Function predicts how people treat their dogs in a global sample

Dogs have an extraordinary relationship with humans. We understand, communicate, and cooperate remarkably with our dogs. But almost all we know about dog-human bonds, dog behaviour, and dog cognition is limited to Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) societies. WEIRD dogs are kept for a variety of functions, and these can influence their relationship with their owner, as well as their behaviour and performance in problem-solving tasks. But are such associations representative worldwide? Here we address this by collecting data on the function and perception of dogs in 124 globally distributed societies using the eHRAF cross-cultural database. We hypothesize that keeping dogs for multiple purposes and/or employing dogs for highly cooperative or high investment functions (e.g., herding, guarding of herds, hunting) will lead to closer dog-human bonds: increased primary caregiving (or positive care), decreased negative treatment, and attributing personhood to dogs. Our results show that indeed, the number of functions associates positively with close dog-human interactions. Further, we find increased odds of positive care in societies that use herding dogs (an effect not replicated for hunting), and increased odds of dog personhood in cultures that keep dogs for hunting. Unexpectedly, we see a substantial decrease of dog negative treatment in societies that use watchdogs. Overall, our study shows the mechanistic link between function and the characteristics of dog-human bonds in a global sample. These results are a first step towards challenging the notion that all dogs are the same, and open questions about how function and associated cultural correlates could fuel departures from the 'typical' behaviour and social-cognitive skills we commonly associate with our canine friends.

Automated summary

Dogs have a close relationship with humans, but our understanding of this relationship is limited to WEIRD societies. By collecting data from 124 globally distributed societies, we found that the number and purpose of keeping dogs are linked to closer dog-human bonds. Additionally, cultures that use herding dogs are more likely to provide positive care, while cultures that keep dogs for hunting are more likely to attribute personhood to dogs. Overall, our study reveals the mechanistic link between function and the characteristics of dog-human bonds, challenging the notion that all dogs are the same.