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 ...
Our current dog has a brain the size of a water molecule, and about as useful. He loves us though, and unconditional love is one of the reasons we love dogs.
It’s important.
In 2000, I had a bad case of laryngitis due to flying w/a cold I thought was over. I ended up with a raging sinus infection while in places far from medical care. I had over 3 weeks of being voiceless except for a whisper after coming home.
We had 2 dogs at the time. If I hadn’t taught them hand signals, I would have been out of luck. I resorted to a whistle to call them and had to train them to that while silent.
However, neither dog was that bright. I had read that the major test for a film actor dog was to take them into a dark room and use a flashlight. If the dog paws at the circle of light and otherwise follows it, they may have promise for further training. If the dog starts sniffing around the room or sits there looking at you, forget it.
My dogs failed. However, with the new pup, I noticed that if I held the light close to the ground, so that there is just a small intense circle, he would follow that light until it diffused beyond 5-6 inches. This is in normal daytime conditions, indoors, not in a dark room. I think I may try a laser pointer, just to see if he responds to that.
I agree with you about trainability vs. smart...BUT...believe me....I had a cocker spaniel who did something I found unbelievable....I was getting ready for work in our master bath....and he came in, checking on me...I casually said, “Gus, where’s my watch?”...I had lost my watch and couldn’t find it for a few days. He takes off, and I don’t think anything of it, UNTIL a minute later he shows up WITH MY WATCH in his mouth. We didn’t even know he KNEW what a watch was, let alone that he would retrieve anything.
Hmmm...that is interesting....our dog always wants to chase the laser that we use to exercise the cat.
Humans are the only animal that have pronounced sclera, white of the eyes.
This is why one human can see where another human is looking no matter which why their face is pointed. This facilitates hunting in silence.
Dogs are the only animals that can follow a human’s sclera.
Dogs are indeed special.
I’ll repeat a story I’ve told on FR before. I have two Australian Shepherds that I think are pretty smart. They understand human speech better than earlier I gave them credit for. One night they came to the chair where I was reading, parked their butts and stared at the me with an expectant look. I had an idea they wanted to go outside. I calmly said, “Go tell Junior”. They quickly got up and trotted across the house into my son’s room. Then I heard “Woof”! I then realized they understood my son’s name and the meaning of that command. I never deliberately taught them those things, but they picked up on it somehow.
Cut it out, Sal! You know he’s reading your mind. ;-)
Hmmmm, most human specific features have something to do with an advantage during tribal warfare or other violence, not hunting. Could the white be instead to signal clearly what you're *not* looking at? A man possibly looking at a brute's girl is more likely to get killed. When you are watching something, people near the line of sight will angrily examine if you are staring at them.
The great advantage of the domesticated dog is their superior ability to sense and alert of an impending ambush. Tribes that keep dogs have a warfare advantage over those that don't. Hunting is not the main purpose of dogs. Most people that own dogs no longer hunt, but they do still get ambushed, sometimes by section 8 neighbors, sometimes by the government.
WOOFbump
The puzzle is how the big bad wolf was tolerated around humans long enough to evolve into the mutt that now sleeps on the sofa. It took my childhood dog Oreo, a Russian genius, Siberian foxes, New Guinea Singing dogs, Hungarian scientists, bonobos in Congo, and a decade of research to figure out the answer.
And the answer is… you’ll have to read the book to find out. But to give you a hint –it’s not always survival of the fittest. Sometimes it’s the friendliest that have an evolutionary edge.
I came home one day to find my dog Mike unusually affectionate. He came over and buried his head besire my leg and the arm of the chair I was sitting in. He was acting sheepishly. I thought this over a bit and finally the light bulb came on.
I went into the back yard, and sure enough, newly dug holes.
Mike had done some definite thinking.
First, he'd done something he knew was wrong, and remembered it (digging). Second, he was trying to ameliorate the problem by embarassed, ingratiating behavior. Third, he was anticipating future behavior - punishment - because of his actions.
Don't tell me some dogs can't think.
Your response makes sense but I only partially agree.
Also a little know fact is that tribal nations also ate the dogs. The fact that the dogs followed them around and were always available to eat was very convenient too.
I know they had to move Black Aggie because she was constantly being molested/vandalized by those who wanted to find out if the legend was true.
[which is utterly stupid, if you think about it] LOL
There was a *huge* legal uproar over Aggie vs Grief as St Gaudens’ work was copied to make Aggie and much litigation ensued.
Still, that cemetery is a must-see for my list.
Another is the boneyard in Balto.
Sadly, the “neighborhood” beside of it makes visiting that one with lots of pricey camera equipment hanging off one’s self a bit perilous.
I’m way out in W.MD so Crownsville is a strecth but not impossible.
Highgate?
Oh, how I *wish*!
Alas, airlanes mortify me so my creepy ramblings are confined to the US.
You should see my Garmin GPS.
On it is every cemetery within a 200 mile radius.
If himself uses it to get somewhere, the voice starts shrieking “turn left! turn left!” [or whatever] every 10 minutes or so because we’re getting near one of the hundreds of cemeteries on the list.
How weird...not expecting anything, I once used the cat’s laser toy on the Dobe.
I didn’t think he’d even see it but he did..in the living room with normal lighting.
Then he got annoyed because I took it away and gave it to the cat.
The cat’s gone now but I think I still have the laser toy.
If I’m in the LR hunting for something with my little flashlight under the sofa or wherever, he’s a bit of a PITA.
He’ll get right in there with me, looking to see if I ‘find it’ even though he has no idea what “it” may be.
Maybe he’s just nosy.
;]
Shhhh!
That’s a secret!
[do you want people thinking I’m crazier than they already do?]
;D
Ya know, you might test that puppy, too.
You said you guys were looking for a new gig. Maybe the dogs could support you? I know that’s one of my fantasies. Now, if I could get him to reliably come via hand signals.... fat chance, he’s an Akita. He needs to know “what’s in it for me”.
The flashlight I used was one of those high intensity LEDs, BTW.
She loves the cat laser.
When we were desperately concerned about her vision due to her head injury, we tried all sorts of things to see how much, if anything at all, she could see.
She does have some ‘glitches’ because of the mild strabismus left over from the injury but her ability to detect and track motion seems pretty good, considering.
The cat laser is one we got from PetCo and has a dot, a butterfly, a UFO and some other weird image I can’t recall but she does react to all of them, the dot being the easiest one.
Most of her toys are in the blue/green/yellow color spectrum to make it easier for her to see them.
She’s very trainable but doesn’t have the same instantaneous mental ‘snap to’ that Odin had at that age.
She learns easily but seems to have to focus herself intentionally when performing her commands...there’s a noticeable half-second ‘lag’ where you can almost see her ‘remembering’ what the word means before she does something.
[than again, Odin didn’t have his skull busted as a baby, either]
Bless her heart, she’s our ‘special’ little miracle girl and we adore her, quirks and all.
[but ~she’s~ not gonna make us rich, for sure]
:D
DH came home from work and, unbeknownst to me, he had a laser toy on one of his pens!
Sumo went nutz! We already know he is death on voles and he reacted to the red dot just as he would to a vole or a mouse.
However, he also become hyper-focused, just like a Beagle on a rabbit trail. On the plus side, he looked for it when I clicked it off and kept looking around until we distracted him, so, even after a treat, he remembered.
Maybe he’s smarter than I thought!
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