Dogs may understand human perspective
According to researchers at the University of Plymouth, dogs may be more capable of understanding human perspective than previously thought. During the study, which has been published in Animal Cognition, researchers conducted tests on 84 dogs in an attempt to determine if dogs would adapt their behaviour in response to the changed circumstances of their owners.
It was found that dogs were four times more likely to disobey and steal forbidden food when lights were turned off so humans in the room could not see. Believing it to be "unlikely that the dogs simply forgot that the human was in the room" when there was no light, researchers say their findings imply the dogs could differentiate between when the human was unable or able to see them.
Dr Juliane Kaminski from the University of Portsmouth's psychology department said the study was "incredible because it implies dogs understand the human can't see them, meaning they might understand the human perspective."
Whilst many owners believe they can detect different expressions on their dogs faces, suggesting understanding of and response to human behaviour, previous research has denied this. Dr Kaminski says that this is often simply a projection of human emotions - "us thinking, not them." She adds however that in light of the recent research it is possible dogs have a greater understanding of us than previously thought.
Dr Kaminski insists "we still can't be completely sure if the results mean dogs have a truly flexible understanding of the mind and others' minds. It has always been assumed that only humans had this ability." Nonetheless the findings could be important in understanding the capacities of dogs that have to interact closely with humans, such as guide dogs for the blind and sniffer dogs.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
