Wonder if they'd be up for a trip downunder????
Cannis Clicker Training
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia 2011 Conference
Dates are up - Conference Date: 28 - 30 October 2011; no further details as yet!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
DOG INTELLIGENCE
You are no doubt aware of the book on Dog Intelligence by Stanley Coren a professor of psychology in Vancouver. This is the book which lists Border Collies, Poodles and German Shepherds as the most intelligent dogs. I have been reading some of his articles from Science journals where he states he used "understanding of new commands" and "obey first command" as his standards of intelligence. The drawback of this rating scale, by the author's own admission, is that it is heavily weighted towards obedience related behavioural traits (e.g. working or guard dogs), rather than understanding or creativity (e.g. hunting dogs). As a result, some breeds may appear lower on the list due to their stubborn or independent nature, but this nature does not make them unintelligent or impossible to train.
Coren also believes that dogs such as Border Collies have intelligence on par with a 2 year old. He has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously thought.
The intelligence of various types of dogs does differ and the dog's breed determines some of these differences, Coren says. "There are three types of dog intelligence: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (how well the dog learns from its environment to solve problems) and working and obedience (the equivalent of 'school learning').
As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the "super dogs" (those in the top 20 percent of dog intelligence) can learn 250 words.Dogs can also count up to four or five, said Coren. And they have a basic understanding of arithmetic and will notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3.
Four studies he examined looked how dogs solve spatial problems by modeling human or other dogs' behavior using a barrier type problem. Through observation, Coren said, dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats), better routes in the environment (the fastest way to a favorite chair), how to operate mechanisms (such as latches and simple machines) and the meaning of words and symbolic concepts (sometimes by simply listening to people speak and watching their actions). During play, dogs are capable of deliberately trying to deceive other dogs and people in order to get rewards, said Coren. "And they are nearly as successful in deceiving humans as humans are in deceiving dogs
Coren also believes that dogs such as Border Collies have intelligence on par with a 2 year old. He has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously thought.
The intelligence of various types of dogs does differ and the dog's breed determines some of these differences, Coren says. "There are three types of dog intelligence: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (how well the dog learns from its environment to solve problems) and working and obedience (the equivalent of 'school learning').
As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the "super dogs" (those in the top 20 percent of dog intelligence) can learn 250 words.Dogs can also count up to four or five, said Coren. And they have a basic understanding of arithmetic and will notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3.
Four studies he examined looked how dogs solve spatial problems by modeling human or other dogs' behavior using a barrier type problem. Through observation, Coren said, dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats), better routes in the environment (the fastest way to a favorite chair), how to operate mechanisms (such as latches and simple machines) and the meaning of words and symbolic concepts (sometimes by simply listening to people speak and watching their actions). During play, dogs are capable of deliberately trying to deceive other dogs and people in order to get rewards, said Coren. "And they are nearly as successful in deceiving humans as humans are in deceiving dogs
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