A 2008 study by Friederike Range and colleagues examined dogs giving a paw under different reward conditions. Dogs were less willing to continue when another dog received food and they did not.
The study concerned a specific form of response to unequal rewards. It did not prove that dogs experience human-style pride, understand workplace fairness, or negotiate a family hierarchy.
Use clear, suitable rewards in training. Avoid treating a research result as a complete explanation for a particular dog’s emotions or behavior.
Sources
- Range and colleagues: The absence of reward induces inequity aversion in dogs