Animal Quote by Temple Grandin
“We breed dogs to be more social than the wolf. There is very interesting research that has been done with a wolf and a domestic dog. If you have a tamed wolf and you have him sit in front of the experimenter or stand in front of his master and his two dishes, one to the right, one to the left – so that the dog or wolf see the food put in the left hand dish but the owner points to the right – the domesticated will go where owner points, whereas the the wolf goes right where he saw the meat thing put. In other words, in a dog social cue from a master can override where he saw the being placed.”
About This Quote
Source Research: Comparative cognition study, 2000s
Dogs prioritize human social cues over direct visual evidence, unlike wolves who follow sight.
In simple terms: Dogs follow human guidance over what they see.
Key Takeaway
Trust human signals.
Themes
animal behavior
social learning
domestication
Mood
curious
analytical
Type
scientific
observational
When to use this quote
- training dogs
- working with animals
- behavioral experiments
Key Concepts
cognition
human-animal bond
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this affect dog training methods?
- Can this be applied to other domesticated species?
A Different Perspective
Dogs may ignore contradictory evidence; requires careful training.
