Dogs as Smart as 2-Year-Old Kids - YorkieTalk.com Forums

livingdustmops · 08-09-2009, 12:20 PM

Dogs as Smart as 2-Year-Old Kids

By Jeanna Bryner
,
LiveScience

(Aug. 8) - The canine IQ test results are in: Even the average dog has the mental abilities of a 2-year-old child.
The finding is based on a language development test, revealing average dogs can learn 165 words (similar to a 2-year-old child), including signals and gestures, and dogs in the top 20 percent in intelligence can learn 250 words.

To many dog lovers out there, this study may not come as a surprise. According to a recent canine IQ test, the average dog is just about as smart as a 2-year-old child. And the mental abilities of the smartest breeds are on par with those of a 2 1/2-year-old kid, the findings show. So which dogs are the smartest?

The 7 Sharpest Breeds

Border collies, poodles, and German shepherds, in that order, says Stanley Coren, a canine expert and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia. Those breeds have been created recently compared with other dog breeds and may be smarter in part because we've trained and bred them to be so, Coren said. The dogs at the top of the pack are on par with a 2.5-year-old.
Better at math and socializing
While dogs ranked with the 2-year-olds in language, they would trump a 3- or 4-year-old in basic arithmetic, Coren found. In terms of social smarts, our drooling furballs fare even better.
"The social life of dogs is much more complex, much more like human teenagers at that stage, interested in who is moving up in the pack and who is sleeping with who and that sort of thing," Coren told LiveScience.
Coren, who has written more than a half-dozen books on dogs and dog behavior, will present an overview of various studies on dog smarts at the American Psychological Association's annual meeting in Toronto.
"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. "Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought."

Math test
To get inside the noggin of man's best friend, scientists are modifying tests for dogs that were originally developed to measure skills in children.
Here's one: In an arithmetic test, dogs watch as one treat and then another treat are lowered down behind a screen. When the screen gets lifted, the dogs, if they get arithmetic (1+1=2), will expect to see two treats. (For toddlers, other objects would be used.)
But say the scientist swipes one of the treats, or adds another so the end result is one, or three treats, respectively. "Now we're giving him the wrong equation which is 1+1=1, or 1+1=3," Coren said. Sure enough, studies show the dogs get it. "The dog acts surprised and stares at it for a longer period of time, just like a human kid would," he said.
These studies suggest dogs have a basic understanding of arithmetic, and they can count to four or five.
Basic emotions
Other studies Coren notes have found that dogs show spatial problem-solving skills. For instance, they can locate valued items, such as treats, find better routes in the environment, such as the fastest way to a favorite chair, and figure out how to operate latches and simple machines.
Like human toddlers, dogs also show some basic emotions, such as happiness, anger and disgust. But more complex emotions, such as guilt, are not in a dog's toolbox. (What humans once thought was guilt was found to be doggy fear, Coren noted.)
And while dogs know whether they're being treated fairly, they don't grasp the concept of equity. Coren recalls a study in which dogs get a treat for "giving a paw."

More Stories
When one dog gets a treat and the other doesn't, the unrewarded dog stops performing the trick and avoids making eye contact with the trainer. But if one dog, say, gets rewarded with a juicy steak while the other snags a measly piece of bread, on average the dogs don't care about the inequality of the treats.
Top dogs
To find out which dogs had the top school smarts, Coren collected data from more than 200 dog obedience judges from the United States and Canada.
He found the top dogs, in order of their doggy IQ are:
1. Border collies 2. Poodles 3. German shepherds 4. Golden retrievers 5. Dobermans 6. Shetland sheepdogs 7. Labrador retrievers
At the bottom of the intelligence barrel, Coren would include many of the hounds, such as the bassett hound and the Afghan hound, along with the bulldog, beagle and basenji (a hunting dog).
"It's important to note that these breeds which don't do as well tend to be considerably older breeds," he said. "They were developed when the task of a hound was to find something by smell or sight." These dogs might fare better on tests of so-called instinctive intelligence, which measure how well dogs do what they are bred to do.
"The dogs that are the brightest dogs in terms of school learning ability tend to be the dogs that are much more recently developed," Coren said. He added that there's a "high probability that we've been breeding dogs so they're more responsive to human beings and human signals." So the most recently bred dogs would be more human-friendly and rank higher on school smarts.
Many of these smarty-pants are also the most popular pets. "We like dogs that understand us," Coren said.
We also love the beagle, which made it to the top 10 list of most popular dog breeds in 2008 by the American Kennel Club. That's because they are so sweet and socialble, Coren said. "Sometimes people love the dumb blonde," Coren said.
And sometimes the dim-wits make better pets. While a smart dog will figure out everything you want it to know, your super pet will also learn everything it can get away with, Coren warns.
© Imaginova Corp. All rights reserved.
2009-08-09 12:21:07

