Rather than good vision (due to head shape), intelligence allows dogs to overcome their biases and solve complex spatial problems. The research was published in the journal Ethology.
A total of 82 dogs participated in the two behavioral tests. In one of the tasks, the animals were given a reward, and the reward was always on the same plate; left or right. The dog had 50 attempts to figure out which plate the reward was on. Moreover, the shape and color of the two plates were the same.
In another task, two types of plates were used: a white round one and a black square one. The dog was shown the plate one at a time in random order. Now the animal had to remember the appearance of the plate, not its location.
The results showed that the animals were faster at recognizing whether the reward was on the left or right. It was more difficult for them to remember the shape and color of the plate as a whole.
The scientists decided to find out whether their results were related to dogs’ differences in vision or intelligence. Dogs with shorter heads (brachycephalic) are known to develop sharper vision, similar to humans. Therefore, in this study, the animals’ vision was assessed using head extension, and their cognitive abilities were assessed using memory and attention tests.
It turns out that smarter animals, rather than dogs with better vision, are better at performing the complex task of remembering the shape and color of objects. This means that the smarter a dog is, the easier it is to overcome its spatial bias (the tendency to focus on the location of objects rather than their features).
Previous scientists I learnedHow does owning a pet affect the mental abilities of seniors?