1. Age Differences in Canine Mutual Gaze Tasks Can
Help Optimize the Age at Which Training Starts
By: Seraphina Wong
Mentors: Dr. Brian Hare and the Hare Group
Duke Canine Cognition Center, Duke University

2. Eye Contact
• Helps with:
• Emotional cues
• Facial recognition
• Attentional focus
• Infants less likely to smile when no eye
contact1
• Able to understand gaze cues by age
six4
http://www.projects.aegee.org/euroislam/upload
s/RTEmagicC_eyecontact.gif.gif

3. How This Applies to Dogs
• Important factor in communicating with humans2
• Alternating gaze to communicate location3
• Alternating gaze to ask for permission to access
various things2

4. Why does this matter?
• Longer eye contact = more reliant on humans5
• Can optimize age at which training starts
• If nothing is done:
• Will slow down training process
• Potentially waste time and money

5. Goal and Hypothesis
• Goal: To determine if there is an optimal age at which dogs maintain eye
contact the longest
• Hypothesis: Younger dogs will maintain eye contact longer than older dogs

6. Methods
• Mutual Gaze Task
• Wubba/large squeaky toy
• Engages dog for 10 seconds
• Observes dog for 20 seconds
• Time latency of eye contact with experimenter
• 4 trials total
http://dogstory.in/upload_images/Wubba
_Friends_Bear.jpg

7. Methods, cont’d
• Unsolvable Task
• Tennis ball and treat in sealed container
• 1 minute for retrieval
• Time latency of eye contact with experimenter
• 4 trials total
Photo courtesy of: Seraphina Wong

8. Results
Mutual Gaze
Avg. % of trial spent looking at Exp.
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
1, 2
-2.00
3, 4
5, 6
7, 8
9, 10
Age Range
11, 12
13, 14
15, 16

9. Results, cont’d
Unsolvable
0.40
Avg. % of trial spent looking at Exp.
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
1, 2
-0.05
3, 4
5, 6
7, 8
9, 10
Age Range
11, 12
13, 14
15, 16

10. Conclusion
• Pet dogs look to humans the most when they are about 9-10 years old
• Unsolvable Task less reliable due to unreliable sample
• Not an equal number of subjects per age range

11. Applications and Future Studies
• Improves training programs
• Would not waste time and money on a dog less likely to pass training
• Future Studies
• Sex differences in mutual gaze

12. Special Thanks
•
•
•
•
Dr. Brian Hare and the Hare Group
Carolina Livery
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Dr. Sarah Shoemaker

13. Works Cited
1. Itier, R., Batty, M. (2009). Neural bases of eye and gaze processing: The core of social cognition. Neuroscience
& Biobehavioral reviews, 33 (6), 843-863.
2. Jakovcevic, A., Mustaca, A., Bentosela, M. (2012). Do more sociable dogs gaze longer to the human face
than less sociable ones? Behavioural Processes, 90 (2), 217-222.
3. Miklósi, A., Polgárdi, R., Topál, J., Csányi, V. (2000). Intentional behaviour in dog-human communication:
An experimental analysis of “showing” behaviour in the dog. Animal Cognition. 3, 159–166
4. Vida, M., Maurer D. (2012). The development of fine-grained sensitivity to eye contact after 6 years of age.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 112, 243-256
5. Yamamoto, M., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M. (2011). The response of dogs to attentional focus of human beings: A
comparison between guide dog candidates and other dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 6, 4-11.