Want dogs to like you? The key is to pat their head, say Indian scientists

Whether you dole out tasty treats or not, the best way to make friends with a dog is to show some good old love, says a new study by Indian scientists.

Are you the kind of person who wants to befriend every stray dog on the streets? There’s a way to trick to ensure that. The Dog Lab at Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata (IISER-Kolkata), tested a total of 103 adult stray dogs analysing their response to immediate social and long-term food and social rewards (patting on head).

“When it comes to strangers, dogs are likely to trust humans who show them affection, than those that give them food. So the best way to make friends with a dog is to show it some love, whether you give it food or not,” behavioural biologist Anindita Bhadra of the Dog Lab told IANS.The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, points out that free-ranging dogs check out unfamiliar humans in their own way before making physical contact with them and this ability could help them adapt in the urban environment.

The team designed two experiments, one was a one-time test and the other was a long-term one, to study their response. “In the one time test, the experimenter put a piece of food on one hand and held it out to a dog. Another piece of chicken was put on the ground very close to the hand. A dog was called out to, and its response recorded on video. We recorded whether a dog approached or not and whether the dog took the food from the hand or not. When the dog made a choice, it was either patted on the head, or given an extra piece of chicken. We repeated the experiment and noted the dog’s response,” Bhadra explained.

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