Dogs know when humans are lying to them

[Judi Lynn]

By Yasemin Saplakoglu - Staff Writer about 15 hours ago

Dogs may be able to tell when humans are deceiving them, according to a new study.



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Dogs know when humans are lying to them
By Yasemin Saplakoglu - Staff Writer about 15 hours ago

Dogs may be able to tell when humans are deceiving them, according to a new study.

A small cavalier dog on a walk.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Dogs may be able to tell when humans are deceiving them, according to a new study.

Specifically, researchers found that dogs react differently to false information given to them by a misinformed human than they do to a human who is flat-out lying to them.

The findings suggest that dogs have a "theory of mind" that they use to explain what their owners are up to. Children typically develop this ability around age 4.

"Although every dog owner thinks that their dog 'understands' them, such a sophisticated level of reasoning about the mental states of others had never been scientifically shown in dogs," senior author Ludwig Huber, the head of the Comparative Cognition unit at the Messerli Research Institute in Vienna, and lead author Lucrezia Lonardo, a doctoral student at the Messerli Research Institute, wrote in a joint email to Live Science.

Past studies that have examined whether or not dogs can understand deception have had conflicting results, they said. "And, in general, scientists are still debating whether other non-human animals are able to engage in the so-called 'mindreading'" needed to detect lying, the authors wrote.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/dogs-may-know-when-humans-lying.html

[Midnight Writer]

1. Doesn't surprise me. My dog seems to know what I'm going to do before I do.

Of course, he has studied me intently for over ten years. Always watching, picking out the cues.