It's difficult to understand why people don't realize that pets are gifts to mankind-Linda Blair
Intelligence in dogs
I’m a mom of two (dogs) so far. Dennis a five year old Bishon Frise and Mikko a one year old toy poodle. Like every other mom I love my kids equally. It’s a
joy to come home from work everyday. Unlike my human family members who’ll continue doing whatever they’re doing, and greet me with a silent “hi, how
was your day?”, my dogs are ecstatic. It’s like it’s their birthday, Christmas and they’ve won the lottery at the same time!
Except for their excitement when I come home, and their curly hair, the dogs are completely different. Although all dogs have different personalities they
all have different traits as well and I will try to discuss it here;
Emotional Intelligence
Part of emotional intelligence in humans is the ability to understand and act towards other people’s
emotions. My Bishon Frise Dennis is excellent at this. If he sees that somebody is sad he will
immediately be there to comfort them. He will cuddle up against them and try to lick away the tears.
Researchers at the University of London actually studied this subject and found that many dogs may
actually understand the emotion of sadness and they would show a submissive body language as well
as approaching the owner when the owner was crying.
Another sign of emotionally intelligence I have seen in Dennis is the act of protection of the ones he
love. If his little brother Mikko is playing with another dog, he will run between them to protect
Mikko. And if I’m play fighting with my little brothers Dennis will try to stand between us and stop us
from fighting.
Intelligence
Then there’s intelligence. Although Dennis might be the most sociable of our dogs, Mikko the Poodle is without doubt the smartest. If he’s off the lead he’ll come over on command every time. Dennis on the other hand will look at me and then just keep sniffing around doing his own thing when I call his name. He couldn’t have cared less about me calling him in. When it comes to treats my little poodle outsmarts his brother as well. If I give them a treat at the same time he’ll immediately run to steal his brothers treat first, but it next to his own, and then start chewing. And if his brother doesn’t give away his treat, he’ll find a way to distract him so he can steal it anyway.Intelligence rating
If you want to know how your dog-breed rates you can have a look at this link. Not surprisingly my poodle was ranged as the second most intelligent breed, after border collies. My Bichon Frise on the other hand ended up on a shared 45 th place. http://petrix.com/dogint/intelligence.html
Marielle’s Column - INTELLIGENCE IN DOGS
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by Marielle Pettersen
