Ideal Free Distribution in Canines: Free-Operant Evaluation of Group Foraging

Abstract

The ideal free distribution describes behavior of organisms in groups and is an extension of the matching law that suggests the allocation of the number of organisms across two or more resource sites will be distributed equally across those resource sites (Fretwell & Lucas, 1970; Herrnstein, 1970). This initial project sought to develop a new method of foraging research for canines by validating a novel dispenser in basic behavioral research. The purpose of this study was twofold: to evaluate if the Treat & Train® dispenser could function as a viable method to deliver treats on a variable-time schedule and to determine if the Ideal Free Distribution equation could describe the behavior of the domesticated canine in a daycare setting with and without an imposed bias. Researchers recorded canine behavior in a free operant arrangement on various variable-time schedules of reinforcement. Results indicate the Treat & Train® dispenser offers a novel and effective method to study basic behavioral processes in canines without compromising data quality. Undermatching or matching occurred in the canine sample, which is consistent with other group foraging research. Citronella did not function as a bias in the current study. Implications and future directions involve expanding the Treat & Train® dispenser's use to study other behavioral processes and extending foraging research in the domesticated canine.