Do dogs follow Weber’s Law? The role of ratio and difference in quantity preference

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/rn8gq_v3
• Publication Date: 2025-04-21T16:02:18Z
• Authors: Jeffrey R Stevens; Hunter DeBoer; Hannah Fitzpatrick; London M. Wolff; Anwyn Gatesy-Davis

Weber's Law states that the ability to distinguish different stimuli depends on relative magnitudes of those stimuli. When applied quantity judgments, this means numerical ratio between two quantities (small amount / large amount) will underlie quantities. Ratio-dependent quantification is a hallmark has been demonstrated across range species, including dogs. However, other factors such as difference (large - small are confounded with but would not support Law. Most work dog abilities only considered and difference. Here, we offer dogs food preference task where varied both in pairs investigate which these influences preferences. To address this, could choose eat one plates treats them. We found that, when analyzed separately, predicted whether chose larger treats. together, choice controlling for ratio. In addition, our analysis data from previously published studies corroborated findings. The results do ratio-dependence required Law, raising questions about its importance tasks