As dogs become more and more like family, the urge to learn more about them has also grown. In the past few decades, research that used to only be done on primates (to see how closely they resemble us) is now being done on canines – just how smart are our doggy family members?
Stanley Coren’s research has shown that the average dog is roughly at the intelligence level of a two and half year-old human child. This is huge, if you think about how you treat your dog versus how you would treat a child of that age.
In the video below, National Geographic shows how experiments in reading human cues, which the primates often fail, most dogs easily figure out.
Why? The belief is because dogs were domesticated and evolved around humans, unlike primates, that they have learned, over the centuries, to read our language – perhaps better than any other species, even our own.
Dogs particularly pay attention to our eyes the most, says the research.
In addition, other studies have shown us that dogs have more intelligence than was previously thought. Dr. Brian Hare of Duke University and founder of Dognition, has done several many studies on how a dog thinks and their intelligence levels. We asked Dr. Hare a few questions about what this means to dog owners.
I understand that there is research to support that dogs are smarter than we once believed. So how smart are dogs?
BH: Dogs have certainly surprised with many of their abilities. For me, one of the most surprising was their ability to read human social cues. We take it for granted that dogs can effortlessly use our point to find a hidden toy or morsel of food, but this ability is unique in the animal kingdom. No other species can read our communicative gestures as well as dogs can. It allows them to be incredible social partners with us, whether it’s hunting, or agility, or just navigating everyday life. Their ability to interpret our gestures also helps them solve problems they can’t solve on their own.
Does breed make a difference in intelligence?
BH: Rumor has it that the smartest breed are either Border Collies, German Shepherds or Poodles, but there has not been a single scientific study that has proven this. To scientifically prove the smartest breed, you would need to compare at least 30 dogs from each breed. They would have to be puppies raised and tested in a similar manner to control for the effect to rearing history and age on performance. If you took the AKC breeds or all breeds worldwide, you would need between 6,000 -12,000 puppies, decades of work, millions of dollars, and about a thousand graduate students. This doesn’t mean there are no breed differences in intelligence, it’s just no one has found them yet.
Aside from being the Director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, you also founded Dognition. What led to that?
BH: I was kicking around the idea around the business school at Duke of a company where people could use science to find out the unique genius of their dog. One of the students of entrepreneurial law said to me, ‘You’ve got to meet Kip Frey’. Besides being a Professor at the Law School, Kip is also an incredibly successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist. We had coffee one day and that’s how it started. From there, we hand-picked a team to do two things: build a company that would serve the needs of dogs and their owners. And, just as exciting, contribute to the greater good of dogs, through discoveries that could not otherwise be pursued.
How does Dognition help dog owners?
BH: Dognition is about helping people find the genius in their dog. Different dogs use different strategies to solve problems. Does your dog rely on you to solve problems, or are they more independent? Do they pay attention to where you are looking before they decide to sneak food off the coffee table, or are they just straight up the king of the household and don’t feel the need for any sneakiness – if they see something they want, do they just take it?
Dognition is all about playing fun games that will give you a window into your dog’s mind that will in turn enrich the relationship you have with your dog.
On top of that, the data that you enter will contribute to a huge citizen science project that will help us help all dogs, from shelter dogs, to service dogs. It’s an incredibly exciting project and I can’t wait to see what we find out!
Learn About Your Own Dog’s Intelligence
Any dog owner can go on to Dognition and sign up to learn about how your dog’s mind works. The program is designed for dog owners, so don’t think you can’t do it just because you are not a dog trainer. All you will be doing is playing simple games with your dog that will tell you more about how your puppy thinks.
For example, the cup game. You will put to cups on the floor (like in the video above), with a treat under one of them. Point to the other (empty) cup and tell your dog to “find the treat.” Your dog’s response will help you learn what type of communicator he is. If he goes to the cup you pointed to, he may rely on you to communicate what to do (www.dognition.com).
Have you used Dognition? Let us about your experience and what you learned in the comments!
