Veterinarians have revealed an easy way to talk to your dog

Veterinarians have revealed a simple method that is guaranteed to make your dog pay attention to you. To test different methods, a team from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna (Austria) strapped eye-tracking helmets to dogs.

According to the results of the research, the most useful tactic is to look at an object or point to it. However, scientists have also found that a combination of these two gestures is the best way to get your pet to follow your instructions, MailOnline reports.

"Sharing pointing and gaze is a particularly effective method for directing dogs' attention to a referent," the researchers explain, adding that in humans, "referential communication" is a key aspect of cooperation.

However, there has been little research on reference communication between humans and their pets. So the scientists decided to investigate whether dogs follow people's reference communication more than other cues.

The team recruited 20 dogs of different breeds, including yard dogs, Staffordshire terriers, Australian shepherds, and poodles. Each dog was fitted with an eye-tracking helmet, and then someone from the team knelt down in front of the dog and conducted the experiment. A bowl was placed on either side of the scientists, but only one contained a hidden treat.

The dogs were presented with five different scenarios, six times each. The scientists pointed to the bowl while looking at the dog, pointed and looked at the bowl at the same time, or looked only at the bowl.

They even used a classic trick that many dog owners play with their pets, pretending to throw a ball in the direction of the bowl but holding it in their hands.

The footage collected from the helmets showed that the dogs felt best when the scientist simultaneously pointed and looked at the bowl containing the treat.

"In the pointing and gaze combination mode, the dogs kept their attention on the object longer compared to the other conditions, and they approached it well above the random level," the researchers say. And the worst result was in the most common way to get a dog's attention – when scientists pretended to throw a ball.

"Although the alternative cue (fake throw) moved the dogs' gaze in the indicated direction, it did not increase the frequency of gaze shifts to the exact reference location," the experts explained the dogs' response.

Now the researchers hope to replicate the study with more dogs.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!