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Dogs Smarter Than We Think, Study Shows: James Randerson, Science Correspondent

The study showed that dogs are able to mentally sort objects into categories and use abstract concepts, abilities previously only shown in birds and primates. Dogs were trained using a touch-screen test to choose between dog and landscape images and received food rewards for choosing dogs. When tested with new images, dogs were still able to identify dogs, showing they understand 'dog' as a category.

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95 views1 page

Dogs Smarter Than We Think, Study Shows: James Randerson, Science Correspondent

The study showed that dogs are able to mentally sort objects into categories and use abstract concepts, abilities previously only shown in birds and primates. Dogs were trained using a touch-screen test to choose between dog and landscape images and received food rewards for choosing dogs. When tested with new images, dogs were still able to identify dogs, showing they understand 'dog' as a category.

Uploaded by

didoltanev
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dogs smarter than we think, study shows | Science | The Guardian

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Dogs smarter than we think, study


shows
James Randerson, science correspondent
The Guardian, Thursday 6 December 2007

The dogs chose the appropriate image by pressing their nose against the screen

To the dog lover, the ability of man's best friend to bark at the postman and fetch a stick
is proof of his intelligence. But they may be even brighter than that. Scientists have
welcomed dogs into a select club of species capable of using abstract concepts. The
research showed that dogs are able to mentally sort objects into categories, a talent for
abstract thought that has only been shown in birds and primates before.
The researchers trained four dogs with a touch-screen test which involved choosing
between two images which appeared simultaneously. One was an image of a dog, the
other a landscape. The animals indicated their preference with a prod of their noses.
When they chose the dog they were rewarded with food. If they chose the landscape
they had to wait a few seconds before the same two images appeared again.
Next the team tested the dogs - two border collies, an Australian shepherd and a
mongrel - with an unfamiliar set of dog pictures and landscapes. To pass they would
need to realise that "dog" is a category of object that unfamiliar objects also fall into.
Their success dropped slightly from about 80% to 72%. "It shows us that dogs are able
to use more or less abstract concepts," said Dr Friederike Range, who carried out the
work with colleagues at the University of Vienna.
Lastly, the experimenters used familiar landscapes as background with new dog images
superimposed. Again the animals were able to choose the ones with the dogs. The
research appears in the journal Animal Cognition and is reported today in New Scientist
magazine.

2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

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