They might spend a lot of their time fetching Frisbees and chasing their tails, but our goofy canine companions may be smarter than we realize. In fact, when it comes to distinguishing useful instructions from pointless ones, dogs are even faster learners than human children, according to a recent study in the journal Developmental Science.
TIME reports that researchers at Yale’s new Canine Cognition Center (which, incidentally, is looking for canine volunteers in the New Haven area) presented domesticated dogs and dingoes with a simple food-retrieving puzzle, consisting of a box with a lid and a lever. Opening the lid of the box allowed dogs access to a treat, while the lever served no functional purpose. Before letting their canine volunteers tackle the puzzle box, researchers demonstrated how to open it, first pressing the lever, then opening the lid.
via Mental Floss
