Introduction

Dogs have probably been begging to humans, and to their bipedal ancestors, since well before recorded history

(Rowf, 2008). Over the years, begging has been used to elicit affection (Scratches et al., 2002), to avoid punishment

(Imabadboy and Flea, 1987), and to encourage immediate feeding (Hungry and Waggles, 2001). While many different

vocal and silent begging techniques have been described (Rowf and Scratches, 2002; Yap and Sing, 2007; Rollabout,

2008), and one study correlated begging technique to adoption frequency (Pickmepickme, 2006), no research has yet

attempted to determine which begging techniques are more effective at generating a food treat. Nevertheless, this

knowledge could be of great importance, particularly to stray dogs who must often derive their entire sustenance from

begging (The Tramp and Lady, 2006). In this study, the average time that elapsed between the onset of three well-known

begging techniques, the ‘Head Tilt’, the ‘Seated Beg’ and the ‘Mournful Gaze’ (first described in detail by Rocky, 1976;

Grunger and Rags, 1963; and Splotches, 1982, respectively) and the administration of food treats was measured. It is

hoped that the results of this study will help dogs maximize their begging efficiency in the future.

Abstract

Begging is an ancient and highly respected form of interaction between dogs and their human partners that can,

when performed correctly, significantly increase not only the frequency with which treats are administered, but also

improve the overall quality of the treats. Despite its obvious benefit to dogs, the effectiveness of different begging

techniques has not been adequately studied. In this study, the rapidity with which treats were administered in response to

three well-known silent begging techniques, the “Head Tilt”, the “Seated Beg” and the “Mournful Gaze” was assessed by a

series of timed begging experiments at a local dog park. It was determined that the Seated Beg was the most effective

technique, with an average lapse of only 5 seconds between the onset of the beg and the administration of the treat. The

Head Tilt was the next most effective (with an average 10 second lapse), while the Mournful Gaze did not generally result

in a treat until well over 15 seconds had elapsed. However, Border Collies were shown to be significantly more effective

at the Head Tilt than other breeds, indicating that this might be their most effective approach. Furthermore, the Mournful

Gaze generated the most head scratches prior to feeding, so this should be kept in mind if the begger’s overall goals

include affection.

Materials and Methods

Experiments were performed at a local dog park on three successive Saturdays. Each Saturday,15 dog

owners were selected. Each owner had been observed handing out treats to other dogs, and was known to still carry

multiple treats in their pockets. Additionally, no owner was approached unless their dog was currently occupied

elsewhere in the dog park. The owner was approached in a friendly manner (heads up, tails wagging) by one dog:

either Bord (a Border Collie), Germ (A German Shepherd) or Jack (A Jack Russell Terrier) (The Poodle refused to

beg). When the begger was exactly 3 feet from the owner, they performed the appropriate begging technique until a

treat was administered. The time that elapsed between the start of the beg and treat disbursement was always

recorded by The Poodle, for consistency. Each Saturday, Bord, Germ and Jack begged for 5 different owners apiece,

and new owners were contacted each Saturday, to help prevent familiarity from biasing the results. On the first

Saturday, all authors performed the ‘Head Tilt’, in which the head was tilted exactly 45° to the left (Fig 1A). On the

second Saturday, all dogs performed the ‘Seated Beg’ (Fig 1B). In this technique, the hind legs were at exactly 45°

angles, and the front paws were relaxed, and slightly elevated above parallel. On the final Saturday, all dogs

performed the ‘Mournful Gaze’ (Fig 1C). No head tilts were allowed during these final two begs,

Discussion

•It was determined that performing the Seated Beg generated more rapid treats than either the Head Tilt or the Mourneful

Gaze (Fig 1, Table 1).

•Previous studies have determined that humans are easily confused, and usually need clear signals when being asked to

play fetch (Patches and Luther, 2007), to go for a walk (Meg and Amber, 2002), or even to simply open a door (Oz and

Maggie, 2003).

•Since the mournful gaze generated at least 10 minutes of head scratching prior to the administration of treats, it is likely

that the humans were displaying confusion regarding the meaning of this particular begging technique. This may be an

important find for dogs who have affection as their sole goal.

•The reason for the difference between the effectiveness of the Head Tilt and the Seated Beg is less clear, although it may

be breed-specific. Bord had an average score of 6 ± 0.02 seconds in the Head Tilt trial, while Jack and Germ scored 9 ±

0.7 and 12 ± 0.5 seconds, respectively (Table 1).

•Waggles and Spot (2003) showed that Border Collies could make sheep do practically anything once they had

established eye contact. It is possible that the direct eye contact that is promoted in the Head Tilt (Fig 1A) technique

allows Border Collies to similarly bend humans to their will. We have initiated experiments that use the Head Tilt in the

absence of eye contact to test this hypothesis.

•While the importance of treat frequency in a dog’s life cannot be understated, treat quality is also quite important to dog

happiness (Ismellbacon!, 2004). Thus, the impact that each of these begging styles has on the likelihood of receiving

tastier treats must also be evaluated in order to gain a full understanding of their effectiveness as begging methods.

Comparison of the Effects that Different Begging Techniques Have on the Speed with which Treats are Administered by Humans

Bord R. Collie, Germ N. Shepherd, Jack R. Terrier and The Poodle

Begging Technique Average Time to Treat Administration (Seconds)

Seated Beg 5 ± 0.3

Head Tilt* 10 ± 0.2

Mournful Gaze 15 ± 2.1

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that, on average, the Seated Beg technique generated more rapid treats

than either the Head Tilt or the Mournful Gaze. However, preliminary evidence also suggests that the

Head Tilt could be quite effective for Border Collies, and that the Mournful Gaze, while not as effective

at generating a food reward, could cause humans to spend a long time providing a physical reward,

instead (scratching). Future studies to follow up on these observations will help dogs become more

effective, and targeted beggars.

References

You must have at least 10 high quality (not popular press, dictionaries or online

encyclopedias/wikis/etc...) references. Each of the references must be cited parenthetically in

the text (as seen in the introduction and discussion sections) in addition to being cited

completely (all author’s names, title of article, journal name, journal volume, journal date,

journal pages) in the references section.

Figure 1. Demonstration of the correct performance of the Head Tilt by Bord (A), the Seated Beg by Germ (B) and the Mournful Gaze by Jack (C).

Table 1. Average time elapsed, in seconds, between the onset of three begging techniques and the subsequent distribution of a food treat. The asterisk indicates a significant breed difference noted for the average time in the Head Tilt trial. Bord scored an average of 6 ± 0.2 seconds in that trial, while Jack and Germ scored an average of 9 ± 0.7 and 12 ± 0.5 seconds, respectively. No differences were seen between breeds in the other trials.

Results

A

B

C