More inattentive dogs benefit from repetitive but not permissive training

Abstract

Dogs’ learning performance is influenced by various factors, including training style and post-learning sleep. Family dogs naturally display a large variation in their inattention and impulsivity, traits that can affect both their behaviour and learning outcomes. In this study, we conducted a complementary analysis on the dataset from Reicher et al. (2024) to investigate the effect of dogs' inattention and impulsivity on their behaviour and learning performance. We also revealed to what extent the dogs’ training level, and the owner’s strictness influence the results. Family dogs (N=25) were trained under both Permissive and Controlling conditions in a counterbalanced within-subject design. Each training session was followed by a learning performance test, a two-hour sleep session, and a post-sleep retest. Owner-rated inattention and impulsivity scores were retained from a validated questionnaire (DAFRS). More impulsive dogs tended to learn slightly faster, regardless of the training condition. Dogs with higher inattention scores performed better during the pre-sleep test on the second training occasion (regardless of the condition) and in the post-sleep retest under the Controlling condition. In the Permissive condition, less inattentive dogs showed greater performance improvement from pre- to post-sleep. Furthermore, dogs with stricter owners performed better in the retest, regardless of the training condition, while the dogs’ training level did not affect their performance. Our results revealed complex interactions between training style, training order, sleep, and dogs’ impulsivity and inattention. Some advantages of more impulsive and inattentive dogs may be less surprising considering our typical dog sample, not including individuals with extremely high inattention or impulsivity scores. Although dogs performed better on the first training occasion (Reicher et al., 2024), more inattentive dogs seemed to be less affected by proactive interference (prior learned information impeding subsequent learning within a similar context) on the second session, and they appeared to benefit from a Controlling training style and the repetitive nature of the training procedure. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of different training styles depends on individual dog traits, such as inattentiveness.