On Animals

Helton, Nicole D. ; Helton, William S. , Physical size matters in the domestic dog's (Canis lupus familiaris) ability to use human pointing cues. Behavioural Processes; Sep2010, Vol. 85 Issue 1, p77-79, 3p

Abstract: While these tests are accurate to a degree, I believe that some of my experiences with dogs has varied. While sometimes the larger dogs can be more responsive, there have been instances where a larger dog was clueless as to what his owner was trying to signal him. My dog is small and he is not very good at signals either, but i think it is more of a matter of how the dog was raised and taught than the physical size of the dog. Depending on when these tests were done in the lifetime of the dogs taking part would be a deciding factor in the legitimacy of the test.