Now, now...let's stay away from politics.
The dumbasses of the day are apparently myself and every other dog owner. OTOH the author of this piece drags "climate change"(which used to be "global warming" until that title became too embarrassing) into it, so maybe those who conjured this up are the real dumbasses.
I bet these wild dogs would trade a few IQ points for a warm bed, food, drink, cookies, medical care, and owners who love them. Your dog wants a cookie.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...anines-lazy-thinkers-domestication-blame.html
Have humans made dogs STUPID? Pets are 'lazy thinkers' compared to wild wolves and domestication may be to blame
- Study compared how 10 wolves and 20 dogs solved a puzzle to reach food
- Wolves were more persistent and successful than the domestic animals
- The dogs looked to humans for guidance rather than tackling the problem
- Scientists say domestication has changed how dogs tackle problems
By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE
They may be man's best friend, but dogs have little to thank humans for it seems.
Research suggests the domesticated pets can't solve problems as well as their wild cousins because living with us has made them 'incapable of thinking for themselves.'
In tests, experts presented a 'puzzle box' containing food to a group of dogs, and a group of wolves and while the wolves were capable of breaking inside, the dogs looked to humans for help.
Instead they showed signs of look to the humans for some guidance on what they should do.
Dr Monique Udell, an animal behaviour researcher at Oregon State University who conducted the study, said humans appear to have conditioned the animals to not think for themselves.
The results may explain why dogs so often seem to get themselves into a tangled mess with their lead or get their heads stuck in railings or inside boxes.
Dr Udell said: 'Wolves may have more opportunities for independent problem-solving within their environment, and a greater history of success obtaining trapped food independently owing to their relative strength.
'Consequently, dogs' behaviour may be the product of conditioned dependence on humans, or conditioned inhibition of independent problem-solving behaviour when confronted with a novel task.'
Dr Udell gave 10 wolves, 10 pet dogs and 10 shelter dogs a clear box containing a piece of sausage.
To get inside, the dogs needed to pull off the lid using a length of rope.
They were presented with the puzzle both when a familiar human was present and when the human was not absent.
They were additionally given two minutes each to get inside the box.
Eight of the 10 wolves managed to solve the puzzle and eat the snack while just one of the 20 dogs managed the problem.
Dr Udell, whose work is published in the Royal Society journal
Biology Letters, said the wolves tended to be more persistent than the dogs.
When encouraged by a human, the dogs had more contact with the puzzle but only a moderate increase in success.
Dr Udell said it appears dogs have adopted a strategy that matches their lifestyle - where humans will often do things for them.
'Social sensitivity appears to play an important role in pet and shelter dogs' willingness to engage in problem-solving behaviour, which could suggest generalized dependence on, or deference to, human action,' she said.
'While an increased proclivity for looking at humans may represent a cognitive shift in dogs compared with wolves, it does not necessarily suggest cognitive advancement.
'These results suggest dogs' heightened social response may, in turn, interfere with independent problem-solving behaviour.'
Marc Bekoff, an animal psychologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder, told
New Scientist that dogs looking at humans for help with problem solving may actually be cleverer than wolves as they have more advanced social skills.
However, he said it was difficult to generalise when comparing the behaviour of dogs and wolves.
He said: 'The incredible amount of behavioural variability among dogs makes it impossible to talk about "the dog".'
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Who's the bigger dummy? My dogs spend their days sleeping in my bed and eating on my dime while I'm putting in 10 hour days...
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Ya, my STOOOPID dog gets fed every day and eats real meat every 2 days, gets to lay in the sun, gets treats for sitting, shots so she doesn't get sick, gets to play catch and gets to sleep on my bed......My dog is so STOOOOPID compared to a mangy coyote.
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Or maybe the Phd is an idiot.... Not realizing domestic dogs are TRAINED TO NOT TEAR THINGS UP in order to get to something they want.... If she doesn't believe that, she's free to give it a try.... Take one of those wild wolves home with her and see what kind of mess she returns too and then after taking that wolf back to the lab, take a domesticated dog home and see if there even is a mess that she returns to.
Dogs are TAUGHT to NOT tear things up and stay out of garbage and to leave food alone (even food in their reach), whereas wolves are ravenous cavernous walking stomachs and will eat anything they can get to, even if they have to tear and claw their way through it in order to get to it. So all that experiment proved to me is how clueless and stupid the "Phd" idiot is.
