Why dogs are actually bird brains compared with pigeons

THEIR owners may often ask “who’s a clever boy?” But dogs are in fact no smarter than goats, sheep or pigeons, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Exeter reviewed more than 300 papers on animal brain power, comparing dogs with other domestic animals and carnivores such as wolves, lions and hyenas.

They found that dogs were at least matched by several species in each of these groups when it came to cognitive ability. For example, dogs are unable to recognise themselves in a mirror, unlike chimpanzees and dolphins.

Goats, pigs, dolphins, seals and sea lions do at least as well as dogs at following human pointing.

Pigs are equally able to identify humans by smell, while sheep, pigeons and chimpanzees can identify them by their face. Cats do at least as well as dogs at identifying humans by voices.

Prof Stephen Lea, of the University of Exeter, said the research identified several cases of “over-interpretation” in favour of the abilities of dogs in studies.

“During our work it seemed to us that many studies in dog cognition research set out to ‘prove’ how clever dogs are,” he said.

“Yet in each and every case we found other valid comparison species that do at least as well as dogs do in those tasks.”

The research was published in the journal Learning & Behavior.