Dogs may have a level of self-control similar to humans, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) and the HUN-REN Research Centre of Natural Sciences. Published in the journal Animal Cognition, the research found that when dogs obey commands to restrain their behavior, their brain activity mirrors the neural patterns linked to self-control in humans. This suggests that dogs may not just react automatically to commands, but engage in a more deliberate process when restraining their actions. To reach this conclusion, the team measured brain activity in 14 dogs using electroencephalography (EEG), a technique that records electrical activity in the brain. The study included 226 short sessions, each lasting about 30 seconds. During these sessions, the dogs were either following a restraint command or simply resting. The researchers found that theta waves—brain waves associated with self-control in humans—were more prominent when the dogs were obeying restraint commands. This pattern suggests that dogs may use a cognitive process to control their behavior, much like humans do. The research was led by Anna Kis and Márta Gácsi, who have long studied how dogs can provide insights into human conditions such as ADHD and obesity. They noted that while dogs age and live faster than humans, they share similar environments and face comparable social and physical challenges. This makes them valuable models for studying how conditions develop and change over time, especially in ways that are difficult to observe in human populations. The study also highlights the potential of using EEG to explore the mental processes of dogs. Although the frontal lobes of dogs—regions of the brain associated with complex thinking—have been overlooked, this research shows that noninvasive EEG can offer insights into canine cognition without the need for more expensive and complicated methods like fMRI. This opens the door for further studies into how dogs think, feel, and behave, potentially leading to a deeper understanding of both canine and human mental processes.