Figuring things out: Innovation arena in wolves and dogs

Pet dogs solved more of 9 novel puzzle boxes in an innovation arena than captive wolves and pack dogs, indicating stronger problem-solving performance in pet dogs under this setup.

• Why it matters: The study tests how environment shapes innovative behavior across evolution and development, comparing wolves and dogs that face different ecological pressures and opportunities for novel feeding.
• What they did: Three populations—captive wolves, pack dogs raised similarly, and pet dogs—were assessed using an innovation arena with 9 simultaneously presented novel puzzle boxes.
• The result: Pet dogs outperformed pack-living counterparts, while evolution showed little effect: wolves took longer to approach the boxes, but wolves and pack dogs interacted with and solved them to a similar extent.