Those interested in testing their own dogs can learn more at www.dognition.com.
Brian Hare’s provocative new book, “The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think,” makes the case that Fido (the guy who finds a tennis ball fascinating) is, in fact, an animal Einstein.
How else, points out the Atlanta native and Duke University professor of evolutionary anthropology, can one explain the success of the canine species, which, among mammals, is second only to humans in dominance?
Dogs didn’t achieve that status on their own. They got there by being smart at understanding human communication and by using humans to solve their problems, Hare has been explaining to everyone from National Public Radio to National Geographic reporters. His book has created a lot of buzz.
Descending from the first wolves that hung around the campfire to feed on paleo discards, dogs weren’t domesticated by humans but instead, writes Hare, they domesticated themselves, actively choosing life among the Cro-Magnons.
In fact, suggests Hare, they played a role in domesticating us.
Hare began hunkering down with dogs as an undergraduate at Emory University, studying infant psychology with Mike Tomasello.
Tomasello’s experiments showed that human infants, unlike every other primate, are uniquely adept at interpreting human intentionality, i.e., they easily understand when an adult points toward a box that it contains a hidden toy that they’ve been looking for.
Then Hare told his professor, “My dog can do that.” And in fact, he could. Dogs, it turns out — including Hare’s black Lab, Oreo — exceed chimpanzees, bonobos, capuchins and every other primate in their ability to interpret human gestures.
To find out why, Hare spent years studying and testing foxes in Siberia, New Guinea Singing Dogs, wolves at a sanctuary in Massachusetts, bonobos in the Congo and many other canines and primates. He also drew on the exploding new science of canine intelligence, minutely cited in the book’s 67-page appendix.
What he discovered was that the origin of the genius of dogs is knitted up with the origin of human intelligence. Dogs evolved from wolves through “survival of the friendliest.” Those bold enough to feel comfortable near humans benefited from the relationship and thrived.
And, he says, a similar mechanism allowed those early hominids who were the most cooperative to come out of the trees and turn into modern man.
While his book, written with his wife, science writer Vanessa Woods, is heavy on research, it is presented in a way that makes anthropology and cognitive science accessible to the average reader.
“For someone interested in human biology, why would I study dogs?” said Hare recently. “I’m interested in the origin of our intelligence. With dogs, we learn it’s the survival of the friendliest.” With humans, he said, those selected for friendliness developed the power of social connection, communication and social cognition, “which put us on the path to being the species we are.”
Hare also understands the power of natural selection at the book store: A book about dogs will sell more copies than a book about fossils. But, he insists, “I didn’t on purpose study dogs to help communicate this stuff. It happened to be a byproduct.”
Readers who are driven to test their own dogs can buy access to a training program that Hare calls “The Dognition Experience.” The program provides a curriculum of games and tests, and an analysis of the results that offers insight into the dog’s “cognitive style.”
“I want people to be able to participate in science and not just be preached to about science,” he said.
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