Female dogs outperform males in a spatial reversal learning task.

Sex-dependent differences in spatial cognition have been demonstrated in humans and other animals, but received little attention in the dog. Our aim was to assess the effect of sex on dogs’ learning, memory and reversal learning in a T-maze navigation task. The results support a sex-related difference in dogs’ cognitive abilities involved in spatial navigation and, to the best of our knowledge, represent the first evidence of this kind in this species. Higher flexibility in navigation strategies by females may account for our findings, as suggested by similar studies in rats.