test. Analyses were done by using the c 2 test (P , 0.05). The level of attachment to each person was measured by the number of c 2 which resulted statistically significant compared to other participants. Eight dogs (72.7%) showed a higher attachment toward a specific person; no difference was found based on the sex (4 men and 4 women) or age (10 to 65 years) of the preferred person. Instead it emerged that walking the dog (100.0% of preferred figures) was an activity that predisposed the dog to establish a stronger attachment bond. In contrast to what was observed by Topa `l and colleagues (1998), dogs living in a multi-individual family (3-4 person families), do not show a lower attachment, but in these dogs it was possible to observe a kind of hierarchy in the level of attachment toward different owners, as reported by Bowlby (1988) in children. Data also suggest that owners, on the whole, were able to recognize a dog’s greater attachment toward a specific person, their answers corresponding to the results of the test in 75.0% of cases. No correlation was found between the reciprocal dog- human levels of attachment. Key words: attachment; bond; dog; family; people References Bowlby, J., 1988. A secure base. Routledge, London, UK., p. 27. Johnson, T.P., Garrity, T.F., Stallones, L., 1996. Psychometric evaluation of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS). Anthrozo€ os 5, 160–175. Palestrini, C., Prato-Previde, E., Spiezio, C., Verga, M., 2005. Heart rate and behavioural responses of dogs in the Ainsworth’s Strange Situa- tion: A pilot study. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 94, 75–88. Palmer, R., Custance, D., 2008. A counterbalanced version of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure reveals secure-base effects in dog–human relationships. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 109, 306–319. Prato-Previde, E., Custance, D.M., Spiezio, C., Sabatini, F., 2003. Is the dog-human relationship an attachment bond? An observational study using Ainsworth’s Strange Situation. Behaviour 140, 225–254. Top al, J., Mikl osi, A., Cs anyi, V., D oka, A., 1998. Attachment Behavior in Dogs (Canis familiaris): A New Application of Ainsworth’s (1969) Strange Situation Test. J. Comp. Psychol. 112, 219–229. DOES THE BREED INFLUENCE DOG’S ATTACHMENT TO MAN? A PRELIMINARY STUDY Eva Ricci 1 , Chiara Mariti 2, *, Beatrice Carlone 1 , Silvana Borgognini-Tarli 1,2 , Claudio Sighieri 2 , Angelo Gazzano 1 1 Department of Biology – University of Pisa- via L. Ghini, 5 56126 Pisa, Italy 2 Department of Physiological Sciences – University of Pisa – viale delle Piagge, 2 56124 Pisa, Italy *Corresponding author: cmariti@vet.unipi.it; Phone: 139 050 2216837; Fax: 139 050 2216851 It can be hypothesized that belonging to different canine breeds leads to differences in attachment to man. The aim of the current study was to assess whether a specific canine breed differs from others with respect to this aspect of dog- human relationship. Accordingly, the attachment to the owner of 13 Labrador retrievers (6 females, 7 males, 31.9620.5 months) was compared to the bond of a control group, formed by 27 dogs belonging to different breeds or mixed-breeds (11 females, 16 males, 45.9629.6 months). Each dog was observed by using a modified version of the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test. All tests were videorecorded and analyzed through a continuous record- ing,registering the duration (in seconds) of 5 behavioral categories (in total 22 behaviors). The stranger was played by a 24 year old woman, who was the same for all dogs. Data were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test (P , 0.05). No statistical differences were found between the group of Labrador retrievers and the control group for the behaviors considered as indicators of an attachment bond to the owner (contact/proximity with the owner in presence of the stranger: median Labrador retrievers 161.0 vs. median control group 111.0, z51.299, P50.197; contact/proximity with the owner in absence of the stranger: 63.0 vs. 30.0, z51.314, P50.197; behaviors oriented to door/chair/shoe when the owner was absent: 162.0 vs. 129.0, z50.520, P50.608; whining in the absence of the owner: 0.0 vs. 1.1, z51.242, P50.217; social play score: 6.0 vs. 5.0; z51.846; P50.065). These preliminary results suggest that Labrador Retrievers do not show a different attachment to man in comparison with other dogs. Nevertheless data regarding behaviors considered as indicators of attachment to the owner are often more expressed in the group of Labrador Retrievers. In the future it would be desirable to increase the sample size and to broaden this research to other breeds in order to assess if there is an actual absence of differences among canine breeds regarding the attachment to man. Key words: attachment; breed; dog; Labrador retrievers DOES THE A-NOT-B ERROR IN DOGS INDICATE SENSITIVE TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION? Anna Kis 1, *, J  ozsef Top  al 2 ,M arta G acsi 1 , Friederike Range 3 , Zs  ofia Vir  anyi 4 1 Department of Ethology, E € otv € os University, Budapest, Hungary 2 Research Institute for Psychology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary 3 Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Austria 4 Clever Dog Lab, Vienna, Austria *Corresponding author: kisanna12@gmail.com After having repeatedly obtained a target object hidden at one location, 8-12 month-old infants continue to search for the object at the same (A) location despite the fact that they have just seen the object being hidden at a new place (B). This so Abstracts 91