Why your dog is as intelligent as a two-year-old

By Fiona Macrae 09th August 2009 dailymail.co.uk

You may think his thoughts revolve around walkies and juicy bones – but don’t be fooled.

Your dog could be brainier than your child.

Research shows that dogs can understand up to 250 words and gestures, count up to five and perform simple arithmetic, putting them on a par with a two year-old toddler.

But no all dogs are equal.  Border collies, whose cunning has long been appreciated by shepherds, are at the top of the class.

The dunces include bassett hounds and the great British bulldog.

Border collies are the most intelligent dogs, while Afghan Hounds come bottom of the class, according to the research

Stanley Coren, a Canadian canine expert, reviewed studies into ‘how dogs think’, including several in which tests designed to gauge the development of toddlers were adapted to the dog world.

A Border collie tested by the professor understood more than 200 spoken words, recognising the names of items it was asked to fetch and retrieving them.

Rico was also quick to learn the names of new things, bringing back the requested item 70 per cent of the time.

While not all dogs are as bright as Rico, the average mutt has the meanings of scores of words and gestures filed away in its brain.

Professor Coren, of the University of British Columbia, said: ‘The average dog is about as bright linguistically as a human two year-old.

‘This means they can understand about 165 words, signs and signals.

‘Those in the top 20 per cent were able to understand as many as 250 words and signals, which is about the same as a two and a half year-old.

‘Obviously, we are not going to be able to sit down and have a conversation with a dog but, like a two year-old, they show that they can understand words and gestures.’

The professor’s review also revealed that dogs can count up to four or five and notice errors in simple arithmetic – suggesting they can do sums.

To test this, dogs were made to watch as first one treat, then another treat, was lowered behind a screen.

The screen was then lifted, bringing the treats back into the dogs’ line of vision.

When the researchers had sneakily removed or added a treat, the creatures looked for longer, suggesting they knew something was wrong.

Professor Coren said: ‘Now we’re giving them the wrong equation, which is one plus one equals one, or one plus one equals three.

‘The dog acts surprised and stares for a longer period of time, just like a human kid would.

‘Dogs can tell that one plus one should equal two and not one or three.’

Dogs also have spatial problem-solving skills, the American Psychological Society’s annual conference heard.

For instance, they can learn where their treats are stored, master the quickest way to their favourite chair and work out how to operate latches.

The creatures have also mastered the art of deceit, hoodwinking their owners and other dogs to get their paws on treats when playing, and like human toddlers, are capable of happiness, anger and disgust.

Data gathered by more than 200 dog obedience judges revealed the brainiest breeds.

Border collies top the pack, followed by poodles, German shepherds and golden retrievers.

Hounds fared less well,  with the bassett hound, bloodhound, Afghan hound and beagle, all joining the bulldog in the low intelligence stakes.

Professor Coren said the differences could be at least partly explained by the breeds’ histories.

He said: ‘The dogs that are the brightest in terms of school learning ability tend to be the dogs that are much more recently developed.

‘There’s a high probability that we’ve been breeding dogs so they’re more responsive to human beings and human signals.

‘It’s important to note that these breeds which don’t do so well tend to be considerably older breeds.

‘These dogs were developed when the task of a hound’ was to find something by smell or sight.’

And, in an attempt to mollify hound-owners, the added that bright dogs do not necessarily make the best pets.

While a smart dog will quickly learn what is expected, it will also be better at working out just how much it can get away with.

Describing beagles as ‘sweet and sociable’, he said: ‘We like dogs that understand us.

‘Sometimes people love the dumb blonde.

‘We all want insight into how our furry companions think, and we want to understand the silly, quirky and apparently irrational behaviours Lassie or Rover demonstrate.

‘Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought.’

Top of the class

1.  Border collie

2.  Poodle

3.  German shepherd

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