How Smart Are Dogs?

Recently on PBS NOVA science NOW asked the question,
“How smart are dogs?”



We all know that dogs are smart. They learn to follow commands, perform tasks, and work at jobs.

Research tells us that the average dog can understand about 150 words. Their intelligence level is estimated at around the same level as a three-year-old child. Some breeds are considered generally smarter than others, and Border collies are thought to be among the smartest. We know that some of these dogs understand hundreds of words. But the dog on this show - a Border collie named Chaser - showed us that dogs could be even more intelligent than we believed. Chaser has about a thousand toys, and her owner claims that she can identify each one by name. Chaser knows more than a thousand words!

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is the well-known scientist and astrophysicist who hosts this PBS show. He decided to put that theory to the test with an experiment of his own. He asked Chaser to find several of her toys by name, and she got it right every time. Then he decided to see if Chaser could take it one step further. He wanted to see if she could identify a toy that she had never seen before, with a name that she had never heard before, by using the process of elimination.

Dr. Tyson had brought a new toy with him that he named "Darwin". He put Darwin among some of Chaser's toys to see if the dog could pick out. At first, Chaser seemed confused when he asked her to "find Darwin". She had never seen the toy before and did not know the name, but finally she picked out the right toy!

Experiments like this make us realize that dogs are indeed very smart. Just like humans, dogs need to use their brains to keep them sharp. It is not enough to keep their bodies healthy - they need to exercise their minds as well. A challenging situation that tests your dog's problem solving skills is both interesting and fun, and it is also a good way to help keep them mentally engaged. Without these satisfying tests of intellect, boredom will soon set in. A bored dog can soon lose interest in play or even become destructive or lethargic.

Keep your dog mentally stimulated with games and interactive toys.

A Dog Toy That Talks Back

Are you still looking for that entertaining dog toy?

This one is entertaining for both you and your dog. Especially if you have a "ball loving dog", it could prove to keep him busy for a long time.

My dog, Ebony, had one of these when she was a puppy. I must admit that I got tired of the noise long before she got tired of playing with it.

Here is a funny video of a Border Collie and the Babble Ball.

State's Official Dog

An Oregon sheep rancher successfully lobbied state legislators to introduce a bill to designate the Border Collie as the state's official dog. It was introduced last winter and if passes, it will be signed into law.

Dogs have long played a part in our daily lives, and some have played a part in history. Wanting to honor the Border Collies' role in Oregon's agricultural history, the breed may soon become Oregon's Official Dog.

Several states have honored canines by designated them as the official state dog.

Maryland was first in the state dog tradition in 1964 by naming its native breed, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, their official state dog. More recently, the Alaskan Malamute, the largest and oldest of the Arctic breeds, got its designation after an Anchorage kindergartner inspired a group of kids to lobby Alaska's state legislature. In 2009, the rare Chinook became the state dog of New Hampshire after a successful campaign started by a dog-loving science teacher and some enthusiastic students who got a civics lesson, too.

The honored breed often has a longstanding relationship with state residents and represents a part of the state's history. For example, Chinooks were bred by sled-dog driver and explorer Arthur Walden in the early 1900's.

Nine other breeds have been declared official state dogs:

The Catahoula Leopard Dog (Louisiana, 1979) is bred to handle cattle and hogs and has a reputation for size and strength. American settlers in the South developed this spotted breed.

The Boston Terrier (Massachusetts, 1979), bred from crossing Bulldogs and English terriers, was developed after the Civil War in Boston as a strong, smart fighting dog.

The Plott Hound (North Carolina, 1989) gets its name from the German immigrant who settled in North Carolina in 1750 with five Hanoverian Hounds. Plott bred dogs for hunting boar and bear.

The Great Dane (Pennsylvania, 1965) developed in Germany as a hunting and guard dog was widely used as a working dog during Pennsylvania's frontier days.

The Boykin Spaniel (South Carolina, 1985) is a hard-working bird dog which began with a stray dog who had a knack for retrieving waterfowl.

The Blue Lacy (Texas, 2005) was thought to have resulted from a cross between a coyote and a Greyhound, and was developed in Texas in the mid-1800s.

President George Washington bred the American Foxhound (Virginia, 1966) in the 1700s. Today, the breed participates in competitive field trails and fox hunting.

The American Water Spaniel (Wisconsin, 1985), bred to retrieve from boats, was developed in the Great Lakes region of the United States in the mid 1800s.

Smartest Dog

The Border Collie breed is rank number one for intelligence and trainability.

The workaholic of the dog world, the Border Collie is the world’s premier sheep herder, prized for its intelligence, extraordinary instinct and working ability. It is a medium-sized dog and very athletic. The breed controls livestock with stalking movement and an intense gaze known as "eye."

In the border country between Scotland and England, Border Collies (first classified as the "Scotch Sheep Dog") were invaluable to shepherds by allowing them to maintain large flocks of sheep. The breed as we know it today has been around for more than 100 years. In the second half of the 19th century, Queen Victoria spotted a Border Collie and became an active enthusiast. At this point, the divergence between our modern Collie and the Border Collie began.

Is it the right breed of dog for me?

