This fella needs a home, too...
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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| On the lighter side: Why your dog is smarter than a wolf |
| 2005-10-27 |
| BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – At Eotvos Lorand University's Department of Ethology, visitors are usually greeted not by a security guard, but by a delegation of friendly mongrels, tails wagging. Dogs have the run of the place. They play in classrooms, visit faculty members in their offices, or nap in the laboratories. Animals here are no surprise - ethology is the zoological study of animal behavior - but the total lack of cages is. And why would there be, asks research fellow Adam Miklosi, who leads much of the research here into the cognitive abilities of man's best friend. "If you were studying human behavior, you wouldn't keep your subjects in a cage for 20 years and then ask them some questions?" he asks with a smile. "These are animals who've been brought up in a normal way, which allows us to see and understand them in their natural environment, which is the human environment." After a decade studying dogs in their human habitat, Mr. Miklosi and his colleagues have accumulated a body of evidence suggesting that dogs have far greater mental capabilities than scientists had thought. Dogs' smarts, it turns out, come out in their relationships with people. The implications of this research are more esoteric than the average dog owner may appreciate. The research doesn't exactly mean that dogs and their masters can enjoy Chaucer together, but it does mean scientists have reason to consider what dog-human communications may say about language skills development. Another implication is that dogs may make better cognitive study subjects than primates, which have been the focus of the field thus far. Until recently, domestication was thought to have dulled dogs' intelligence. Studies in the early 1980s showed that wolves, from which dogs probably descended, can unlock a gate after watching a human do it once, while dogs remained stumped after watching repeatedly. That never sat well with Vilmos Csanyi, the recently retired head of Mr. Miklosi's department. Mr. Csanyi, who had dogs of his own, suspected the dogs were awaiting permission to open the gate, that they regarded opening the gate as a violation of their master's rules. Yup. I've had dogs that can open the fridge and bring a can of Coke. Or beer. I know one (not my own, thank goodness, who can OPEN the can of beer. Their fridge is locked .... LOL In 1997, Csanyi and his colleagues tested 28 dogs of various ages, breeds, and closeness to their owners, to see if they could learn to obtain cold cuts on the other side of a fence by pulling on the handles of dishes while their owners were present. Dogs with a close relationship to their owners fared worse than outdoor dogs. But when the dogs' owners were allowed to give the animals verbal permission, the gap between the groups vanished. Since then, Csanyi's team has demonstrated just how much dogs can accomplish by paying attention to people. In one classic experiment on dogs' use of human visual cues, food is hidden in one of several scent-proof containers. The animal is allowed to choose only one. Beforehand, the experimenter signals the correct choice by staring, nodding, or pointing at it. Chimpanzees, humans' closest genetic relatives, have always done poorly at this test. Dogs solved the problem immediately. Dogs also excel at imitating people. In one of the laboratories, graduate student Zsofia Viranyi demonstrates with Todor, an enthusiastic little mutt. Todor sits attentively as Ms. Viranyi spins around in a circle and comes to a stop. "Csinal," she says. ("You do it!") Todor does a little 360 on the tiled floor and lets out an enthusiastic bark. He easily imitates Viranyi's bow, lifting of an arm, and other tasks. The team found that some dogs can even imitate previously unseen actions performed by a person they haven't had close contact with. Other dogs learned how to operate a simple ball-dispensing machine by watching people use it. "We thought it would be very difficult for dogs to imitate humans," Csanyi says, Chimps have great difficulty doing so, even with their larger brains. "But it turns out [dogs] love to do it. This is not a little thing, because they must pay attention to the person's actions, remember them, and then apply them to their own body." Dogs' unusual ability and motivation to observe, imitate, and communicate with people appears to be with them from birth. Two years ago, Csanyi's graduate students were given either a puppy or a wolf cub to raise. They fed the animals by hand, coddling and doting on them. At five weeks, each cub was placed in a room containing an adult and the student who had raised the cub. Both sat motionless. But while the wolf cubs merely sniffed both humans before climbing into the student's lap to sleep, the puppies yipped at their