Buzz
Much like how an older sibling might act out when a new baby enters the family, a 2014 study published in PLOS ONE suggests that dogs can feel jealousy when they sense a competitor for their owner's attention.
To investigate this, UC San Diego psychology professor Christine Harris and former honors student Caroline Prouvost modified a test typically used with 6-month-old human babies. The study involved 36 dogs and their owners, who were filmed in their homes while the owner ignored the dog in favor of three different stand-ins: a stuffed animated dog that barked and wagged its tail; a jack-o-lantern; and a children’s book with pop-up pictures and sounds. In the cases of the toy dog and the jack-o-lantern, the owners—who were not told the study's hypothesis—were asked to treat the object as if it were a real dog. The book was used as a control, where the owner read aloud as if to a child.
Next, two independent raters analyzed the video recordings, coding for a variety of behaviors such as aggression, disruption, and attempts to gain attention—signs that could indicate jealousy. They found that most dogs displayed some signs of jealousy, especially pushing or touching their owner or the object, and even snapping at the toy dog, when the owner interacted with the fake dog. The jack-o-lantern was seen as a less serious threat, and the book was considered the least concerning. Harris also pointed out that 86 percent of the dogs sniffed the toy dog's rear, suggesting they regarded it as a real dog.
The study suggests that jealous behaviors would be even more intense in scenarios where the competitor for the owner's attention was an actual dog that responded to the interaction. 'Our research indicates not only that dogs exhibit what appear to be jealous behaviors, but also that they seem to try to interrupt the bond between the owner and the perceived rival,' Harris explained. 'While we can’t truly understand the dogs' subjective feelings, it seems they are driven by a desire to safeguard an important social connection.'
The presence of jealousy in dogs implies that, contrary to some perspectives on the subject, it is not just a social construct tied to human romantic relationships. 'Our findings challenge these notions, revealing that animals other than humans show strong signs of distress when a rival takes the affection of someone they care about,' Harris stated.
This article has been updated for 2020.
