According to New Study, Dogs Can Form Abstract Concepts

Friederike Range and his colleagues from the University of Vienna in Austria have now for the first time proven that dogs are able to form abstract concepts.
What does this mean?

According to a recent study that's published online in Animal Cognition, dogs demonstrated their learning through computer automated touch-screens. They were being tested on their ability to visually categorize pictures, and then use that knowledge in new situations by making selections on the computer screen.

First the dogs were shown pictures of landscapes and a dog. If they selected the picture of the dog, they were given a treat to let them know they were doing well, because the goal of the study was to see if dogs were able to form a picture of a dog in their mind, and then pick the correct picture.

The researchers then took it to the next level, by adding variety to the pictures of the dog; instead of just showing one dog, they would pick several different dogs in the photos. The dogs would apparently still recognize the dog from the landscape photo, even though they had never seen those photos before. It is however unknown if the canines knew that it was dogs they were shown pictures of.

Next up was a test that would tell the researchers if the dogs were able to form their own image of a dog in their mind, and use this to separate landscape pictures from pictures of a landscape with a dog in. Sure enough, the dogs would choose the pictures that had the dog in, proving the theory that dogs can in fact form abstract concepts.

This research also demonstrates the use of touch-screen computers where there is no human interference in the choices the animals make, and this might show valuable for use in other studies.

These studies are very important, as they help us understand how animal's brains work. It's also very good for the public that these studies and results are published online for everyone to read, as some of these results are indeed surprising. Link to the online version of the journal Animal Cognition is.

Just as a side note to the good news of our canine friends' intelligence; there were only four dogs that participated in this test so it would be a good idea to do it over again with more of a selection of participants as well as information about the canine breed. Would a poodle be able to form an image of a dog in their mind as well as an English Mastiff?

Anyway, very interesting research!