News Animals

Dogs flub problem-solving test

Confronting a treat-filled puzzle, pets or shelter animals more likely than wolves to give up

dogs looking up at human

WATCH DOGS  Dogs’ tendency to attend to humans and look at faces may get in the way of solving practical problems.

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By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

Humans may be a bad influence on their best friends — at least when it comes to problem solving. Dogs that have lived around people lagged behind wolves in a task that wasn’t very tough: tugging a lid off a food container.