This high-drive breed is extremely energetic and requires exercise beyond just a walk around the block or a romp in the yard. They thrive when they have a job to do and space to run. Due to their tendency to herd objects and people, they do best with mature, well-behaved children. They love their families, but may be somewhat reserved with strangers. They are seasonal shedders, and require regular brushing.

Watch Dazzle dazzle you with her abilities.....

November - Senior Pet Month

Most dogs are considered "senior" at around 7 years of age. This number may be higher for small breed dogs and slightly lower for large breed dogs.

It is hard to believe that Ebony, my black lab/border collie who still acts like a puppy, has now hit the "senior" age bracket. She has begun to get some gray hairs around her chin, too.

"Senior" Ebony with Beard

If your dog is five years old, does that means he is the same physiologic age as a 35-year-old person? Not exactly. The theory that every year in a dog's life is the same as seven years in ours is commonly known, but not very accurate. Size and breed play a major role when considering the age of your dog.

For a more accurate comparison between physiologic age of dogs, follow this formula:

A one-year-old small or medium sized dog is about 15 human years old. When the dog reaches two, he is the equivalent of a 24-year-old person. After that, each year is about four human years. This means that a seven-year-old dog is about the same as a 44-year-old person.

Large and giant breed dogs initially age slower but then age quickly. At one year of age, the dog is about the same physiologically as a 12-year-old child. After that, each year follows the standard seven human years. For giant breed dogs, five years old is considered the beginning of old age.

The average canine life span is around 12 years but differs from breed to breed. By the time most dogs reach seven years of age, they are entering their senior years. The record for the longest canine life span is 29 years.

National Dog Day

It's National Dog Day! (There is a holiday for everything, isn't there?)

August 26th marks the nation's annual celebration of dogs. It is a way to show public recognition for all of the wonderful things about our dogs and to celebrate their love, companionship, loyalty, patience and their amazing capacity to change our everyday lives.

When I think about dogs, I think about certain moments in my life where a dog has really touched me. There are lots of moments. Times when maybe you are a bit down, having a bad day or just touched by your dog's loyalty and compassion.

DOGS I HAVE LOVED

I thought the ideal life would be to live on a farm. Unusual thought for a girl growing up in LA. From an early age I have had a love of animals. Robert Caras said "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." How many of you would agree? Five dogs have graced my life and in my speech I will share the highlights.

After one early dog disaster, I was persistent in begging my “non-animal person” mom for a dog. I was in 7th grade when Mickey (named after Mickey Mouse) entered my life. He was about pocket size as a pup and did not grow much bigger for Mickey was a Toy Manchester. The most unusual thing Mickey did was to curl himself up in his blanket. It was a systemized technique he developed. First he bunched up the blanket with his front paws and push his nose underneath as he threw the covers up over his body. Then he would walk around in circles with his blanket over himself until he was satisfied and lay down in a manner that where the blanket would wrap around him. The funniest part was when someone came to the house. Mickey would bark and you would see this blanket moving across the floor until his head finally popped out.

Pookie was a stray from the pound and a gift from my brother when Mickey died. The poor pup spent the weekend with my brother and his college friends before he was delivered to me. Need I say, he was a bit wild? Pookie became my dad’s dog when I left for Colorado. He brought out my father’s inner child. They were a cute pair.

Sterling Way was named after a Colorado legendary hero who rode a snow shovel down the mountain side to get help for the stranded Moffat Train which was the first train over the Continental Divide. Sterling was a gorgeous Irish Setter and lived up to her crazy namesake. She and I were inseparable pals as we hiked the mountains of Colorado and Oregon. Sterling loved to run through the woods as I rode my mountain bike, and she chased sticks tirelessly on land or in water. I was heartbroken when she died at age 15.

It was nearly two years before I was ready to love another dog. I chose a golden retriever which is very similar in disposition to an Irish Setter, but not as hyper. Lacey was named for the FIRST thing she chewed up. The local vet dubbed her the “miracle dog.” Lacey took head on an automobile at less than one year old. Whenever she did goofy things, which she did often, we blamed the head injury for her limited brain functions. Lacey was the soccer dog and never missed a game or all the attention she received. The hardest thing I have ever done was to put Lacey to sleep at age 13.

A couple of months later both of my children came to visit at Christmas. They decided Mom was too lonely. Do you know that you can dog shop on the internet? Yes! You can search all the animal shelters and rescue organizations and they include photographs. After several phone calls we drove a mere 90 miles just to LOOK at a sister trio of Black Lab/Border Collie pups.

Meet Ebony!


She is incredibly sweet and mischievous. The LAST puppy I raise. If I named her after the items she chewed up her name would wrap around the world! Ebony has cured my SAD. I began taking her on 2-3 mile walks everyday to wear her out so that she would nap and I could get something accomplished. It has now turned into a daily ritual providing me with rays of light physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I no longer need my lightbox. Look at those eyes! She lets me know if we have not had our walk for the day.

I know that a dog will always be a companion of mine. Five dogs have truly graced my life and made my life whole.

Dog Best Friends

It is said that your dog is your best friend.