Dogs as Smart as 2-Year-Old Kids

chattiesmom · 08-09-2009, 12:35 PM

Cindy, thank you for posting this here. I saw it on Yahoo and was glad to see that the "experts" are finally making public what most of us have known for years.

LOL -- I know for certain that they can count. If I sneak one of Scarlett's daughters out of the playpen and she goes to check on them, she does a quick head count and then starts looking for the missing pup.

chachi · 08-09-2009, 12:55 PM

Thanks for posting that it is interesting. My Uncle has poodles Im gonna have to tell him how smart they are. I wonder how yorkies rank?

YorkieMother · 08-09-2009, 04:43 PM

Thanks Cindy

Love the stuff you post.
Have you seen the article in NG... yeah I broke my ban on them to buy anything NG for this article.

Would be the March of 2008 issuse and the article is Inside a Animals mind.Animals are smarter then we think. The dog in the article knows 340 words.

Now... I like Stanley he was most helpful to me and my girl as she went blind.
Fellow gave me some great advice and it works well.

Only thing I diagree with Stanley about is the ranking of dogs as to smart. Terriers are right up there.
What he did not concider when doing this research is the job the breed is bred to do and setting the dog up to show its smart based on that job.
Lot of breeds come up the rank if he had.

Otherwise I with him on being 2 years old if not older.
He is still a nice chap and I am thanlful for his supportive words through a tough time.

JL

livingdustmops · 08-09-2009, 04:55 PM

Thanks Joy for the article. My brother works for NG - he is an editor (South America and the rainforest) so I will see if he can send it to me for free.

It is just incredible what you have studied and learned...I am blown away by it.

Just think when it started and why...she is very lucky to have you.

YorkieMother · 08-09-2009, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livingdustmops

Thanks Joy for the article. My brother works for NG - he is an editor (South America and the rainforest) so I will see if he can send it to me for free.

It is just incredible what you have studied and learned...I am blown away by it.

Just think when it started and why...she is very lucky to have you.

Thank you very much for this. Means a great deal comnig from you. She is totally my world and she taught me so much and so very many dogs have been helped by her total inadility to live in the world when I first got her. She is a blessing.

I am amazed at the people I have been able to talk to and learned from and their willingness to teach me so freely. Just to save her life and help her be whole. Stanley being one.

Again I thank you for those words.

JL

PS do not tell your brother I can not support NG cause of you know who.. I do sneak a peek for dog town and it that makes up for the other. LOL

livingdustmops · 08-09-2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YorkieMother

Thank you very much for this. Means a great deal comnig from you. She is totally my world and she taught me so much and so very many dogs have been helped by her total inadility to live in the world when I first got her. She is a blessing.

I am amazed at the people I have been able to talk to and learned from and their willingness to teach me so freely. Just to save her life and help her be whole. Stanley being one.

Again I thank you for those words.

JL

PS do not tell your brother I can not support NG cause of you know who.. I do sneak a peek for dog town and it that makes up for the other. LOL

HaHa..my brother and I have had words before...and he knows my feelings..I think NG is trying to do the right thing about educating people with all types of animal issues and I believe C will slowly change.

I love Best Friends (dog town) ... bunch of old hippies that started a rescue in AZ and look at where they are today and how they have helped so many dogs/cats/birds/horses etc...more types of animals.

Britster · 08-09-2009, 06:00 PM

I totally believe it.

Jackson is too smart for his own good.

livingdustmops · 08-09-2009, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

Cindy, thank you for posting this here. I saw it on Yahoo and was glad to see that the "experts" are finally making public what most of us have known for years.

