Smart Canines: Can Dogs Really Tell When You're Being Naughty?

Name: Canis familiaris (AKA dogs).

Age: As a separate species, at least 15,000 years old.

Appearance: Highly variable.

Common Traits: Excellent sense of smell, exceptional intelligence.

What are you talking about? My dog ​​is a moron. It's more emotional intelligence.

Why would a dog need emotional intelligence? They specialize in understanding humans.

Again, not my dog. He barely speaks a word of English. Maybe not, but most dogs can pick up on human gestures without training. For example, they know what it means to point at something.

A lot. Monkeys don't understand pointing.

I thought monkeys were smart. They're on many levels, but they're just not as sensitive to human behavior as dogs.

Give me another example. Dogs can even interpret our intentions, according to a new study from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.

What does this mean? This means your dog knows the difference between you being naughty and you just being hopeless.

How would you find out about something like that? Through experimentation. In the study, humans were placed in clear boxes, with a small hole through which they could feed the test dogs some food.

I am more or less with you so far. On some occasions, the experimenters pretended to be clumsy and dropped the food inside the transparent box; on others, they withheld food in a teasing manner. Dogs have always shown more patience with clumsiness.

So how do you measure the amount of patience displayed by a dog? I'm glad you asked: right tail wag.

Come back? A tail wagging more to the right is thought to be associated with the left side of the dog's brain and more positive canine emotions.

Seriously? "The tail bias to the right found in the clumsy condition supports the interpretation that the dogs recognized the clumsy experimenter's willingness to transfer food," the study authors state.

< p class="dcr-3jlghf">My right, or the dog is right? It's not clear. Dogs also spent more time lying down when experimenters deliberately withheld food, a behavior associated with not eating.

If my dog ​​knows when I'm a fool , this has enormous implications. Relax - just pretend to be an idiot instead.

Say, "I'm stupid! I wanted to take you to the park , but we ended up at the vet."

Don't say, "Listen to me carefully - go get the key to that transparent box."