School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7DL, Lincolnshire, UK.
CIMeC Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza della Manifattura 1, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy.
Anim Cogn. 2023 Mar;26(2):425-433. doi: 10.1007/s10071-022-01673-x. Epub 2022 Sep 3.
Handedness has proven to be the most effective and least intrusive measure of laterality in many species. Several studies have investigated paw preference in dogs (Canis familiaris) without considering the potential impact that owner's handedness may have on it, despite dogs being a domesticated species. The aim of this study was to investigate whether owner handedness influences paw preference in their dogs. Sixty-two dogs had their paw preference tested using a Paw Task and a Reach Task in their home over 10 days, recorded by their owners. Interestingly, it was found that left-handed owners were more likely to own a dog with a left paw bias, and right-handed owners were more likely to own a dog with a right paw bias. In the Paw Task, the hand presented to a dog did not significantly predict which paw the dog lifted in response. Furthermore, it was found that females displayed a right paw bias at all age groups. However, males had a left paw bias in puppyhood and right paw bias in older age groups. We conclude that owner handedness influences paw preference in dogs, and it should be considered when suitably pairing dogs to potential owners, especially in assistance work.
惯用手被证明是许多物种中最有效和最不具侵入性的衡量左右侧的方法。有几项研究调查了狗（Canis familiaris）的爪子偏好，但没有考虑到主人的惯用手可能对其产生的潜在影响，尽管狗是一种被驯化的物种。本研究旨在调查主人的惯用手是否会影响其狗的爪子偏好。62 只狗在家中通过 Paw Task 和 Reach Task 进行了爪子偏好测试，由它们的主人记录。有趣的是，发现左撇子主人更有可能拥有一只左爪偏好的狗，而右撇子主人更有可能拥有一只右爪偏好的狗。在 Paw Task 中，呈现给狗的手并没有显著预测狗会抬起哪只爪子。此外，还发现女性在所有年龄段都表现出右爪偏好。然而，雄性在幼犬期有左爪偏好，在老年期有右爪偏好。我们得出结论，主人的惯用手会影响狗的爪子偏好，在将狗与潜在主人配对时应考虑这一点，特别是在辅助工作方面。