caregivers, licking their hands and trying to establish contact. Three months later, the canines were given the opportunity to try to remove a piece of meat from under a cage by pulling on a rope in the presence of their caregiver. Dogs and wolves both mastered this promptly. Then the rope was anchored, making it impossible to obtain the meat. The dogs tried a couple of times, then turned to their masters for assistance or cues. The wolves ignored their caregivers, yanking on the rope until exhausted. "The wolves ... were only interested in the meat," notes Miklosi. "The dogs were of course interested in the meat, but knew that one way to get it might be to figure out what the human wants them to do." To Csanyi, this proves that dogs have acquired an innate ability to pay attention to people, and thus to communicate and work with them. This is a skill that wolves don't assume even when raised from birth to learn it. Dogs are "very motivated to cooperate with and behave like people," says Csanyi. "That's why dogs can do things no other animal can do." |
| Posted by:dog lover |
| #24 My first real dog (we had others, but they weren't mine) was Smokie (named for an Ohio Highway Patrolman that pulled me over shortly after I first got her) was a natural-born sheepherd even though she'd never seen the animals before. My small flock got out of their pen one day and I took her out with me to try to get the beasties back in - all I had to do was point and Smokie put those damned sheep right back in the pen as natural as if she'd been doing it her whole life (and that was the first time she'd ever even seen them in real life). My current dog (Shadow) is the same breed (half-Huskie/half-German Shepherd) and he's also smart as a tack. In the car in which he frequently rides, he's on guard duty, but outside of it he's everybody's friend. He can jump like a deer (well over 5 ft from a sitting position), but will not attempt to clear a 2-1/2 ft kiddie-gate if he's not given permission to do so. He hates cats though and kills them on sight if he can (and ignores my commands not to) - stubborn bastard in that regard...nevertheless, he knows my moods and knows when I need him and he's always there - another reason for his name since he's been that way since he was 12 weeks old (always by my side). Thanks, LC FOTSGreg |
| Posted by: LC FOTSGreg 2005-10-27 21:05 |
| #23 "but stand out only because they tolerate me." Story of MY life, anyway. LOL. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2005-10-27 21:02 |
| #22 Hey, Big Ed. Congrats on the specialty Best of Opposite. I like the Black Russian Terriers ... won't have one anytime soon as the breed would not do well with my other dogs. Won't have a Briard for the same reason, plus my sig other balks at that much dog in a single package LOL. I'm okay with cats, we have 2. But the dogs are special .... ;-) |
| Posted by: dog lover 2005-10-27 19:43 |
| #21 I'm a cat and fish guy (less needy heh heh ) but dogs are damn good friends, doing things with their owners that cats and other pets don't. Never underestimate the bond between ANY pet owners and their pets. I lost a Plecostamus in my aquarium the other day - he was 15 yrs old and had only one eye (a misguided freshwater crab-import experiment in the 90's) but he was mine, and I actually teared up...what a pussy |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-27 19:16 |
| #20 Frankly, most of my dawgs are nice and friendly with the odd perversion, but stand out only because they tolerate me. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-27 17:48 |
| #19 An oldie video you know what it is before you click it... but do it anyway! That seemin Goldie got a little something goin for it. I think a little tad of spaniel. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-27 17:45 |
| #18 Dogs - 5 in 10 years of marriage - All with individual personalities Chelsea - Black Russian Terrier - Carried a sack containing meat from, the store without trying to get into it...Won Best Opposite Sex for breed, ARBA show, Sept 1995, Ontario CA Note : Breed basically developed from Giant Schnauzers and Rottweilers AKC accepted in 2004... Bob - Poodle - (see Above) Ike - Boxer - Knew when people were ill and would sleep next top them to comfort them. Mother-in- law has arthritic knees, liked him curling up next to her legs-but complained because he snored loud.. - Deaf. Knew commands by hand signals. Zita - German Shepherd - (aka Iron Maiden) Comforts son when he's crying. Considers herdelf prime security guard. Lili - Poodle - When given a babyback rib, will hold it upright between paws, and, turn head sideways to eat it. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-10-27 17:30 |
| #17 Where do I sign up, lol? :) This fella needs a home, too... |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-27 16:36 |
