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thanks for the book tip, Linda.

I always thought my mutt, Spike, was sweet but not awfully smart, until he 
accidently got  locked out of the house and found a woman on a bicycle and 
got her to ring my doorbell to let him in, something that must have taken 
some planning and luck.  He can't reach the doorbell and has apparently 
forgotten how to bark, but has "street smarts"' even though he is housebound 
like me.

Ray

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
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--------------------------------------------------
From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:31 PM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: For Dog Lovers Only

> Thanks Ray,
> very interesting. Our hound/ pit bull/ other  mixed breed, Simon, would 
> argue that mutts are the smartest of all!.
> Has anyone read The Story  of Edgar Sawtelle?   A beautifully written, 
> intriguing  book about some very intelligent dogs -- Any dog lover will 
> love it.
> lindda
>
>
> www.pdpipeline.org
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------
> From: rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: For Dog Lovers Only
> Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:39:36 -0700
>
> Dogs' Intelligence On Par With Two-year-old Human, Canine Researcher Says
> ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2009) - Although you wouldn't want one to balance
> your checkbook, dogs can count.
>
> They can also understand more than 150 words and intentionally deceive 
> other
> dogs and people to get treats, according to psychologist and leading 
> canine
> researcher Stanley Coren, PhD, of the University of British Columbia. He
> spoke Saturday on the topic "How Dogs Think" at the American Psychological
> Association's 117th Annual Convention.
>
> Coren, author of more than a half-dozen popular books on dogs and dog
> behavior, 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.
>
> "We all want insight into how our furry companions think, and we want to
> understand the silly, quirky and apparently irrational behaviors [that]
> Lassie or Rover demonstrate," Coren said in an interview. "Their stunning
> flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be
> Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought."
>
> According to several behavioral measures, Coren says dogs' mental 
> abilities
> are close to a human child age 2 to 2.5 years.
> 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')."
>
> Data from 208 dog obedience judges from the United States and Canada 
> showed
> the differences in working and obedience intelligence of dog breeds,
> according to Coren. "Border collies are number one; poodles are second,
> followed by German shepherds. Fourth on the list is golden retrievers;
> fifth, dobermans; sixth, Shetland sheepdogs; and finally, Labrador
> retrievers," said Coren.
>
> 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, Coren says. "The upper limit of dogs' ability to learn language
> is partly based on a study of a border collie named Rico who showed
> knowledge of 200 spoken words and demonstrated 'fast-track learning,' 
> which
> scientists believed to be found only in humans and language learning 
> apes,"
> Coren said.
>
> 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."
>
> Adapted from materials provided by American Psychological Association, via
> EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
>
> Rayilyn Brown
> Director AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
> [log in to unmask]
>
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