Can Dogs Lie? Scientific Proof of Their Cunning Ways

Recent studies suggest that yes, dogs can lie!

Have you ever felt tricked by your dog? Does your dog bark without a noticeable reason, or were you able to observe how your dog tricked another dog to get to a toy? Recent studies suggest that dogs indeed can “lie” or deliberately deceive — though they are not always aware of their behavior.

It’s already known that dogs are clever, mostly comparable to a three-year-old child. They show empathy and can imagine what happens in some situations if you do it in a certain manner or way. Now, behavioral biologists consider that even dogs are capable of strategic deception. An ability that has long been considered a purely human behavior.

Dogs Lie Strategically

You are on a walk and meet another person with their dog. While you are talking to the other dog owner, you see the dogs play-fight for a stick. Have you ever noticed that one dog might trick the other one, to lose interest in the toy, and just retrieve it from the other?

Yes, that is possible. A study from the University of Zurich researched exactly that: Can dogs lie? The results were published in an article in the Animal Cognition Journal in 2017. The researchers found the following:

Dogs can lie if they see a strategic advantage for themselves (e.g., they get a treat).
They are not always aware of their deceptive behavior.
They do not lie to fake or hurt people or other dogs’ feelings.

So, how did they conduct the study? They first figured out which treat the dog likes best. They placed it in a box next to two other boxes, one containing a less preferable treat and the other one being empty. Always showing this to the dog. Then, they were trained to show the food in the boxes. While one person always gave the treats in the boxes to the dog, another person was selfish and took the shown treat for themselves.

To Get the Treat

Do you see where it is going? After the dog realized that the person wouldn’t give the treat, they mainly showed the empty boxes to the “selfish” person, knowing that when they were going back with their owner, they’d get the treats afterward. Therefore, they tricked the “selfish” person to get the treat just a little later.

Now, a dog psychologist from Germany backs that research with his observations. In a recent interview with SWR (Südwestrundfunk), he told the story of his female wolf-dog, who tricked other dogs by barking by the fence, trying to get them away from their food. While the others followed her example, thinking there was an intruder, she ran back and stole their food — though it only worked twice. After two times, the other dogs took their bones with them to the fence.

Our Little Mischief

What does our smart little girl do that confirms the studies for me? Instead of fighting over a toy, she loves to sniff around, trying to trick the other dog into thinking, “This spot smells so good”, and they automatically give up the toy so she can pick it up. She knows exactly that she is not allowed in the bin! Whenever you’re not looking, she makes her order by cleaning out the garbage can. It always looks as if she is smiling mischievously…