Showdown: A recent study found that dogs may actually be brighter than chimpanzeesChimps may be known as the brains of the animal kingdom. But sometimes only dogs get the point.
Scientists pointed at one of two objects, asked for it to be brought to them, and counted up how many times their orders were obeyed.
In the study, the dogs did better than the chimps, despite the chimpanzee’s brain being the more similar to our own.
The team, from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, placed pairs of similar-looking objects, such as a piece of hosepipe and a piece of rope, at the back of a room.
They then pointed to the one they wanted, while order a dog or chimp standing with its back to the objects, to fetch the correct one.If it did as asked, it was given some food as a reward.
Babies are capable of following such orders from the age of 14 months, suggesting the task is relatively simple, at least for the human brain.
Despite this, none of the chimps picked the object that had been pointed out at a rate that was higher than chance. However, more than a quarter of the dogs appeared to understand the task, the journal PLoS ONE reports.
Fur play: Ozzy from in Norwich, UK, shows off his balancing act while Jack, from Los Angeles in the U.S., is demon ice-hockey player The German scientists suggested their results could be explained by pet dogs being bred to follow orders.
They said: ‘Dogs’ special receptiveness to human co-operative communication makes them the perfect social tool for certain activities like herding and hunting.
'One hypothesis is that dogs see human communication as imperatives and spatial directives, ordering them what to do and where to go next.'
Previous research has concluded that dogs make better pets than cats – but only by a whisker.
source: dailymail
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