Many people ask the question, “how smart are dogs?” Most often the question is asked as “how smart is my dog?” Like humans, canine intelligence comes in many forms. The key in working with your dog is understanding in which areas your dog is intelligent. Fully understanding your dog means understanding the way he thinks. Does your dog think more with facts or feelings? Does your dog have a good memory? Do your dog have good communication skills?

As part of my career, I am continuously completing seminars, meetings and coursework regarding new findings in canine research. Throughout the past several months, I have been involved in a course with Dr. Brian Hare studying Canine Intelligence and Cognition. Dr. Hare is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University. He founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center when he arrived at Duke University, dedicated to the study of canine psychology. Dr. Hare and his team of experts developed a program known as Dognition which involves a playful, fun method of determining how your individual dog’s mind works.

So, which factors are analyzed when determining your dog’s overall mental profile? Dognition has five core areas which are analyzed: memory, reasoning, cunning, communication and empathy. You will learn about these five core areas following the completion of interactive games you play with your dog.

There are 20 games involved with a Dognition assessment. Each game can be played at home with their owner. There are detailed instructions and how-to videos to walk you through how to play each game properly. Dognition also allows you to record your dog’s responses for close analysis. Literally, all you need is an internet connection and a few household items.

Once the Dognition Assessment is completed, you will receive a unique report tailored specifically to your dog. The report will be approximately 10-15 pages and provide you with the method(s) your dog is using to learn. This will also break down the results of each game for you.

The Dognition Assessment also provides you with a report outlining your dog’s profile type. The profile type is based upon the characteristics your dog showed while learning. The profile types include Ace, Charmer, Socialite, Expert, Renaissance Dog, Protodog, Einstein, Maverick and Stargazer. This allows you to gain a better understanding of your dog and enhance the bond you share.

This was particularly interesting to me because dog owners often want the strongest bond possible with their dog. I also have many clients who ask, ‘how can I make our bond stronger?’ or say ‘I am struggling bonding to my dog and I do not understand why.’ Dognition is an excellent resource to strengthen the bond you and your dog share. Sometimes, the reason a bond is ‘lacking’ is because the dog owner is unsure of how to best communicate with their dog. This assessment will allow dog owners to understand how their dog reacts and what they react best to. Even if you and your dog have a strong bond, this will further enhance that bond.

In addition to learning about your own dog, the information from Dognition is passed along to researchers to answer questions about canine behavior which may have never been answered before. Conventional approaches to studying canine behavior are often difficult to gather critical data from. Dognition allows the dog to work with his or her owner in the comfort of his home which results in more accurate results. Dogs are attached to their owner and allowing each dog to be completely comfortable playing with their owner yields more accurate results.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Hare and his team of experts, want to learn more about Dognition or are interested in viewing results collected from the Dognition Assessment thus far, you can visit www.dognition.com. I am also available to answer any questions you may have regarding Dognition. You can reach me via the ‘Contact Me’ form on AmberLDrake.org or via my e-mail at ProfAmberDrake@gmail.com.