But, do dog's have best friends? How do you feel about this?

Ginger and Ebony
It is my belief that these two doggies are best friends.

Ginger is a three year old Golden Retriever who has grown up with Ebony, a Black Lab and Border Collie mix, her elder by four years. They are related in the fact that Ginger is my son's dog and Ebony is mine. For the past month, Ginger has lived with us while my son has been in South Africa following world cup soccer.

The two dogs have bonded and are best buddies.


On Friday, Ginger goes home.

"Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow" William Shakespeare

Ebony and the UPS Truck

My dog Ebony was first introduced to the UPS Truck by our neighbor's border collie, Emma, who thought the truck was an object to be chased. Ebony is part border collie and part black lab, so the two of them were seized with excitement to have the job of chasing the UPS Truck down the driveway. Unless I was home, they fulfilled their job.

Moving away, I was glad this job no longer fell to Ebony. She now resides behind an in-ground fence and does not have access to the driveway. Recently, the UPS Truck arrived and I found my dog sitting patiently, tail swishing the ground, next to the garage in anticipation of the truck. When the gentleman handed me my package, he also tossed Ebony a treat. He told me that she use to bark at the truck. Now, she eats out of his hand.



This morning as Ebony and I walked the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington, the UPS Truck was traveling alongside the trail to an adjacent house. Ebony noticed! She went to the fence that separated the trail from the neighboring property and did her patient sit, tail wagging. As the UPS driver passed by Ebony on his way out, he stopped to give Ebony a treat!

Now I ask you, who is trained?

Intelligent Border Collie

Researchers have been working with a Border Collie dog who possesses a vocabulary of over 200 words and seems to show the ability to pick up or work out the meaning of new words on first hearing. The findings are expected to open up a new international debate on the nature of languages.

Rico is a 9 year old Border Collie from Dortmund, Germany. His owners started to teach him the names of toys and various everyday items at the age of 10 months in order to keep him stimulated while he was ill and unable to go out and exercise. Games were developed based on retrieving toys from a box or locations in other rooms. Most of the words he understands are the names of toys.

According to his owners, Rico rapidly developed an expanding vocabulary which now exceeded 200 words, and has demonstrated that he can learn the names of new toys easily - and remember their names many weeks later, even if he had not seen them in the intervening period. Impressed by the dog's apparent understanding of language, scientists have taken him in for tests.

They found that Rico has a learning ability thought to be unique to children. Children learn perhaps 10 words a day with just one exposure. This ability to realise that new words tend to refer to unfamiliar objects is called "fast mapping" and is used by children as they develop the breadth of vocabularies they will need to understand human language. Shown a toy once, Rico learns its name and can, on command, retrieve it from a distant room a month later with a reliability "comparable to the performance of 3-year-old toddlers" said Professor Fischer.

This shows that Rico has a vocabulary size about the same as apes, dolphins and parrots trained to understand words, the researchers say. Such quickness to learn a word eludes chimpanzees, thought to be man's closest relative. Rico has also learned his commands in German and English.

Border collies are among the brightest breeds. Bred to work on farms, they have a particularly good grasp of spoken words. But the scientists believe they have shown something more than the intelligence of the breed, saying that seemingly complex language skills only seen before in children appear to be found in other species.

Watch Rico

Dog Testiness

Does your dog test you? Does your dog constantly keep you on your toes?

I wonder if certain breeds of dogs are more testier than others. What do you think? Ebony is a cross between a Black Lab and a Border Collie. I am not sure which breed is the culprit or if it is the combination breed which accounts for her testiness.

I remember meeting a woman at the park when Ebony was a pup. She insisted that her Black Lab only behaved well walking with a "gentle leader." So I bought one! It worked somewhat, but at about a year old I tried the electronic training collar on her. SUCCESS STORY!

Yet, she still tests me. Each morning when we go for our walk, she likes to inch ahead of me. I do not understand. Is this a test? Or is it that important to her to be in the front? She reminds me of children.

Heal on the RIGHT SIDE?

Ebony, my Border Collie/Black Lab five year old puppy, and I take a daily morning walk in our beautiful wooded neighborhood.  She has been trained to heal on the left side, as most dogs.  But recently, I have learned that at times it would be more convenient and safe for her to be on my right side.  Ebony thinks I am silly and much prefers to be on my left side.  I think it is the Border Collie in her that knows right from wrong and will correct me by moving back to the right side.  My solution after some frustration..................

A "new" command, "Right Side," and it works.  Imagine that?

"Time to Walk!" Says my dog

This morning I looked at the thermometer and it read 29 degrees. The sun was shining and I decided to postpone our morning walk until it warmed up a bit.

Ebony has full freedom of several acres of woods, but loves her morning walk with me. She looks like a small Black Lab, but Ebony is part Border Collie and they are task masters. She does not like it when her morning walks are delayed and will let me know by "THE LOOK."

Ebony came to the door this morning and "THE LOOK" was intense! It was nearly 10am and we have not walked, yet. I quickly got my camera as I have been trying to photograph her expressing her feelings.

Please excuse the nose prints on the window.

Here is "THE LOOK" that says, "Time to walk!"