"To show how good dogs are at studying humans, Marshall-Pescini and her colleagues had them observe how readily two actors shared small cereal and sausage bits with another person who came to beg them for some morsels. After the beggar had either been shooed away with a harsh gesture and a firm "No!" or received a tasty tidbit along with some words of kindness, the dogs were given the choice of approaching one or the other actor.
In two-thirds of all trials the dogs went straight for the generous person. This wasn't merely a preference for a friendlier voice: if the "beggar" wasn't present and the dogs couldn't work out who was most generous, they were no more likely to approach a kind-voiced actor than a harsh-voiced one.
Nevertheless it seemed to be the tone of voice that the dogs used to make their judgement, because when the actors used only gestures, the dogs had much more trouble picking out the generous guy. "We were surprised that the voice had more impact than the gestures," says Marshall-Pescini, arguing that much work so far has pointed to dogs being more talented observers than listeners."-More Here
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