Dog intelligence is "...the resultant of the process of acquiring, storing in memory, retrieving, combining, comparing, and using in new contexts information and conceptual skills" as it applies to dogs.
Studies have shown that dogs display many behaviors associated with intelligence. They have advanced memory skills. For example, a border collie, "Chaser", learned the names of over 1,000 objects and retrieved them by verbal command. Dogs can use such memory skill to make inferences. For example, another border collie Rico, learned the labels of over 200 items and then inferred the names of novel items by exclusion. That is, he identified and retrieved those novel items immediately and also 4 weeks after the initial exposure. Dogs are able to read and react appropriately to human body language such as gesturing and pointing, and to understand human voice commands. Dogs demonstrate a theory of mind by engaging in deception. Centuries ago, scientists discovered that our self-image and our place in universe reflect also how we treat the animals. Our behavior towards animals copy the way we treat humans too. For most of us, having an animal is like a therapy and even contributes to a better understanding of ourselves.
Having a pet represents more than satisfying a simple need. Other writers described the archeology proofs left 12.000 years ago by a tribe of hunters from Israel, proofs that include the bones of a puppy buried together with his owner that put his arm around the dog. |
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