If you always had this thought that your pet dog waits for you every time in the hope of getting food, then you need to think again.
As per the new study published in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, most canines prefer praise over food.
This study is one of the first to combine brain-imaging data with behavioural experiments to explore canine reward preferences, researchers said.
"We are trying to understand the basis of the dog-human bond and whether it is mainly about food, or about the relationship itself," said Gregory Berns from Emory University in the US.
Out of the 13 dogs that completed the study , researchers found that most of them either preferred praise from their owners over food, or they appeared to like both equally. "Only two of the dogs were real chowhounds, showing a strong preference for the food," said Berns.
"Dogs are individuals and their neurological profiles fit the behavioral choices they make. "It shows the importance of social reward and praise to dogs. It may be analogous to how humans feel when praised," Berns said. The findings were published in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
(With agency input)
