HOW SMART IS YOUR DOG?

Do you think your dog is smarter or more empathetic than other dogs? Now there’s an online testing site that can tell you for sure—and in the process help scientists crowdsource data about the canine mind. Brian Hare, a professor of animal cognition at Duke University, created the site, called Dognition.com, in hopes of identifying the “cognitive style” that makes for the best service dogs. (click below to read more)



Currently, less than a third of dogs that go through extensive training to be bomb sniffers or guides for the blind succeed. Figuring out the cognitive strengths of different breeds could improve that percentage, and help all dog trainers sharpen their teaching methods. Most animals, including chimpanzees and wolves, are blind to much human body language; pointing to where a treat is hidden, for instance, won’t help them find it. But dogs understand human pointing because over thousands of years, we’ve bred them to be highly attuned to our behavior and emotions. When it comes to the kind of survival skills needed in the wild, wolves make dogs “look like idiots,” Hare tells The New York Times. But when it comes to manipulating humans to meet all their needs, he says, dogs are “geniuses.” Data from Dognition has already shown that dogs that have the strongest bonds with their owners are also good at deceiving them: The pooches watch the humans closely for opportunities to steal extra food.