We all know that our 4 legged friends are extraordinary creatures. Each with their own personalities. They are our companions through this crazy roller coaster of life, providing us with emotional support and friendship. Above and beyond these characteristics they also have extensive cognitive abilities, making them more gifted then we realize.
If you focused on training your dog when they first cam into your life they might know sone simple commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘role-over’ and ‘fetch’. What about dogs that have the capability to learn even more? These super smart dogs are referred to as Gifted Word Learners (GWL).
1. Rapid Word Learning
GWL refers to when a dog can learn many naes of objects quite rapidly after minimal exposure to it. Furthermore, they retain this information afterwards and essentially build up their own vocabulary in their memory. This talent is not common and involves pattern recognition skills, memory skills as well as contextual understanding.
Researchers have noted that some dog breeds, such as Border Collies and Chasers, could possess this incredible cognitive ability. Some have even shown a referential understanding on a level similar to young kids. If you notice that your dog learns vocabulary and retains it for a long time, keep teaching and expanding their knowledge.
2. Problem Solving
The assumption is that most intelligent dogs are severe, but this is actually often not true. They can be pretty playful. Thus, playfulness can be linked to problem-solving abilities in dogs. If you think of what playful behavior entails, it usually goes along with curiosity and adaptability.
Playful dogs engage more with their peers and their environment. It might look a bit differently than what we are use to but if your dog solves problems and overcomes challenges in their path, they are gifted. Always encourage your dog to play as this adds to their mental health, improves their skills and keeps them engaged.
3. Exceptional Memory
Can you believe that gifted dog can learn from their own mistakes? They remember the problem solving process that they previously engaged in and adjust if the end result is not to their liking. These gifted dogs also can retain vocabulary and information about objects. All of these skills combine and it makes for a super smart pup.
They might remember how you opened the door and imitate you. They might remember that the class sliding door is a barrier after knocking into it and not make that same mistake again. There are many more examples, but these skills are definitely something to look out for in your furry friends.
4. Empathy in Dogs
Gifted dogs have an uncanny ability to sense as well as respond to human emotions. They exhibit empathy not only with humans but with other dogs as well. Experiments testing for empathy in dogs have shown that dogs are attuned to changes in our voices, behavior, facial expressions, and even our scent.
Other experiments have shown that dogs can distinguish between negative and positive emotional states of their owners. Some dogs have been known to even try to comfort their owners or even a baby when they hear a cry. Making use of the ‘trapped-other paradigm’ showed that dogs would go above and beyond much faster to get to their owner who is crying, than when the owner is just humming.
5. Deception and Manipulation
Dogs have the uncanny ability to be cheeky and manipulative sometimes. Research sow that dogs can intentionally engage in deceptive behavior to get what they want. Usually what they want is attention or rewards.
Examples include that a dog might moan and start limping as their owner gets ready to go to work and walk out the door or hide their rewards then come back and beg for more. Animal Cognition published a study were dogs would pretend to be interested in a toy they don’t want or do a trick multiple times, to trick their owner in giving them more treats.
6. Breed Defies Expectations
Surprisingly, most of the GWL dogs recorded are Border Collies, but many other dog breeds also show extraordinary skills such as GWL. This means that no matter the breed, you might have a special pup on your hands, and with the right learning and stimulating environment, they could reach new heights with their skills. Genetics as well as environment, in other words, nature and nurture, play a role.
Intelligence in dogs could be far more widely spread throughout many breeds than initially thought. An extraordinary example is an adorable Yorkshire Terrier (named Whiskey) that showed excellent learning abilities. Present your dogs with stimulating environments, puzzles, and challenges to engage with.
Social Media
We live in a digital age were many adorable videos of pets are in circulation. Not only does this make for good entertainment guarenteed to put a smile on your face but also has been revolutionary in research surrounding finding gifted dogs across the globe. These social media platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram add more valuable data that could inspire research.
Global campaigns have been launched encouraging pet owners to share extraordinary moments with their pets where the pets demonstrate above average abilities. Maybe it is time to share your many videos in your gallery of your dog doing extraordinary things with the rest of the world.
Dogs Who Outperform Wolves
Can dogs be more intelligent than wolves? Well, research has shown that because our furry friends spend more time in our company, they learn and adapt to our communication styles, which gives way to enhanced cognitive abilities. Once more, it shows us the importance of nature as well as nurture in the raising of a pup.
Compared to their wild ancestors, dogs follow commands and pointing gestures much better. Being so attuned to our communication and emotional cues is a result of decades of domestication of dogs. Look closely at how your dog responds to your commands and cues to observe how gifted they are.
Lastly, we look at how technological advances has made it possible for us to gain more insight to the biology of dogs. In neuroscience, fMRI technology specifically, reveals that dogs process emotions and information on a very complex level. Gifted dogs show complex brain activity when stimulated.
Dogs’ brains actually respond to the sound of our voice, even more so to the sound of their owner’s voice. If there is anything you take away from this article, it is that gifted dogs flourish in a healthy, stimulating, and nurturing environment. You do not need an fMRI to know that your dog might be gifted. You would be able to see how much they care about you just as easily.
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