Posted on 02/07/2013 8:02:45 PM PST by Altariel
Just about every dog owner is convinced their dog is a genius. For a long time, scientists did not take their pronouncements particularly seriously, but new research suggests that canines are indeed quite bright, and in some ways unique. Brian Hare, an associate professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University, is one of the leading figures in the quest to understand what dogs know. The founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, Hare has now written a book, “The Genius of Dogs,” with his wife, the journalist Vanessa Woods. Hare answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.
(Excerpt) Read more at scientificamerican.com ...
OMG...I googled images of Rock Creek.
Black Aggie!
*Got* to get there this spring!
Our dog isn’t smart but sometimes she outsmarts us.
Sneaky.
What a beautiful collie puppy! My favorite breed, along with GSDs. Wish I could have a dog again, but must make do with my cats!
That is a wild (sorry for the pun) story.
I wish we could hear more. Amazing.
Add me to the ping list :)
That said, I've had some extremely bright GSD's. All of the GSD's have communicated their wants to me by pointing with their snouts or doing some other gesture. I've often read things about dog memory and understanding by dog trainers that I knew were out and out wrong.
Everyone of my dogs has acted guilty many hours after they've done something forbidden. And they'd act guilty even if my wife had already reprimanded them just because I was seeing them for the first time since they'd done their deed. They were recognizing me as the alpha and knew they'd have to answer to me. Many of our dogs over the years have believed they were one of the kids.
Larsen was a beautiful dog. I’m sorry for your loss.
What kind of dogs have you had Raj? Mostly I've owned GSD's. I've only owned a couple of labs and mutts. All of my dogs were easily trainable, but that didn't make them smart. My GSD's? They're smart.
wow I am amazed at the photo of your dog, because now I think I know what the heck type of dog I have. She is a shelter dog, and still a mix, but she has a few very unusual features. Most prominent is her coloring, and a nose/muzzle like I’ve never seen. The only difference is her ears flop when not perked for listening. They had her billed as a “chow mix” but I don’t wonder if it is because her tongue is mostly black.
What about cats???
My cat is pretty smart, but I can still beat her at checkers 2 out of 3 times.
I’ve got a cat with that sort of humanlike smarts. Also tries to watch us using our hands and mimic with his paws...
The world would be in a fair bit of trouble if he were polydactyl!
“They are the crazy bikers of the dog world..”
1%’ers patched in!
;-)
I love my boxer. She is a ton of fun. She is also pretty smart. Listens to all the commands, visual and spoken. Couldn’t be more pleased with her.
“Black Aggie” is the same statue (I think) somewhere else. This is the original sculpture by St. Gaudens. It has a long name, but most people refer to it simply as “Grief.”
If you like cemeteries Rock Creek is a good place.
Not knowing exactly where you are in the area, Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church near Crownsville, MD, has a nice little cemetery with some old headstones. :
And if you ever get to London, Highgate Cemetery is *very* interesting and photogenic.:
http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/
I was there many years ago. Spooky even in the daytime.
That’s nothing. The other night, I was in a galvanized tub, fully clothed after drinking 6 glasses of rancid milk. I looked over and there was my dachshund-collie mix staring at the stars through a telescope and making notes on a clipboard. His dirty little secret is that he does a lot of research, but is too lazy to publish.
Actually, doxies are insanely smart, but like the article says, it’s relative to their breed.
Dachshunds (badger hounds) were used to hunt badgers and could actually smell them underground. I used to berate my doxie for digging, but once I realized she was digging to find something she smelled, I became curious to see how far she would go.
Oftentimes she unearths a pile of cat or rabbit poop, but she’s dug up some old trash and even an old toy in my mother’s backyard.
My border collie is “human smart” because she’s attentive and follows commands like a human. My doxie is “dog smart” because she can do things that humans just can’t do or understand.
Me too! Ialways have a Shepherd but my 2nd-fave is Collie! I never had 1 yet, though. Wish I could.
Cats are cool, though. I will have a cat again someday, but no other pets until this worst-allergic dog ever passes away.
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