A miniature Labradoodle dog plays in the sand and surf in Del Mar, California February 3, 2015.
A miniature Labradoodle dog plays in the sand and surf in Del Mar, California February 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Adding yet another feather to the cap of its smartness, scientists have claimed that dogs can actually sense whether a person is lying or telling the truth. The dogs reportedly use the same capability to decide whether or not to follow the orders given by a particular person or not.

A team of scientists at Kyoto University studied the behaviour of 34 dogs, primarily concerning eating habits. Their study was based on the known fact that when a person points at an object, the dog rushes towards it.

The scientists conducted their research in three phases. In Phase I, a researcher pointed the dogs to a container that had food inside it. In Phase II, the same researcher pointed them to an empty container as they ran towards it in search of food. While in Phase III, the dogs were again pointed them to a tub full of food by the same individual, however, this time, the dogs simply ignored the command and did not go after the master's instructions. To their surprise, the dogs accepted the command when the researcher was replaced by another person.

The researchers concluded that dogs often use their experiences to make a decision regarding whom to trust.

"Dogs have more sophisticated social intelligence than we thought. This social intelligence evolved selectively in their long life history with humans," said Akiko Takaoka, the lead research scientist.

The research findings have been published in Animal Cognition.

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