Dogs are like babies: everyone thinks theirs is extraordinarily smart. But how can you tell if your dog is actually intelligent, or just adorable? Of course, they respond to their own name, or to a good word (‘walk’ or ‘treat’) or a bad word (‘vet’ or ‘bath’) – although it has more to do with survival than a ‘ to have a fixed assignment of the English language.
But now, a recent paper published in the journal Nature, indicates that some dogs are able to use skills previously limited to humans. Here’s what you need to know about it and how to find out if your dog is a genius in secret.
How to apply a doggy IQ test
In the study published in Nature, researchers have found that some dogs can learn the name of a new object after hearing it only four times. And according to Dr. Jan Hoole, a lecturer in biology at the University of Keele who talks about the paper for The conversation, it is possible to repeat the test at home with your own dog. Here’s what you need to do:
- Start with a basic test. Place several objects that your dog knows in front of them.
- Stay out of sight and say, ‘Bring [name of toy/object.]’Stop how many items they could only recognize by their name. If they could identify many of the familiar items that way, you can take it to the next level to see how quickly they can learn the names of new objects.
- Show the dog two new items, tell them the name of each item and then let them play with it for a while.
- After repeating the name of each toy four times, ask the dog to choose one of the two new toys. (Do not include celebrities, so do not choose a new one.)
- Do this repeatedly and keep track of how many times the dog chooses the right item if you have requested it by name.
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In the study, the first two dogs were able to identify one of the new toys more often than by chance – but when the experiment with 20 other dogs was repeated, none of them showed this ability when it comes to quickly learning the name of a new object.
But does it actually show anything?
It depends. The researchers pointed out that more work needs to be done before it can be determined whether some dogs are really gifted in the intelligence department, whether it is a product of training or their breed (or a combination thereof).
For example, Hoole notes that border collies and Yorkshire terriers are both known to be mentally motivated, and that they can perform better on a test like this. On the other hand, dogs traditionally used for hunting or racing – such as salukis and greyhounds – may not be interested in toys or their human pleasure, and refuse to cooperate with the training or testing component of the experiment.
But that does not mean they are not smart: just like humans, dogs are not all motivated by the same things. (Except for treats.)