Intelligence, behavior, and communication
Intelligence
Main article: Dog intelligence
Dog intelligence is the dog's ability to perceive information and retain it as knowledge for applying to
solve problems. Studies of two dogs suggest that dogs can learn by inference and have advanced
memory skills. A study with Rico, a border collie, showed that he knew the labels of over 200
different items. He inferred the names of novel things by exclusion learning and correctly retrieved
those new items immediately and four weeks after the initial exposure. A study of another border
collie, "Chaser," documented his learning and memory capabilities. He had learned the names and
could associate by verbal command over 1,000 words.[88] Dogs can read and react appropriately to
human body language such as gesturing and pointing and human voice commands.
A 2018 study on canine cognitive abilities found that dogs' capabilities are no more exceptional than
those of other animals, such as horses, chimpanzees, or cats.[89] Various animals,
including pigs, pigeons, and chimpanzees, can remember the "what, where, and when" of an event,
which dogs cannot do.[90]
Dogs demonstrate a theory of mind by engaging in deception.[91] An experimental study showed
compelling evidence that Australian dingos can outperform domestic dogs in non-social problem-
solving, indicating that domestic dogs may have lost much of their original problem-solving abilities
once they joined humans.[92] Another study revealed that after undergoing training to solve a simple
manipulation task, dogs faced with an insoluble version of the same problem look at the human,
while socialized wolves do not.[93]
Behavior
Main article: Dog behavior
See also: Dog behavior § Behavior compared with other canids
A 3-year-old Border Collie at showing companion for human
Dog behavior is the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of the domestic dog
(individuals or groups) to internal and external stimuli. [94] As the oldest domesticated species, with
estimates ranging from 9,000–30,000 years BCE, dogs' minds inevitably have been shaped by
millennia of contact with humans. As a result of this physical and social evolution, dogs have
acquired the ability to understand and communicate with humans more than any other species, and
they are uniquely attuned to human behaviors. [18] Behavioral scientists have uncovered a surprising
set of social-cognitive abilities in the domestic dog. These abilities are not possessed by the dog's
closest canine relatives or other highly intelligent mammals such as great apes but rather parallel to
children's social-cognitive skills.[95]
Unlike other domestic species selected for production-related traits, dogs were initially selected for
their behaviors.[96][97] In 2016, a study found that only 11 fixed genes showed variation between
wolves and dogs. These gene variations were unlikely to have been the result of natural evolution
and indicate selection on both morphology and behavior during dog domestication. These genes
have been shown to affect the catecholamine synthesis pathway, with the majority of the genes
affecting the fight-or-flight response [97][98] (i.e., selection for tameness), and emotional processing.
[97]
Dogs generally show reduced fear and aggression compared with wolves. [97][99] Some of these
genes have been associated with aggression in some dog breeds, indicating their importance in both
the initial domestication and later in breed formation. [97] Traits of high sociability and lack of fear in
dogs may include genetic modifications related to Williams-Beuren syndrome in humans, which
cause hyper sociability at the expense of problem-solving ability.[100][101][102]
Communication
Main article: Dog communication
Dog communication is how dogs convey information to other dogs, understand messages from
humans, and translate the information that dogs are transmitting. [103]:xii Communication behaviors of
dogs include eye gaze, facial expression, vocalization, body posture (including movements of bodies
and limbs), and gustatory communication (scents, pheromones, and taste). Humans communicate to
dogs by using vocalization, hand signals, and body posture.
