Auditory Stimulation and Cognitive Bias in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)

Domestic dogs have been shown to respond to their auditory environment, with different genres of music triggering different behavioral and physiological responses. It is still unknown, however, whether the auditory environment can influence canine affect. This study therefore explored the influence of auditory stimulation on the short-term mood of dogs. Forty-five pet dogs were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions of auditory stimulation (a control of silence, classical music, or audiobook). While being exposed to the auditory stimulus relevant to their condition, each subject animal participated in a commonly employed cognitive bias test, during which their latency to approach a bowl placed in one of the three ambiguous positions was recorded. All dogs were successfully trained, with intact animals taking fewer sessions to reach criterion than neutered subjects. As expected, dogs became increasingly slower to reach the bowl the further it was positioned from the positive location. The animals' latency to reach the bowl placed in the ambiguous positions did not differ significantly between auditory conditions. The study suggests that canine affect is not influenced by the auditory environment, at least in the short term. Methodological issues, both in relation to the protocol adopted in the present investigation and the cognitive bias test more generally, are considered.