Dogs are not that intelligent as we think, says study

New Delhi : It is often said that dogs have exceptional intelligence level. But, the saying has been challenged by a new study which claims that a dog's cognitive ability can be matched with several other animals.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK compared the brain power of dogs with other domestic animals, other social hunters and other carnivorous, including animals such as dogs, wolves, bears, lions and hyenas. They found the cognitive abilities of dogs were at least matched by several species in each of these groups. 

The study, published in the journal Learning & Behaviour, examined more than 300 research papers on the intelligence of dogs and other animals and found several cases of "over interpretation" in favour of dogs' abilities.

During our work it seemed to us that many studies in dog cognition research set out to 'prove' how clever dogs are," said Stephen Lea, a professor at the University of Exeter. "They are often compared to chimpanzees and whenever dogs 'win', this gets added to their reputation as something exceptional," Lea said.

The findings gave emphasis on sensory cognition, physical cognition, spatial cognition, social cognition and self-awareness. 

"Taking all three groups including domestic animals, social hunters and carnivorans into account, dog cognition does not look exceptional," said Britta Osthaus from the Canterbury Christ Church University.

"We are doing dogs no favour by expecting too much of them. Dogs are dogs, and we need to take their needs and true abilities into account when considering how we treat them," Osthaus said.