In a study conducted by researchers from the Department of Ethology at the University of Eotvos Lorànd, dogs were found to interpret human gestures in a similar way to humans, with their attention paid not only to the location of an object but also its appearance. This phenomenon, known as “spatial bias,” suggests that dogs process information in a way that is comparable to humans.

In this study, 82 dogs were tested on behavioral tasks that evaluated their ability to learn the location of a reward relative to the characteristics of an object. The results showed that “smarter” dogs learned faster, suggesting a connection between their cognitive abilities and their ability to interpret information in more detail.

To further investigate whether spatial bias was related to a sensory or cognitive issue, the researchers measured the dogs’ head length, which correlates with visual acuity, and subjected them to cognitive tests. The findings revealed that dogs with better visual and cognitive abilities showed a reduced “spatial bias.”

Overall, this study provides new insights into how dogs think and interpret information, highlighting the complexity of their cognitive abilities and shedding light on new perspectives for understanding our furry companions.