LOL -- I know for certain that they can count. If I sneak one of Scarlett's daughters out of the playpen and she goes to check on them, she does a quick head count and then starts looking for the missing pup.

Mine are all fixed but I know they know how to count biscuits/treats...

livingdustmops · 08-09-2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britster

I totally believe it.

Jackson is too smart for his own good.

Don't you just love it when you catch them doing something wrong (like pulling your underwear out to the living room) and they look at you with that expression on their face "Who Me"...I didn't do anything.

YorkieMother · 08-09-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livingdustmops

Don't you just love it when you catch them doing something wrong (like pulling your underwear out to the living room) and they look at you with that expression on their face "Who Me"...I didn't do anything.

Oh yes the espression that comes when I open the door to the car realizing I have just left my ice capacino and her loose.... And her sitting there licking her lips.... no I did not I was not even thinking that. LOL
Or you have moved her soccer ball forthe thrid time and she is still sitting right under it and you know she did not see you move it as she was in the other room gettting a differnt ball... ugh to smart.

JL

08-09-2009, 12:20 PM	#1
livingdustmops Princess Poop A Lot Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 6,728	Dogs as Smart as 2-Year-Old Kids Dogs as Smart as 2-Year-Old Kids By Jeanna Bryner , LiveScience (Aug. 8) - The canine IQ test results are in: Even the average dog has the mental abilities of a 2-year-old child. The finding is based on a language development test, revealing average dogs can learn 165 words (similar to a 2-year-old child), including signals and gestures, and dogs in the top 20 percent in intelligence can learn 250 words. To many dog lovers out there, this study may not come as a surprise. According to a recent canine IQ test, the average dog is just about as smart as a 2-year-old child. And the mental abilities of the smartest breeds are on par with those of a 2 1/2-year-old kid, the findings show. So which dogs are the smartest? The 7 Sharpest Breeds Border collies, poodles, and German shepherds, in that order, says Stanley Coren, a canine expert and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia. Those breeds have been created recently compared with other dog breeds and may be smarter in part because we've trained and bred them to be so, Coren said. The dogs at the top of the pack are on par with a 2.5-year-old. Better at math and socializing While dogs ranked with the 2-year-olds in language, they would trump a 3- or 4-year-old in basic arithmetic, Coren found. In terms of social smarts, our drooling furballs fare even better. "The social life of dogs is much more complex, much more like human teenagers at that stage, interested in who is moving up in the pack and who is sleeping with who and that sort of thing," Coren told LiveScience. Coren, who has written more than a half-dozen books on dogs and dog behavior, will present an overview of various studies on dog smarts at the American Psychological Association's annual meeting in Toronto. "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. "Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought." Math test To get inside the noggin of man's best friend, scientists are modifying tests for dogs that were originally developed to measure skills in children. Here's one: In an arithmetic test, dogs watch as one treat and then another treat are lowered down behind a screen. When the screen gets lifted, the dogs, if they get arithmetic (1+1=2), will expect to see two treats. (For toddlers, other objects would be used.) But say the scientist swipes one of the treats, or adds another so the end result is one, or three treats, respectively. "Now we're giving him the wrong equation which is 1+1=1, or 1+1=3," Coren said. Sure enough, studies show the dogs get it. "The dog acts surprised and stares at it for a longer period of time, just like a human kid would," he said. These studies suggest dogs have a basic understanding of arithmetic, and they can count to four or five. Basic emotions Other studies Coren notes have found that dogs show spatial problem-solving skills. For instance, they can locate valued items, such as treats, find better routes in the environment, such as the fastest way to a favorite chair, and figure out how to operate latches and simple machines. Like human toddlers, dogs also show some basic emotions, such as happiness, anger and disgust. But more complex emotions, such as guilt, are not in a dog's toolbox. (What humans once thought was guilt was found to be doggy fear, Coren noted.) And while dogs know whether they're being treated fairly, they don't grasp the concept of equity. Coren recalls a study in which dogs get a treat for "giving a paw." More Stories When one dog gets a treat and the other doesn't, the unrewarded dog stops performing the trick and avoids making eye contact with the trainer. But if one dog, say, gets rewarded with a juicy steak while the other snags a measly piece of bread, on average the dogs don't care about the inequality of the treats. Top dogs To find out which dogs had the top school smarts, Coren collected data from more than 200 dog obedience judges from the United States and Canada. He found the top dogs, in order of their doggy IQ are: 1. Border collies 2. Poodles 3. German shepherds 4. Golden retrievers 5. Dobermans 6. Shetland sheepdogs 7. Labrador retrievers At the bottom of the intelligence barrel, Coren would include many of the hounds, such as the bassett hound and the Afghan hound, along with the bulldog, beagle and basenji (a hunting dog). "It's important to note that these breeds which don't do as well tend to be considerably older breeds," he said. "They were developed when the task of a hound was to find something by smell or sight." These dogs might fare better on tests of so-called instinctive intelligence, which measure how well dogs do what they are bred to do. "The dogs that are the brightest dogs in terms of school learning ability tend to be the dogs that are much more recently developed," Coren said. He added that there's a "high probability that we've been breeding dogs so they're more responsive to human beings and human signals." So the most recently bred dogs would be more human-friendly and rank higher on school smarts. Many of these smarty-pants are also the most popular pets. "We like dogs that understand us," Coren said. We also love the beagle, which made it to the top 10 list of most popular dog breeds in 2008 by the American Kennel Club. That's because they are so sweet and socialble, Coren said. "Sometimes people love the dumb blonde," Coren said. And sometimes the dim-wits make better pets. While a smart dog will figure out everything you want it to know, your super pet will also learn everything it can get away with, Coren warns. © Imaginova Corp. All rights reserved. 2009-08-09 12:21:07 Dogs as Smart as 2-Year-Old Kids __________________ Cindy & The Rescued Gang Puppies Are Not Products!

