We’ve recognized the intelligence of dogs and we rely on them to guard our house, be guides to the blind, and help with police investigations.
But dogs deserve even more credit than that. Not only has there been a study to show that they can learn to understand what we say, another study has found that dogs are also able to strategize to get things to go their way.
Dogs are smarter than we think
Published in Animal Cognition, a study was done on 27 dogs of different breeds between the ages 1.5 and 14 years old to see if they would try and deceive people they didn’t like. Turns out dogs are able to lie to us with their behavior, if it means they can get what they want.
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Our furry friends know how to deceive us
First, the researchers tested to see which treats each dog liked best, sausage or a dog biscuit. Next, the dogs would be shown 3 boxes: one containing their favorite treat, another one with their second favorite treat, and an empty box. 2 ladies would give them the command, “Show me the food” and they were taught to show the ladies to the box that contains the food they like.
Read more: Bright Side