| #16 Love it, .com. And yeah Frank, my dogs aren't stupid - they have me very well trained to provide for their every need. Food, including raw meat and good bones, a warm dry place to sleep on soft bedding, no parasites, attention when they want it, lots of open space to run when they want that .... Meanwhile the coyotes who near-starve each winter around here are desperate for bony rabbits if they can catch them. |
| Posted by: dog lover 2005-10-27 16:26 |
| #15 :) And Blog Dog says that dancing's nothing, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-27 16:17 |
| #14 Why your dog is smarter than a wolf been feeding 2 meals a day to wolves, lately? :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-27 16:16 |
| #13 Canine freestyle aka dancing with dogs. Much more fun than the old structured, boring obedience routines. Thanks, .com! |
| Posted by: dog lover 2005-10-27 15:35 |
| #12 Periodic post for those who've not seen it... Dogs Rock |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-27 15:17 |
| #11 Dogs are mere mortals. When I die, I want to return as the spoiled Egyptian god that is my wife's cat. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-10-27 15:09 |
| #10 A horse that unties knots. I like that image. Dogs are like humans in that each have unique talents and specialties. Some problem solve well, others don't. Wolves (at least my hybrid) are very smart and problem solve well, but they march to the tune of a different drummer than do ordinary dogs. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-27 14:45 |
| #9 "These are animals who've been brought up in a normal way, which allows us to see and understand them in their natural environment, which is the human environment." /itz a dawgs life |
| Posted by: Hatfield 2005-10-27 12:22 |
| #8 LOL! |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-10-27 12:01 |
| #7 Bob has Condi's eyes. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-10-27 11:49 |
#6  The late and lamented "Bob the Poodle" was a problemsolver. one time he had a toy which was too long to pull directly through the small opening in a sliding glass door. He jumped over it a couple of times, analyzing it, then bent his muzzle around pulling it through endwise. After that my wife and I got to the point of spelling words. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-10-27 11:43 |
| #5 The alliance between canines and humans has been mutually beneficial to both species. Dogs and men have prospered through their symbiotic relationship. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-10-27 11:29 |
| #4 Independent of whom, is the point. Canids (dogs, wolves, etc.) have more complex social structures, body-language and social signals than even the great apes. It's why we have lived together for 14,000 years now. At least in my pack, the dependence thing is somewhat overstated since my breeds can and do hunt - and the dogs here can catch their own food if necessary. Both my spaniels and my sighthounds have caught rabbits on the run, for instance, and one of the spaniels has caught squirrels. My smartest dog was a male I bred who was quite independent. He was also bonded closely to me - and the two things are not contradictory. He was the pack alpha when I wasn't around, and my deputy when I was, and took excellent care of the other dogs when a potential danger approached. He could also: turn on the stereo, push a chair up to the refrigerator and serve either water or ice cubes to himself and the other dogs (setting the door dispenser level as it suited him), open exercise pens from inside (including opening snap bolts with his teeth), climb trees, jump the chain link fence with ease, open the chain link fence gate for the dogs who couldn't jump the fence, CLOSE the gate on the younger dogs he decided shouldn't be loose ..... |
| Posted by: dog lover 2005-10-27 11:24 |
| #3 It's an interesting article and all, but it seems like a bunch of overstated assumptions to point out that wolves are more independent than dogs. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-27 11:14 |
| #2 Two of my dogs can get off the front porch. One, an English Mastiff-Pit Bull mix, opens the gate. The other, a mixed breed stray, jumps over. Angel watched me open the screen door as well and is able to open it. Buddy can't seem to figure out how to open the screen door and it's probably easier to jump over the porch gate. My horse Apache tries to open gates and untie knots after he watches me do it. He can open certain types of gates and he can untie certain types of knots. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-10-27 11:12 |
| #1 who had dogs of his own, suspected the dogs were awaiting permission to open the gate, that they regarded opening the gate as a violation of their master's rules. what a load of crock. A dog that can't open a gate is more than willing to jump over the fence or walk out an open one. I had a wolf hybrid who learned how to open the 5 ft high latch on the gate, as a little puppy. He'd jump up and knock it until he hit it just right. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-27 11:06 |
