The Daily Yap....News for Dogs....

ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2009) — Although you wouldn't want one to balance your checkbook, dogs can count.

They can also understand more than 150 words and intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats, according to psychologist and leading canine researcher Stanley Coren, PhD, of the University of British Columbia. He spoke Saturday on the topic "How Dogs Think" at the American Psychological Association's 117th Annual Convention.
Coren, author of more than a half-dozen popular books on dogs and dog behavior, has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously thought.
"We all want insight into how our furry companions think, and we want to understand the silly, quirky and apparently irrational behaviors [that] Lassie or Rover demonstrate," Coren said in an interview. "Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought."
According to several behavioral measures, Coren says dogs' mental abilities are close to a human child age 2 to 2.5 years.
The intelligence of various types of dogs does differ and the dog's breed determines some of these differences, Coren says. "There are three types of dog intelligence: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (how well the dog learns from its environment to solve problems) and working and obedience (the equivalent of 'school learning')."
Data from 208 dog obedience judges from the United States and Canada showed the differences in working and obedience intelligence of dog breeds, according to Coren. "Border collies are number one; poodles are second, followed by German shepherds. Fourth on the list is golden retrievers; fifth, dobermans; sixth, Shetland sheepdogs; and finally, Labrador retrievers," said Coren.
As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the "super dogs" (those in the top 20 percent of dog intelligence) can learn 250 words, Coren says. "The upper limit of dogs' ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a border collie named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words and demonstrated 'fast-track learning,' which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language learning apes," Coren said.
Dogs can also count up to four or five, said Coren. And they have a basic understanding of arithmetic and will notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3.
Four studies he examined looked how dogs solve spatial problems by modeling human or other dogs' behavior using a barrier type problem. Through observation, Coren said, dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats), better routes in the environment (the fastest way to a favorite chair), how to operate mechanisms (such as latches and simple machines) and the meaning of words and symbolic concepts (sometimes by simply listening to people speak and watching their actions).
During play, dogs are capable of deliberately trying to deceive other dogs and people in order to get rewards, said Coren. "And they are nearly as successful in deceiving humans as humans are in deceiving dogs."

Hmmm..how smart are the humans who need a scientist to work this out for them....come on guys....we are even smarter than your realise....

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Introducing Me........grrrrrrrrr

Hi, my name is Sami, but I like to think of myself as Flash the Wonder Dog. This is because I am fast, smart and a bit of a wonder……oh and I am a dog. My mission is to save the world from evil and believe me this is not always easy! I bark at the menacing black Labrador that has infiltrated my community via a benign old lady (who I obviously would not trust either….its a good cover though, I’ll admit to that!) but my owners tell me to shut up…be quiet…hmm they really have no idea…come on, black is the colour of shadows and we all know what manner of evil lurks in there. There is also the small matter of the old Labrador that lives up the hill and sends out brainwashing messages late at night…its important I bark louder than him to counteract this but again those misguided owners try to stop me! Exasperating I know, but what can you expect from suburban humans…no concept of the real reality that only a dog can see….its not their fault, they’re under some pretty big illusions about their world…like they’re in control….ha, if I really need them to allow me to do it my way I just shiver a little and do that dopey dog eye thing….its all down hill for the human then, and all get up and go for me!

This week my humans took me to the torture lady, they think she is nice and talk and smile with her, but I know better. She probed and prodded and then gave me a sharp pain…all the time smiling and uttering placating nothings to lull me into a sense of false security. I showed her though, I showed her my teeth and she knew what I meant! I really do not get humans; they paid her for this mistreatment you know? They also told me it was good for me and that it kept me healthy….ha, running along the beach, lying around sunning myself for a good dose of vitamin D and eating liver treats makes me healthy. Honestly!

I have some important things to attend to now so I’ll stop writing until next time and get on with it. There are bones of contention to bury behind the cushions on the couch and I can see one of those very evil flies in the lounge room, (flies are bugs you know, so I need to be quiet now……. and they can see everything you do…like big brother only it’s a little fly), I’d catch it quicker if people didn’t keep stopping me from jumping on the table and running across the shelves……….sshhhhh
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3 comments:

Katie and Gizmo said...

Hi there, I found you through Dogs with Blogs.
Welcome cutie. Where do you live?
I live in Tassie!

September 14, 2008 at 3:28 AM
bevm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
September 14, 2008 at 5:31 AM
bevm said...

Hi, Sami and I live in NSW on the clarence coast...checked out your blog and love it...Gizmo is sooooo adorable, sami is in love!

September 14, 2008 at 5:36 AM

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