Every dog is smart in their own way, but not all intelligence is equal. While some dogs can learn every command you teach them, others can learn more obscure concepts like categorizing their toy collection or learning to talk. After observing several canine geniuses, researchers in Hungary have decided to find out once and for all who the smartest dogs in the world are. They’ve gathered six dogs with similar skills, each from a different country. All of them happen to be Border Collies, but any dog can show high intelligence with enough training and motivation. Now, let’s see what exciting adventures these dogs are about to take!
What Makes These Dogs Special?
The idea for this study started when Dr Claudia Fugazza of Eötvös Loránd University met Whisky, an intelligent Border Collie from Norway. Whisky had previously made headlines for knowing the names and categories of her 100 toys. Her humans just have to lay out all the toys, say a toy’s name or type of toy, and Whisky will retrieve the correct toy.
Fugazza explained that while all dogs seem to be able to learn commands, learning the names of items is a trickier concept. For two years, she studied this, but quickly found that not every dog was capable of mastering such an advanced task.
“In two years of our project we could not train dogs to recognize the name of objects,” said Fugazza. “If it was only a matter of associating a sound with an action that would have been possible.”
So, Fugazza and other researchers decided to gather a group of dogs that excelled in recognizing object names for the “Genius Dog Challenge.” They chose five other dogs in addition to Whisky: Rico from Spain, Max from Hungary, Squall from the United States, Gaia from Brazil, and Nalani from the Netherlands. These six dogs will compete in a fun competition that will put their skills to the test.
Watch This Adorable Competition
These dogs will go through a series of tests that will help determine who the smartest dog is. Although smart is a relative term, and Fugazza admits that all the dogs will be considered geniuses in the end. The competition will have six live broadcasts each week on YouTube and Facebook, which will occur between November 11th and December 16th. Each broadcast will showcase two of the incredible dogs.
The study will be focused on two important challenges. The first challenge will require the dogs to learn the names of six new toys in one week. Then, the second challenge will consist of them learning 12 new toys in one week.
Fugazza believes these tests will shed light on how quickly dogs can learn new concepts. She also hopes that if there are other families with dogs with these skills, they will come forward to help researchers learn more about how the canine mind works. While the winner of this competition will be truly gifted, the smartest dog in the world is a concept that’s up for debate. All of our dogs are likely very intelligent in our eyes.
Are you anxious to find out who the smartest dog is? Keep an eye on the study’s YouTube account and Facebook page to see livestreams of these dogs putting their skills to the test. It’s sure to be adorable!
H/T: theguardian.com
Featured Image: @rico.bordercollie/Instagram and @whiskybc/Instagram
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via Whisker Therapy