Ů��С��Ƶ

For most guide dogs, it’s tough to make the grade. Only 70 per cent of dogs that enter training successfully complete the programme. Unexpectedly, it’s puppies that receive the most care and attention from their mothers that are more likely to fail.

Guide dogs need to be able to solve problems and navigate obstacles while also being calm and obedient. This means they need to ignore the impulses – like chasing squirrels – that might tempt their fellow canines. This perfect combination of intelligence and temperament doesn’t feature in every breed of dog, or even in every dog that is bred specifically to enter a guide dog programme.

To explore what predicts success for a future guide dog, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and her colleagues followed 98 Labrador retrievers, German shepherds and golden retrievers being trained at guide dog school in Morristown, New Jersey, from birth to two-and-a-half years old.

From previous studies on the link between canine mothering and puppy temperament, Bray guessed that more involvement from mothers would lead to more successful puppies. She found exactly the opposite. The puppies whose mothers were most intense in their caring behaviour – spending more time near their litters, and licking and nursing more – were more likely to fall out of the school’s training programme.

Coddled pups were also slower during multistep problem solving tasks, less able to control their impulses to get a treat, and quicker to bark or vocalise when presented with a new toy.

The researchers’ observations offer a few clues that may explain the results. For instance, they found mothers that nursed from a sitting or standing position raised puppies who were less likely to be released from the programme than mothers who nursed lying down. Bray thinks this may be because the puppies of “lying down” mothers experience fewer challenges early in life as it is much easier for them to stay latched, so did not develop problem solving skills.

Bray thinks studies like this one might ultimately help guide dog schools see more efficient annual yields by selecting for mothers that are maternal in moderation. “The earlier that you can set them on the path for success, the more resources are saved,” she says.

But at the London School of Economics and Political Science would like to see more work done first. She points out that the study didn’t explore inherited characteristics.

“Given what we know about the genetic influence on all traits including intelligence, personality and temperament in the best studied animal of all – us – we have to assume genetics are at play here too,” she says.

Arden also cautions against drawing parallels between Bray’s work with dogs and human behaviour. “We cannot draw from this study that neglecting your children is bound to turn them into fantastic boy scouts and girl scouts.”

Journal reference: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1704303114

Read more: Man’s even better friend?