Austrian researchers have successfully trained dogs to use computers, according to a study published online in Animal Cognition.
Friederike Range and colleagues from the University of Vienna in Austria have shown for the first time that dogs can classify complex color photographs and place them into categories in the same way that humans do, and the dogs successfully demonstrate their learning through the use of computer automated touch-screens, eliminating potential human influence.
In order to test whether dogs can visually categorize pictures, and transfer their knowledge to new situations, four dogs were shown landscape and dog photographs, and expected to make a selection on a computer touch-screen.
In the training phase, the dogs were shown both the landscape and dog photographs simultaneously and were rewarded with a food pellet if they selected the dog picture (positive stimulus). The dogs then took part in two tests.
In the first test, the dogs were shown completely different dog and landscape pictures. They continued to reliably select the dog photographs, demonstrating that they could transfer their knowledge gained in the training phase to a new set of visual stimuli, even though they had never seen those particular pictures before.
In the second test, the dogs were shown new dog pictures pasted onto the landscape pictures used in the training phase, facing them with contradictory information: on the one hand, a new positive stimulus as the pictures contained dogs even though they were new dogs; on the other hand, a familiar negative stimulus in the form of the landscape. When the dogs were faced with a choice between the new dog on the familiar landscape and a completely new landscape with no dog, they reliably selected the option with the dog. These results show that the dogs were able to form a concept i.e. 'dog', although the experiment cannot tell us whether they recognized the dog pictures as actual dogs.
The authors also draw some conclusions on the strength of their methodology: "Using touch-screen computers with dogs opens up a whole world of possibilities on how to test the cognitive abilities of dogs by basically completely controlling any influence from the owner or experimenter."
They add that the method can also be used to test a range of learning strategies and has the potential to allow researchers to compare the cognitive abilities of different species using a single method.
Comments
Dogs are getting smarter
Wow! That's a really great discovery. It just shows that dogs are getting smarter and they are showing us humans what they are made of.
Excelllllent....
Excelllllent....
right....even though I will
right....even though I will have to agree they may be smarter than SOME people...heh
'Ole Dog
Love reading stories like this. Secretly I have always thought dogs and cats have an incredible unleashed ability when it comes to intelligence. What a great post, thanks for sharing.
Awesome!
Now I can have my dog check my email for me.
Justin
Young Dogs and Cats
I've noticed how puppies and kittens are often fascinated with TV. I've seen them "watch" and rush towards the screen when another animal or bird is in the picture. But this tendency always seems to go away as the animal grows up, I guess they are figuring out the difference between a series of dots on a screen and a real-life animal. Good stuff.
Great Article
Makes you think doesnt it, dogs are so intelligent and it would be great to see how the different breeds compare with eachother. nice job
My dog already has become
My dog already has become ugliest hacker on the world.
Dogs and PC
i see dogs with Laptop, hehe..so we could call it LapDog...;)
;-) I'm gonna teach my dog
;-) I'm gonna teach my dog how to blog. When you get a trackback from him, it worked!
Put My Dog to Work
This is quite the story.... now I can put my dog to work!
What next?
So what's next? Cats working on cars?
Animal Cognition
"Now I can have my dog check my email for me." ;-)
What next?
;-) I'm gonna teach my dog how to blog. When you get a trackback from him, it worked!
What next?
Makes you think doesnt it,
Makes you think doesnt it, dogs are so intelligent and it would be great to see how the different breeds compare with eachother. nice job
Animal Magic
This is an amazing story.It never ceases to amaze me what can be achived with the correct animal training
thats nice piece of
thats nice piece of info
thank you for sharing it
good job
pets and anumals
My comment
Dogs slaves
Year 2040:
All robots was destroy because their revolt and now all work of robots must do dogs.
Dogs truely are smart
Theres so many people out there who always say dogs are so stupid but after reading this article I will now share this info with anyone who says dogs are stupid.
Thanks for the
Thanks for the page
TechnologY
Amazing!
Wow - this story is amazing. I always thought that dogs were smarter than we give them credit for, but this takes it to a new level. Wouldn't it be funny to see what videos they would be watching on YouTube?
Dogs
You can even teach them to fish!
OFT
Re: Dogs
Are you serious? I'd love to teach my dog to fish lol!
Love dogs for this.
Now dogs will use our pc's and very soon they will have there owm e-mail id's,they will very soon have social networking sites.
That's really great,dog are the right pick for this work,as they have a great common sence.
Thats nice piece of info
thank you for sharing it
Reall...
The story was interesting to read indeed and fun if nothing else. Thanks for posting it.
Dogs can do just about everything!
A little time and a lot of patience and you can teach your dog to learn!
gizli kamera
Fish most effective food for me , i like from fish very much, and i know many fish foodind and some special Turkish
fish fooding. i want to know new fish fooding and i can do description fish food also. thanks for owner the Article.
Can We Train Dogs?
Great article. I wonder if we can identify the smartest breed of dog and then train these dogs to do more complex tasks
dogs trained to use computers
Interesting study.
I don't know I would classify the landscapes as a negative stimulus, maybe a neutral
Great info!
Wicked info! Was trying to find information on this for a while now!
Interesting Possibilities
What an awesome way to determine the cognitive capabilities of man's best friend! I can't wait to see some of the results of the research to come.
Maybe we'll even be able to determine whether the "smart" animals are really as intelligent as we think they are.
Way Off
I thought I've seen it all before.... wow, was I way off!
Has it all gone to the dogs?
You know, dogs really do rule the world...Can you get some one to take care of you, wake up at night to let you out, feed you? All for fierce loyalty, and unconditional love!
How To Start Training Your
How To Start Training Your Cat Good cat behavior is not something that's reserved for those cat calenders. Real cats and sometimes are a real terror. Clawing your curtains, furniture and everything except the post you bought them. Even worse they can spray or pee on on your carpets or rugs and the smell can drive you out of the house! Before you give up entirely or go out and get a dog you can follow some simple advise and make your life a lot easier. It's a common misconception that cats can't be trained. Many owners believe their cat's are too old, too wild or independent to be trained. Wrong again! You can get wonderful results with your feline if you learn to work with your cat's nature rather than against it. You'll also start building a very tight bond by the interaction during the training process. You can bring even the most difficult to master skills within your cat's reach by proceeding at your cat's pace-not yours.
My dog tells lies
Yep can't trust him anymore,spies for the missus!
Outsource To Your Dog
This is great! Instead of outsourcing all of my web business overseas, I can just hire my dog and pay him in treats!
I had a dog called marlboro
He had no legs so i took him out for a drag
I still say that cats are
I still say that cats are smarter than dogs ;-)
Dog Technology
Wow, dog training on steriods. I like it.
Web Tasarım
thank you for sharing this info
it was very helpful
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its a dogs life!
who says you cant teach a dog new tricks!
Amazing
Is there no limit to the talent of these amazing creatures!
yea!
I second that!
lolz
Amazing! Didn't know they were THAT smart!
In general I agree but there
In general I agree but there are still many open questions.
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