Articles and Essays October 2002
Canine Intelligence Tests
(Originally written for DogWatch, a newsletter for the general public from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine)
A coworker brought in an article that ranked dog breeds based on an “IQ test” which she says proves her dog is smarter than mine. My Dufus may not be not the brightest candle in the box, but can any test really prove say that one breed is smarter than another?
Intelligence tests for dogs suffer from all the limitations of intelligence tests for humans, plus a few more. When it comes to testing members of a different species, the most any test can do is test what its designers think an intelligent dog should know. Right away that gets us into trouble because, although fewer and fewer people cling to the idea that dogs don’t think, a lot of people still believe that dogs think–or should think-- the same way we do. However, dogs perceive their worlds quite differently from humans and use their brains differently to process that data. For example, Dufus’s owner most likely recognizes him based on his distinctive physical features: his pointed or squashed nose, long or short coat, brown or white spots, lanky or stocky body type. In keeping with this orientation, human brains allot a fair amount of grey matter to the processing of this detailed visual information On the other hand, dogs perceive their owners as odor-laden, greyish-yellow-blue blobs of more or less detail depending on their distance from that person. Consequently, much more of their brains is devoted to processing motion and scent data than detail.
Further complicating matters, if we ask a hundred people what they think a dog with average intelligence should know, we could conceivably get a hundred different answers. A person who views dogs strictly as companion animals might consider the average time it takes to house train pups of a particular breed a major sign of intelligence. Another person who wants a dog to perform a particular function, such as bird-hunting, might see a pup’s willingness to retrieve as a far more reliable sign of brain power.
Any valid canine IQ test also must take into account any inherent breed differences. Sight hounds, such as greyhounds, Afghans, and borzois, could score higher on tests involving visual cues whereas scent hounds such as bassets and bloodhounds could make some sight hounds look pretty dense if scent-based tests were the standard. Breeds, such as beagles or coonhounds, bred to hunt a specific type of prey demonstrate a different kind of thought process than those bred to herd sheep or cattle. A good hunting beagle will focus all of its attention on first detecting, then following a scent to its source, and ignore any distractions except its owner’s commands. While this particular mind set allows the beagle to hunt far more efficiently than any person, such a thought process wouldn’t benefit a working border collie who must be able to juggle multiple concepts simultaneously. In addition to moving the flock toward a specific goal, a good herding dog must monitor its charges for any signs of dawdling or escape, plus observe the area surrounding the flock for potential dangers. At the same time, the dog must remain alert to any signals from the herdsman, too.
However, while good working dogs often perform feats that their owners consider nothing less than brilliant, those humans who lack the lifestyle and personality to provide a proper outlet for all amount and quality of canine mind-power don’t fare nearly so well. Rather than viewing their pets as incredibly clever, they see their hunting dogs as single-minded and thick-headed and their herders as flighty and unmanageable.
How in the world can any test take all these differences into account? And what about all those wonderful mongrels out there?
While some people may strive to reduce canine intelligence to a one-size-fits-all standard for convenience sake, wise pet owners maintain their own criteria. Like Dufus, many dogs might not win any canine rocket scientist awards, but the proof is in the pudding–or rather in the living. So what if the dog loses his favorite ball or occasionally sneaks on the couch? When it comes to fitting into our complex lives and making us happy, most of our pets are downright brilliant.
For more information on Myrna Milani go to her website at http://www.mmilani.com/index.html.
Canine Emotions
(Originally written for DogWatch, a newsletter for the general public from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine)
My dog and I spend a lot of time together and I’m convinced she’s capable of experiencing the same emotions I am. However, a friend says that she’s responding to instinct, not emotion. Is that true?
The belief that our pets can experience at least some of the same feelings as we do surely ranks among the primary reasons why we own them. Who is their right mind would invest all the energy needed to train a pup if we couldn’t share this special dimension with it? Admittedly some people are willing to settle for a computerized pet, but for most of us the idea that our dogs can recognize our emotions and that we can recognize theirs serves as the foundation of the relationship.
But are we deluding ourselves? No and yes. Thanks to the evolution of increasingly sophisticated research techniques, we do know that animals possess receptors in the same places for the same substances that are associated with certain emotions in humans. However, we don’t know if animals either experience or interpret those emotions the same way we do. The closest we can come to determining if they do is to look at the results.
For example, consider a wild pup who displays what scientists call a freeze fear response when a potential predator approaches. The more immobile the pup remains, the less likely the predator will notice it. In this particular situation, the fear serves a very positive, life-saving function. A person who believes that dogs are incapable of conscious thought might exclaim, “What a wonderful instinct!” whereas those who believe dogs can think would gush, “What a smart pup!” However, those who interpret canine behavior in terms of their own human experience might murmur “Oh, that poor scared pup!”
Domestication and a close human-animal relationship may further muddy the waters. Imagine Ms. Smith placing her pup, Lotus, on a cold stainless steel table in a busy veterinary hospital. Dr. Jovial rushes into the room in a flurry of unfamiliar sounds, scents, and movements, and Lotus freezes in fear. However, she doesn’t just freeze. She also drools and may even tremble, either constantly or in periodic waves. So while she may appear rooted to the spot, the drooling and trembling would make her an easy target for a predator were she in the wild.
Nonetheless, while such a display might cost a wild pup her life and thereby eliminate that characteristic from the gene pool, this behavior in a human setting may elicit a completely different response. Because many people relate to their pets as family members rather than family members who also belong to a different species with different needs, interpreting Lotus’s behavior in human terms makes perfectly good sense to them. If Ms. Smith and/or Dr. Jovial immediately reward Lotus’s with extra cooing affection and maybe even a treat in an attempt to soothe her fears, then the innate canine fear response takes on a whole new meaning. Where it serves to save the life of the wild pup, it becomes a means whereby the domestic pup can gain attention and even food.
At this point things can get really complicated. When Lotus freezes and shivers, is something truly frightening her or does she just want attention? (Remember the little boy who cried, “Wolf!”?) If we assume that Lotus perceives her world the same way we do, we simply look around and see if we can locate anything we consider frightening and respond accordingly. However, if we accept that Lotus can hear and smell things and detect movement beyond human perception, then we can’t be sure. Some owners take a “better safe than sorry” approach and always respond to the fearful animal as if a legitimate threat existed, even though this can make a timid animal feel even more insecure. Others distract the animal with a round of confidence-building commands that not only decrease the number of things the dog considers a threat, but also gently communicate that using fear to gain attention won’t work.
Recognizing that animals can and do experience emotions most surely adds a new dimension to the human-canine bond. But whether that dimension enhances or undermines the relationship depends on our knowledge of our dogs and their unique needs.
For more information on Myrna Milani go to her website at http://www.mmilani.com/index.html.Submit a Story or Article
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