Strategy planning in dogs (Canis familiaris) in a progressive elimination task

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) were administered a progressive elimination task in which they had to visit and deplete three baited sites. Dogs were brought back to the starting point after each visit to any site whether they had made a correct or an incorrect choice. In Experiment 1 (n=10) the results revealed that the dogs randomly selected among the sites when they were equidistant from the starting point whereas they relied on the least distance rule when one of sites was closer to the starting point than were the other sites. In Experiment 2 (n=12), the dogs first chose the left target when angular deviation between adjacent targets varied whether the least angular deviation was on the right of the left. Results are interpreted in terms of Gibson's hypothesis about cooperative hunters. The discussion also emphasizes comparisons with cats (i.e., solitary hunters).