Do Dogs Judge Character? New Research Says… Probably Not.

Saturday, August 9, 2025.

This research is a total bummer. Dog owners have been telling this story forever: “Oh, my dog can tell. He growls at bad people.” I had a few great stories myself.

It’s a warm, satisfying American trope—our furry sidekick as a moral compass, able to sniff out shady motives faster than a human judge. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel both safe and smug.

But here’s the disheartening plot twist: when scientists actually tested whether dogs can judge character, the results came back flatter than a drooly day-old tennis ball.

A new study in Animal Cognition suggests that pet dogs don’t reliably prefer generous humans over selfish ones.

In fact, they might be more interested in which side of the yard has shade than in who’s offering the snacks.

The Myth: Dogs as Moral Detectives

The research team, led by Hoi-Lam Jim at Kyoto University’s Yamamoto Lab, set out to test a long-debated idea in dog cognition: can domesticated dogs form reputations of humans, the way people keep mental scorecards of who’s kind and who’s cruel?

Some earlier studies hinted yes, others no.

Very few, however, tested both “eavesdropping” (watching humans interact with another dog) and direct experience in the same experiment.

Even fewer looked at whether a dog’s age might matter.

Inside the Experiment: Snacks, Snubs, and Shade

Forty pet dogs, ages 1 to 12, were divided into three age groups: young (1–3 years), adult (4–7 years), senior (8–12 years).

The assumption? Older dogs might be better human-readers thanks to more life experience.

Three conditions followed:

• Eavesdropping: Dogs watched two strangers interact with a “dog demonstrator.” One offered food, the other withheld it and looked away.

• Control: Same actions, but no dog present—just to rule out gesture or posture bias.

• Direct Interaction: The participating dog met both strangers in person.

Owners wore blindfolds to avoid giving accidental cues, and the outdoor setup minimized (but didn’t eliminate) distractions.

Researchers tracked which human each dog approached first and how much “friend energy” they gave—standing near, looking at, or engaging.

Dogs Fail the Generosity Test

Across all conditions and ages, dogs showed no consistent preference for the generous human.

Only three dogs picked the same person in every trial—two seniors and one youngster—and one of them actually preferred the stingy one.

A third of the dogs clearly liked one side of the space better, probably because of shade. Removing those cases didn’t change the main outcome.

“It seems intuitive they’d prefer someone who feeds them over someone who doesn’t,” Jim told PsyPost, “so it was surprising we couldn’t even show this basic preference.”

Why Dogs Might Not Judge Character Like We Think

The researchers suggest:

• They Just Might Need More Practice. Chimpanzees in similar experiments needed dozens of trials to form a preference.

• Perhaps the Cues in the Experiment Were Too Subtle. Clothing color alone may not have stood out.

• Life’s Just Been Too Consistently Sweet. Pet dogs may be too accustomed to friendly strangers to treat a mild snub as “bad character.”

• The Awesome Distraction Outdoor Life in the Natural World. Sun, shade, smells—plenty of distractions could well have stolen the spotlight.

Or perhaps dogs do form reputational impressions, but not in ways that show up in a neat two-choice experiment. And they might be better at avoiding obviously bad behavior than rewarding good behavior—something seen in other animals.

Future Dog Cognition Research: Testing the Tough Cases

The team recommends testing dogs with different life histories: free-ranging dogs, shelter dogs, working dogs. They also suggest experiments that focus on negative behavior—because evolution tends to reward avoiding jerks more than finding saints.

Sidebar: How to Tell If Your Dog Actually Likes Someone

(Or, at least, likes them more than the shady side of the yard.)

Dog cognition research may be mixed, but there are some consistent signals that your pup is might be favorably disposed of a new person:

• The Happy Wiggle – Tail wagging at mid-to-high level, hips moving like they’ve joined in.

• Loose, Wiggly Body Language – Relaxed muscles, open mouth, tongue lolling. Stiff posture is a no-go.

• Initiating Contact – Approaching without being called, leaning in, or nudging for petting.

• Play Invitations – The famous play bow (front legs down, rear up) aimed at the person in question.

• Following Behavior – They trail the person around like they’ve been assigned a security detail. These signs mean “I’m comfortable right now,” not “I’ve done a full moral audit.” If you’re hoping for a character witness, remember—dogs aren’t lawyers.

Related Questions People Also Ask

Q: Can dogs sense bad energy in people?
Dogs are highly attuned to body language, scent, and tone of voice.

They may pick up on tension or fear, but “bad juju” isn’t a scientific term—it’s more likely they’re responding to subtle cues humans miss.

Q: Do dogs know when someone is lying?
Probably not in the human sense. They can learn when certain signals (like “walk” or “treat”) don’t match the outcome, but that’s more about pattern recognition than moral judgment.

Q: Are some breeds better at reading people?
Working breeds like Border Collies or German Shepherds often excel at reading human cues due to selective breeding. But “reading people” isn’t the same as evaluating their moral character.

Q: Can a dog’s background affect how it judges people?
Yes—dogs with varied life experiences, especially working or free-ranging dogs, may respond differently to strangers than sheltered, pet-only dogs. Life history shapes how they interpret human behavior.

The Takeaway: Bring the Snacks

Your dog might adore you, but don’t expect them to be your personal moral detective.

They might just be following the shade—or the faint enchanted wiff of last night’s bacon.

If you want to make sure they choose you over the stranger in the park, keep doing what works best: bring snacks, and bring them often.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

Reference:
Jim, H.-L., Belfiore, K., Martinelli, E. B., Martínez, M., Range, F., & Marshall-Pescini, S. (2024). Do dogs form reputations of humans? No effect of age after indirect and direct experience in a food-giving situation. Animal Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01728-1

Next Up: Do Cats Judge Character, or Do They Just Judge You?
Spoiler: If you’ve ever lived with a cat, you already know the answer. But science has a few surprises—and a few burns—for us there, too.