefer the generous person when looking at indirect and direct experiences combined.”

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