Researchers Show That Dogs Can Recognize Pictures and Input Their Knowledge into a Computer

New study shows that dogs are much smarter than anyone ever knew they were. The latest research from the University of Vienna in Austria has shown that a dog has the ability to classify color photos and then demonstrate their knowledge by using a computer.

They have shown, for the first time that dogs are able to form abstract concepts by classifying color photographs and then placing them into categories just like humans do. The dogs were able to give a demonstration of what they learned by using automated touch screen computers, which eliminated any chance that they could have been influenced by any type of human intervention.

They used 4 dogs in the test and they were shown two types of photographs, one consisted of landscapes and the other one was photos of dogs. The dogs were expected to be able to make a selection on the touch screen computer.

The first thing they did was to train the dogs by showing them both the landscape and dog photos at the same time and if they picked the dog picture, they were rewarded with a food treat. Then the dogs participated in two different tests.

In test number one, the dogs were once again shown pictures of dogs and landscapes, but these were completely different than the ones they were trained with. The dogs continued to select the dog pictures, proving that they had the ability to transfer what they had learned in the training to a new set of pictures, even though they had never seen them before.

In test number two, the dogs were shown a completely new set of dog photographs, but this time they were pasted onto the landscape pictures that had been used in the training sessions. This presented the dogs with contradictions. In one case, there was a new positive stimulus because there were dogs in the picture, even though they had never seen these dogs before. Then there was a negative stimulus that was familiar to them, the landscapes.

The dogs had to make a choice between the new dog and the familiar landscape or the new landscape that did not have a dog. Again they selected the pictures with the dogs. This proves that the dogs were able to form a concept by recognizing a dog, although they do not know if the dogs actually thought of the dog pictures as real dogs.

The researchers concluded that they can use this same touch screen technology to compare the cognitive abilities of different species.

The lead researcher on the project is Friederike Range from the University of Vienna in Austria

Source: Springer Science http://www.springer-sbm.com/