Dogs - They Know

by Malcolm Riordan

Many of the incredible, fascinating attributes and qualities of man's best friend were inherited from their ancestor, the gray wolf.

Hearing:   Estimations are that dogs can hear a sound at 4x the distance that humans can, their ability to perceive frequencies way above our range is well known. And significantly we observe that their ability to pinpoint the exact location and source of a sound is both faster and more accurate than our own.

Vision:   Canine vision is less acute (sharp) than ours, in fact canine acuity was once measures as being 20/75. Dogs are red-green colorblind yet their night vision easily exceeds our own.  Their visual discrimination for moving objects way surpasses ours – while a dog may not be able to see its owner standing still at a mile’s distance, they are able to see a person walking and can even discriminate from up to a mile if that walking person is their owner.

Sense of Smell: Most of us realize that the canine nose is off the chart effective as compared to their masters’ ability.  Dogs can detect the presence of a specific odor at ten to the seventh power (10 million x) better than us. As well, they are able to recognize those odors, categorize each, and retain associations with each odor. This is a smell saturated world we can't even begin to comprehend, an odor jungle we can only fathom through a keyhole.

Again, such dog abilities, inherited from wolf ancestors, interest and amaze us.

Equally amazing are the canine traits and abilities which were not inherited from the wolf.  Domesticated dogs have evolved beyond a mere predisposition to show social intelligence – where social intelligence itself is not even common in the animal world.

Throughout dog’s association with man — estimated at roughly 15 to 30 thousand years — dogs have evolved impressive signs of sophisticated social cognition that can be demonstrated by science.

From the documentary Dogs Decoded: NOVA, I learned astounding things of which I was so unaware. One, from the field of human psychology is that our human faces are asymmetrically emotive.  In our facial expressions, the right side of our face expresses emotions more accurately; not only subconsciously more honest, but also more intensely emotive. Instinctively we know this as humans demonstrate the subconscious tendency to gaze first, and for longer periods at the right side of other people's faces.  Our asymmetric facial expressions are believed to have evolved in association with the evolution of the human adaptive cognitive processes.

A related new concept for me was that dogs have evolved in parallel to instinctively recognize and monitor this revealing human feature. Films of dogs' eye and head movement demonstrate that they automatically scan the right side of a human face first and for longer periods.  Dogs have evolved their marked ability to access our emotional status of the moment. This is an incredible tool and skill in fulfilling their dog role as man’s best friend!

It has been demonstrated that the social cognition of dogs exceeds that of even our closest genetic relatives, the other higher-order primates.  In the time scale of evolution, this evolved, heritable canine capacity is a recent genetic acquisition, and it distinguishes the dog from its ancestor, the wolf.

Dr.  Stanley Coren, psychology professor and neuropsychological researcher at the University of British Columbia argues that, even further, dogs demonstrate the relative sophistication of having "theory of mind."

Theory of mind, here, means that dogs have "the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions that are different from one's own."   

Dr. Coren does not, at least yet, have scientific proof that dogs have achieved this level of sophistication which is a true leap and milestone of cognition – but he argues for it armed with anecdotes that imply it. There are plenty, even universal, testimonial and anecdotal evidence that dogs demonstrate beliefs, intents, desires, knowledge, that dogs engage in pretending behaviors, and most significantly that dogs can be observed seemingly to practice the art of deception – this certainly speaks for dogs having "theory of mind."

Dogs Deceiving   

Professor Coren, who authored the book ‘How Dogs Think‘ says that dogs use their "intelligence to intentionally, deliberately try to deceive other dogs and people in order to get rewards.  During play the canines are as successful in deceiving humans as we are in deceiving them."

"Even though most dogs have the cognitive ability of two-year-olds, their social consciousness — an awareness of people, their ranking within the family and such — is as high as an adolescent or teenager. In other words, they are very interested in who is moving on, who is sleeping with whom and how others around them are being treated — and where they fit in.

"Dogs solve spatial problems by modeling human or other dogs' behavior. Through observation, Coren said, dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats, toys), learn better more efficient routes in the environment, 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.

"Interestingly, Professor Coren does say that dogs can lie, even to one another. He notes the story of the time his own Cairn terrier, Flint, who snatched a favorite fuzzy toy before Whizzer, the flat-coated retriever, could get to it. Whizzer went to the door and began to bark furiously. Flint, like many terriers, couldn't pass up an opportunity to check out why Whizzer -- a dog who rarely barked -- was making a fuss. When Flint went to the door, Whizzer snatched the valued toy and made a clean getaway to another part of the house. "If that's not deception, I don't know what is," Coren says.

"There are numerous anecdotes where dogs engage in what really appears to be deliberate deception. Fake alarm barks to distract and disrupt in order to get the best part of the bed. Surreptitiously watching the other dog bury a bone, then sneak out and move it. Carefully wait until we aren't looking, then steal a sock out of the laundry or a food item. Numerous reports of feigned limps – so called ‘sympathy lameness’ to gain advantage, access to the warmth of the house, to avoid being put outside for the night, etc."

It is impressive and delightful to dogwatch, to regard their evolved abilities and the genuine dedication with which they observe us, learn about us, read and interpret us, respond to and socially interact with us, using their skills to earnestly serve and please us …as well as to deceive and manipulate us. That’s what best friends do.

If we dog owners would put a fraction of the effort that our dogs put into observing and learning about us, into observing and learning the ins and outs of their canine behavior, there would be a whole lot more joy of bonding and a whole lot fewer dog behavior problems in the incredibly fascinating way we share life with dogs.

Come out to Woods Humane Society or click on the logo and take a look through some of the 100+ adoptable dogs and cats waiting for you to 'graduate' them into a new life. This month's photos from Funny Dogsite 1001 Front Street, Morro Bay Proceeds for book sales fund scholarships.

Woods Rafter Cat Image on Banner by Malcolm Riordan.

News, Editorials, and Commentary —Cutting Social Security Benefits Not the Way to Go —Letter From a Gun-a-holic —Morro Bay/Cayucos Partnership — To Be or Not To Be —New Morro Bay Council Adopts Vital Goal —Open Meeting Laws Reviewed for Residents —Sewage Plant Planning Starts ... Again	Town Business —Community Events —Morro Bay Library Slo Coast Arts —Atascadero Writers Group —Frustrated Local Writer —Genie's Pocket —Great Shots —Mostly Music —One Poet's Perspective —Opera SLO —Practicing Poetic Justice —Shutterbugs	Slo Coast Life —Ask the Doc —Best Friends —Beyond the Badge —Dear Abe —Double Vision —Feel Better Forever —Go Green! —The Human Condition —Surfing Through Life	It's Our Nature —A Bird's Eye View —California State Parks —Coastland Contemplations —Elfin Forest —Marine Sanctuaries —Whale Watch Adventures The Business of the Journal —About Us —Archives —Stan's Place —Writers Index

All content copyright Slo Coast Journal and Malcolm Riordan. Do not use without express written permission.