Are Dogs Dumb?

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by ggturner on 08 April 2011 - 15:04

Instead of the old and aggrivating discussions on how best to feed your dog, how about a new topic to investigate? Are domesticated dogs dumber than their wild counterparts? I found this article at Discovery and I want to investigate it some more. Off hand, I would think that the breed of dog should be considered in this type of study. Read the article and see what you think about it.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/humans-dumbed-down-dogs.html

by Ruger1 on 08 April 2011 - 15:04

ggturner...

Domesticated dogs must be a whole lot smarted considering that domesticated dogs get; chicken quarters brought to them twice a day, served a balanced kibble daily, go to doggie day care for fun and games, get groomed to the nines, sleep in bed with the master....etc..etc.

Yes, domesticated dogs are a whole lot smarter IMO...lol...: )

by ggturner on 08 April 2011 - 15:04

LOL--they are smart!!

by ggturner on 08 April 2011 - 16:04

Any type of scientific study needs to have a control. So, in the case of comparing domesticated dogs to wild dogs, ideally you should choose one breed of domesticated dog at a time to test to one species of wild dog at a time. Here's another article on this topic:

http://neurodojo.blogspot.com/2010/05/dingoes-do-detours-dogs-dont.html

Also, environment can't be overlooked. Wild dogs have to overcome all kinds of obstacles in order to survive. Domesticated dogs do not (unless they aren't well cared for).

by clee27 on 08 April 2011 - 18:04

Maybe the food bowl only had Ole Roy and had it contained a high end healthy kibble or raw the domesticated dog would have tried harder.... just kidding, lol! Both very interesting articles and I agree that dogs have to be smarter because they have us to wait on them!! Jennifer

by brynjulf on 08 April 2011 - 19:04

Well after watching my dog run into a sliding glass door not once but twice ...the jury is still out:)

by mollyandjack on 08 April 2011 - 20:04

http://www.baa.duke.edu/dogs
One of my friends has a dog enrolled here for fun...they have some interesting publications that I'm going to read later when I have time.

Cognition is a pretty complicated aspect of psychology...the Discovery article seems to be focusing on one aspect. I remember reading somewhere that dogs are able to lie and perhaps most importantly understand that other beings can lie, but wolves cannot. I'll try to find the article. Seemed pretty interesting.

by beetree on 08 April 2011 - 20:04

Hence the expression, "You lying dog, you!

by ggturner on 09 April 2011 - 00:04

Funny Clee!

Bry--ouch!

MollyandJack--I like the Duke program! I love the sentence that says that they have the highest acceptance rate and cheapest tuition at the university! We used to live in Durham near Duke. Pretty school.

by troublelinx on 09 April 2011 - 03:04

Domesticated dogs are not smart and nor need they be. Just predicatble creatures of habit. Probably a side effect of domestication. Although I have seen some pretty crafty PP dogs. Like when they act like they are at the end of their leash to try to bait you in. If you go in they go for the flesh bite.

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