08-09-2009, 12:35 PM	#2
chattiesmom Donating YT 10K Club Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 17,674	Cindy, thank you for posting this here. I saw it on Yahoo and was glad to see that the "experts" are finally making public what most of us have known for years. LOL -- I know for certain that they can count. If I sneak one of Scarlett's daughters out of the playpen and she goes to check on them, she does a quick head count and then starts looking for the missing pup. __________________ Silk Step-In Harnesses www.foxypups.etsy.com

08-09-2009, 12:55 PM	#3
chachi I Love My Yorkies Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 37,147	Thanks for posting that it is interesting. My Uncle has poodles Im gonna have to tell him how smart they are. I wonder how yorkies rank? __________________ Chachi's & Jewels Mom Jewels http://www.dogster.com/?132431 Chachi http://www.dogster.com/?132427

08-09-2009, 04:43 PM	#4
YorkieMother YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: North Posts: 1,324	Thanks Cindy Love the stuff you post. Have you seen the article in NG... yeah I broke my ban on them to buy anything NG for this article. Would be the March of 2008 issuse and the article is Inside a Animals mind.Animals are smarter then we think. The dog in the article knows 340 words. Now... I like Stanley he was most helpful to me and my girl as she went blind. Fellow gave me some great advice and it works well. Only thing I diagree with Stanley about is the ranking of dogs as to smart. Terriers are right up there. What he did not concider when doing this research is the job the breed is bred to do and setting the dog up to show its smart based on that job. Lot of breeds come up the rank if he had. Otherwise I with him on being 2 years old if not older. He is still a nice chap and I am thanlful for his supportive words through a tough time. JL __________________ "The truth about an animal is far more beautiful than all the myths woven about it." Konrad Loranz Last edited by YorkieMother; 08-09-2009 at 04:45 PM.

08-09-2009, 04:55 PM	#5
livingdustmops Princess Poop A Lot Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 6,728	Thanks Joy for the article. My brother works for NG - he is an editor (South America and the rainforest) so I will see if he can send it to me for free. It is just incredible what you have studied and learned...I am blown away by it. Just think when it started and why...she is very lucky to have you. __________________ Cindy & The Rescued Gang Puppies Are Not Products!

08-09-2009, 06:00 PM	#8
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	I totally believe it. Jackson is too smart for his own good. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier