By Chase & Jan Tomlinson
Several years ago, my mom had me in a cognition study at Duke University while she was taking an online class there in dog cognition. I got to do all of the fun tests and did all of the work, but SHE got the diploma! I thought you might like to see the results of my tests and who I really was.
The overall evaluation showed me as a charmer! A smooth operator, the charmer relies on his secret weapon—his mom. I could work a problem out on my own as well as anybody, but I preferred to rely on MY secret weapon, my mom.
As a charmer, I had exceptional social skills, which meant I could read your body language like a book. I was not above using this information to get my own way. I was no fool when it came to independent problem solving, and my scores reflected a keen understanding of the physical world. However, my real genius was that I saw my mom as an ally and partner, and I would visually turn to her for help before trying to figure out a problem on my own.
Now, on to my “Dognition” Profile. This identified my cognitive style and the strengths I relied on to solve a variety of problems. The profile gave a window into the workings of my mind and would reveal my particular genius. My empathy scores were off the charts! This meant that I had the ability to feel what someone else was feeling. Humans are extremely empathic and it is one of our best qualities. I was totally bonded to my mom.
The tests that I took for this were the yawn game and the eye contact game. If my mom yawned, then I would also usually yawn. Now, that is empathy! The eye contact game was really easy for me as I was really focused on my mom most of the time we were together.
The next was communication. My performance in this was highly collaborative. I paid close attention to my mom’s gestures and what she was trying to communicate to me. Communication is the basis of many relationships including relationships with dogs. Dog and human relationships are very special.
The test I did for this was the arm-pointing game and the foot-pointing game. She pointed to something with her arm and hand, and I knew right away what she wanted. Then she would point to something with her foot and that was just as easy. If she opened the door to my outside kennel and I just stood there, she would point toward the door with her hand and I knew I would better get out the door fast!
The next thing was cunning. I scored as trustworthy in this game. I was trustworthy because I didn’t eat the treat when my mom’s back was turned. I didn’t use her social information to deceive her.
The game for this one was to put a treat down, have her watch me first, then cover her eyes so she couldn’t see me and then turn her back to me. I never did eat that treat!
The next test was the memory test. It seems that I had an amazing working memory. My mom tried to trick me by putting the treat under one cup and then pointed to the wrong cup. I remembered and got it the very first time! I used my memory again rather than my smell, to find the treat a second time. This type of memory is a working memory. A working memory is crucial for any kind of problem solving.
For the reasoning part of my profile, it seemed that I liked to see the pieces before solving the puzzle. This became very important in my obedience and agility training. Because my mom learned all of this about me, it made her a better trainer in how to teach me those things.
I hope some day, your human gets to take a class like this to learn all about you and how you learn!
Signing off for now,
~ Sir Chase ~
