That Doggone Intuition: Is Your Dog Smarter Than You Think?

At Yale University’s Canine Cognition Center, psychology is going to the dogs.

• Add to Google

Dog Intelligence? It’s Real, Researchers Say

02:06

In what is likely the school’s most playful laboratory, researchers try to figure out what dogs are thinking by evaluating memory, attention, and even counting skills.

And the results are as individual as the dogs themselves.

“Dogs that are slightly less social might solve problems more on their own, and have better problem solving abilities,” said Laurie Santos, director of the Center, which opened in December. “What dogs overall have done is not necessarily to become smarter, but use difference strategies.”

One of those strategies is to observe what humans do.

“Dogs are making expectations about your actions,” Santos said. “They're getting used to what you know and what you don't know … when you do things that violate those expectations, they are surprised.”

So is there any truth to the idea that some dogs are smarter than others? Santos says it’s too early in their research to know for sure. The Center welcomes all breeds, and researchers are particularly excited to work with collies.

“There is a lore that Collies are pretty smart,” Santos said.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Tom Reznick, owner of a half-collie, half-German Shepherd, says his dog Holly loves to solve puzzles on her own.

"We got a puzzle toy for her that said it's supposed to take three hours for dogs to solve -- she took five minutes and then she looked at us and said, 'What is the next challenge,'" he said.

Santos hopes to publish a paper based on her research next year, and eventually connect insights about dogs with human development.

• Add to Google

Psychologist Aims to Discover ‘What Dogs Know About the World’

00:44

“What we seem to be seeing so far … is that dogs seem to have some pretty sophisticated intuitions about what's going on,” she said.

Click here to visit the Canine Cognition Center website.