S. Siddharth’s research while affiliated with Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata and other places

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Publications (2)


An FRD approaching the three-choice setup in Experiment 1 that has blue, yellow, and gray (left to right) bowls
The bars denote observed frequency of choice in Experiment 1, converted to percentage. The whiskers show Wilson’s 95% CI around the observations. Different letters atop bars denote significant difference at α = 0.05
The setup for Experiment 3: control for the smell of paint. Blue and yellow colored bowls are present, but not visible, under the pink and white sieves. The porous portion (white) of the sieves allow smell of the paint to pass through
Results of the strength of preference experiments (3.4). The columns denote observed frequency of choice, converted to percentage. The whiskers show Wilson’s 95% CI around the observations. Different letters atop bars (a or b) denote significant difference between choices under each experiment condition (goodness of fit χ²) and the different numbers atop the graphs (1 or 2) denote significant difference between experiment conditions (contingency χ²)
Ready, set, yellow! color preference of Indian free-ranging dogs
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February 2025

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37 Reads

Animal Cognition

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Most of the research on color vision related behaviors in dogs has involved training the dogs to perform visual discrimination tasks. We investigated the importance of color to untrained Indian free-ranging dogs (FRDs). Using one-time multi-option choice tests for color preference in 134 adult dogs, we found the dogs to prefer yellow objects over blue or gray ones while there was no preference between blue and gray. We next pitted a yellow object against a gray object that had food. Here, the dogs ignored the food (biscuit or chicken) to approach the yellow object first indicating the color preference to be quite strong. Color preference has previously been investigated in many other animals and has implications for behaviors like mate choice and foraging. Our study provides a new perspective into the ecology of Indian FRDs and might have implications for companion dogs as well, if they too show this preference.

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First choices for the three-choice experiment across two conditions
Distribution of first choice against sexes of the dogs and relative positions of the chosen bowls
Ready, set, yellow! Color Preference of Indian Free-ranging Dogs

February 2024

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176 Reads

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1 Citation

Most of the research on color vision related behaviors in dogs has involved training the dogs to perform visual discrimination tasks. We investigated the meaning of color to untrained Indian free-ranging dogs (FRDs). Using one-time multi-option choice tests for color preference in 134 adult dogs, we found the dogs to prefer yellow objects over blue or gray ones (p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.433) while there was no preference between blue and gray (N = 102, p = 0.165). We next pitted a yellow object against a gray object that had food. Here, the dogs ignored the food to approach the yellow object first, both when the food was biscuit (N = 52, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.576) and chicken (N = 61, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.540), indicating the color preference to be quite strong. Color preference has previously been investigated in many other animals and has implications for behaviors like mate choice and foraging. Our study provides a new perspective into the ecology of Indian FRDs and might have implications for pet dogs as well, if they too show this preference. Highlights Indian free-ranging dogs (FRDs) show preference toward the color yellow over blue and gray. Indian FRDs show no preference between blue and gray colors. Attraction towards a yellow object can be stronger than attraction towards food rewards for Indian FRDs.

Citations (1)


... Furthermore, a recent study has shown a strong preference for the colour yellow in free-ranging dogs in the context of foraging. This preference could be strong enough to override the attraction towards food rewards (Roy et al., 2024). Since our plastic balls were green in colour, they would have appeared a light shade of yellow to the dogs, thereby potentially adding an additional cue to the object. ...

Reference:

Does novelty influence the foraging decisions of a scavenger?
Ready, set, yellow! Color Preference of Indian Free-ranging Dogs