Researchers at ELTE Department of Ethology in Budapest compared how young companion dogs and companion pigs seek human proximity in a novel environment. It turned out that both dogs and pigs stay close to their owner if no other person is present; but if a stranger is also there, only dogs stay near humans, pigs prefer to stay away. The study reveals that while living in a human family is not enough for early developing a general human preference in companion animals, species differences weigh in.