Dogs as smart as average two-year-old child
This is not particular to Corgis, but it does mention that dogs such as herding dogs, bred to work closely with humans, tend to be smarter. I'll only copy the beginning of the article here, and the link leads to the rest:
"Your dog may not actually be smarter than somebody's honor student -- popular bumper stickers aside. But your canine companion might well be smarter than their toddler, according to a growing body of research on how dogs think.
Using adapted tests designed for human children, psychologists have learned that average dogs can count, reason and recognize words and gestures on par with a human 2 -year-old.
"They may not be Einsteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought," said Stanley Coren, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and leading researcher on dog behavior.
Coren planned to present his research Saturday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Toronto, Canada.
He said the average dog can understand about 165 words, including signs, signals and gestures. They can also count to about 5, he said."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/08/07/smart.dogs/index.html
"Your dog may not actually be smarter than somebody's honor student -- popular bumper stickers aside. But your canine companion might well be smarter than their toddler, according to a growing body of research on how dogs think.
Using adapted tests designed for human children, psychologists have learned that average dogs can count, reason and recognize words and gestures on par with a human 2 -year-old.
"They may not be Einsteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought," said Stanley Coren, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and leading researcher on dog behavior.
Coren planned to present his research Saturday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Toronto, Canada.
He said the average dog can understand about 165 words, including signs, signals and gestures. They can also count to about 5, he said."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/08/07/smart.dogs/index.html
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I think dogs can pick up on emotions also....my Wynn is an expert and I do value his opinion on people as there are very few he dislikes but he so far has been correct....I always have him greet the potential corgi owners but also take him with me other places...I really do think he know....what this is I don't know...he also seems to know when I am sad and comes up and nestles his nose by me as if he's trying to cheer me up.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I have no doubts about the intelligence of dogs! They also can read minds which would be interesting research.
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Permalink Reply by Linsey & Grissom on
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I believe it, and I definately think they pick up on emotions. When I am really really upset, they won't eat, they'll just sit by me. It's the sweetest thing.
I firmly believe that they understand most of what I say, wether or not they listen to it may be another story.
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Oh yes! That listening part is another story...but then they are corgis....
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Ha ha, mine will eat whether I am upset or not! They just look pitiful.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I saw another study that showed dogs understand context, something previously not expected of any animal other than humans and higher primates (and maybe dolphins).
Here was the experiment:
Dogs, as we know, usually prefer to use their mouths rather than their paws to manipulate objects.
I think most of us also have seen that dogs can learn by observing other dogs.
So, they would take a dog and have it watch another dog push a lever to get a treat.
If the lever-pushing dog used its paw to push the lever for the treat, but had something in its mouth already and so was clearly unable to use its mouth, the observing dog would quickly learn to push the lever, but most often did so using its mouth, not its paw.
But if the lever-pushing dog had nothing in its mouth and still used its paw to push the lever, the observing dog was more inclined to also use its paw to push the lever for the treat.
This seems to indicate that the dog is capable of thinking "That dog used its paw because its mouth was full: the key to the experiment is pushing the lever!" But for the empty-mouth dog, the watching dog seems to think "That dog could have used its mouth, but used its paw instead. Therefore, using the paw must be an integral part of getting the treat."
Then again, we had a lab when I was a teenager that probably would have watched the whole experiment and just sat there, drooling kind of stupidly. LOL
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Corgis would watch this and wonder why the humans thought up such an elaborate way to give them a treat!!
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Permalink Reply by Boo Buchheit on
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Or try to figure out how to get the most treats with the least amount of effort.
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I was just reading about this and they indicated that the older breeds of dogs were not as smart as the more recently developed breeds. The doberman was specifically mentioned as an example of a really smart breed. I live with corgis and a doberman. She (the dobe) may be very sweet but if she is an example of a really smart dog I have to wonder what those researchers were smoking!!
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Ha! Yeah, we had a lab and they are also meant to be smart, but ours was as dumb as a stump. A sweet, friendly, tail-wagger without a mean bone in his body, but none too bright, god bless him.
We had a Springer Spaniel, on the other hand, that understood complete sentences. She was incredibly smart.
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