I live with two dogs and am constantly intrigued by how differently their brains work from ours. Things that seem obvious to me, such as ‘hooking’ a door wider open, for example, seem to just stump our guys.
On the other hand, when it comes to ganging up as a pack against the cat, they seem to instinctively take up complementary positions and act in concert.
Dakota, a Grey Wolf
In recent research scientists compared dog logic against that of wolves and found that dogs take their cues from specific humans, while wolves are more independent.
The box test
In the experiments a researcher repeatedly placed an object in Box A and allowed the subjects to find it.
Then the experimenter put the object in Box B.
Both human babies and dogs continued to search for the object in Box A. Wolves could see the object in Box B and easily found it.
Smart wolves; smart dogs
It would be easy to label the failure to find the object as ‘dumb’, but the researchers point out that in fact dogs (and babies) are being very smart in the context.
Dogs know that sticking with humans and taking their lead from people is to their advantage, while wolves know they need to be self-reliant:
In some ways, domesticated animals resemble human infants because both learn primarily by following and listening to adult humans, rather than judging all new situations for themselves. …
It is similar for domesticated dogs, which are bred to be able to follow human cues when it comes to situations like not eating food off the table, rather than following their own instincts to go for the chicken. …
Interestingly, dogs and babies did react differently to one aspect of the experiment: When the human researcher was replaced by a new person, dogs forgot their lesson about Box A and followed their eyes instead. Infants, however, responded the same with multiple human teachers, continuing to trust the human over the visual evidence.
[Via : Study: Wolves beat dogs when it comes to logic - LiveScience- msnbc.com.]
There’s more information about this study in New Take On Why Social Cues Confuse Babies And Dogs In Classic Hiding Game:
…dogs, like babies, are confused by social cues — but wolves aren’t. The authors concluded that dogs have become sensitive to social cues from humans due to our shared evolutionary past.
I find these differences in ways of thinking fascinating.
And after all, when have wolves ever trained people as dogs do? I’m well trained to take our guys for a walk, to give them food, to open and close doors for them.
Yes, dogs are smart alright.
Photo credit: Dakota, a Grey Wolf —
