Data_Sheet_1_Dog Stick Chewing: An Overlooked Instance of Tool Use?.docx

• Main Authors: James Brooks, Shinya Yamamoto
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Applied Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Developmental and Educational Psychology; Neuroscience and Physiological Psychology; Organizational Behavioral Psychology; Personality; Social and Criminal Psychology; Gender Psychology; Health; Clinical and Counselling Psychology; Industrial and Organisational Psychology; Psychology not elsewhere classified; Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified; Canis lupus familiaris; dog cognition; stick chewing; teething; object manipulation; animal tool use; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577100.s001; https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Sheet_1_Dog_Stick_Chewing_An_Overlooked_Instance_of_Tool_Use_docx/13566425

Tool use is a central topic in research on cognitive evolution and behavioral ecology in non-human animals. Originally thought to be a uniquely human phenomenon, many other species have been observed making and using tools for a variety of purposes, starting with Goodall’s (1964) groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Gombe. Despite the frequent attention and great research interest in animal tool use, and ubiquity of the behavior, we argue here that chewing sticks by dogs (and other animals) should be included as a case of tool use. We discuss alternate possible explanations and then propose several testable predictions regarding this hypothesis. We suggest that tool use may be more common than is often assumed and that many cases of animal tool use may be overlooked.