Comments on: To Get at Treats, This Dingo Uses Tools http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/ Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:34:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Tiara http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31878 Tiara Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:14:10 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31878 I saw a goat push an igloo style dog house in its pen used for shelter over to the fence and climb out. I was doing morning chores and the dang goat had gotten out twice already. The second time I put it back in, I noticed the igloo was not in the same spot it had been all winter. It had been frozen in place. With spring thaw, this canny capricious caprine, butted it close enough to the fence to leap out. I didn't believe this possible at first but moved the igloo back away from the fence. The third time it got out, the igloo was again closer to the fence. I was getting pretty certain this time that teleportation was unlikely and a hard head was. I moved it away again and went out of sight. Sure enough within a few minutes, that dang goat started to butt it closer to the fence. He stopped twice, jumped on top and seemed to gauge the distance, butted it closer and was just crouching for a jump when I stepped in sight and bellowed at him. I had a halter and lead rope ready and moved him to an indoor stall until some fence posts were pounded in around the igloo to make it immobile. Was it deliberate? perhaps not at first. The goat may have been simply toying with it by butting it. Butt--pardon the pun, when the igloo was close enough, he did take advantage of its proximity to get out and later on it was clear, he was moving it with purpose, butting on the side away from the fence, not random butting. I saw a goat push an igloo style dog house in its pen used for shelter over to the fence and climb out.
I was doing morning chores and the dang goat had gotten out twice already. The second time I put it back in, I noticed the igloo was not in the same spot it had been all winter. It had been frozen in place.

With spring thaw, this canny capricious caprine, butted it close enough to the fence to leap out. I didn’t believe this possible at first but moved the igloo back away from the fence. The third time it got out, the igloo was again closer to the fence. I was getting pretty certain this time that teleportation was unlikely and a hard head was. I moved it away again and went out of sight.

Sure enough within a few minutes, that dang goat started to butt it closer to the fence. He stopped twice, jumped on top and seemed to gauge the distance, butted it closer and was just crouching for a jump when I stepped in sight and bellowed at him. I had a halter and lead rope ready and moved him to an indoor stall until some fence posts were pounded in around the igloo to make it immobile.

Was it deliberate? perhaps not at first. The goat may have been simply toying with it by butting it. Butt–pardon the pun, when the igloo was close enough, he did take advantage of its proximity to get out and later on it was clear, he was moving it with purpose, butting on the side away from the fence, not random butting.

]]> By: Yulek http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31877 Yulek Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:10:41 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31877 Well, dogs can operate handles on doors to free themselves, can work in teams and while I have not seen a dog moving items to get somewhere they normally can't get, it is not beyond their capability to do so. Also, being able to train an animal to do something it means that animal has understood what you want it to do (for example sniffing dogs know, that they will get a treat if they sniff say drugs and expect to get it). So most likely all animals have cognitive abilities, after all, they too have brains and those brains are neural networks, just like human brain. Well, dogs can operate handles on doors to free themselves, can work in teams and while I have not seen a dog moving items to get somewhere they normally can’t get, it is not beyond their capability to do so.
Also, being able to train an animal to do something it means that animal has understood what you want it to do (for example sniffing dogs know, that they will get a treat if they sniff say drugs and expect to get it).

So most likely all animals have cognitive abilities, after all, they too have brains and those brains are neural networks, just like human brain.

]]> By: Geack http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31876 Geack Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:30:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31876 @Bren 1. People, scientists in particular, like to record and study the world around them. No one has observed and publicly recorded a dingo or other canid using a tool in this way. Therefore this is exciting news. It adds to our understanding. Most people have heard stories about how smart their neighbor's dog is. But attempts to get reliable repeatable data of tool use in dogs (independent use, not behaviors taught be people) have turned up nothing. This counts as reliable; now we'll see if it's repeatable. @Bren 1.
People, scientists in particular, like to record and study the world around them. No one has observed and publicly recorded a dingo or other canid using a tool in this way. Therefore this is exciting news. It adds to our understanding.

Most people have heard stories about how smart their neighbor’s dog is. But attempts to get reliable repeatable data of tool use in dogs (independent use, not behaviors taught be people) have turned up nothing. This counts as reliable; now we’ll see if it’s repeatable.

]]> By: Iain http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31875 Iain Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:06:51 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31875 @ Kevin N Yes, but still, it went back to the FAILED table attempt scenario and reinvented the outcome to get the treat. So that would indicate some cognitive ability. Something not to be scoffed at, just because we have a lot more cognitive ability. Just as you wouldn't scoff at a lion stalking you as supper. All of us animals have different skill sets and the thrill is to find more of our specialty in other animals. But if one was to look at it objectively, cognition is a scale and we will find it in many, many different creatures in many, many different levels and many, many special instances ( or focus's ). We creatures are all experts in our fields. @ Kevin N
Yes, but still, it went back to the FAILED table attempt scenario and reinvented the outcome to get the treat. So that would indicate some cognitive ability. Something not to be scoffed at, just because we have a lot more cognitive ability. Just as you wouldn’t scoff at a lion stalking you as supper. All of us animals have different skill sets and the thrill is to find more of our specialty in other animals. But if one was to look at it objectively, cognition is a scale and we will find it in many, many different creatures in many, many different levels and many, many special instances ( or focus’s ). We creatures are all experts in our fields.

]]> By: Peg http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31874 Peg Sun, 26 Feb 2012 03:46:20 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31874 @Kevin: Doesn't mean he's forgotten. People repeat previously failed attempts too, knowing full well it didn't work last time. Sometimes it just comes from being angry. Other times it comes from not wanting to believe one can't have what one wants. @Kevin: Doesn’t mean he’s forgotten. People repeat previously failed attempts too, knowing full well it didn’t work last time. Sometimes it just comes from being angry. Other times it comes from not wanting to believe one can’t have what one wants.

]]> By: Kevin N http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31873 Kevin N Sun, 26 Feb 2012 03:04:36 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31873 This is interesting, but I would never go so far as to say the dingo is "smart". This behavior requires the barest of cognitive skills, and the dog can still barely pull it off. When it falls off the table, it tries to jump at the food again, clearly forgetting that it couldn't do this 20 SECONDS AGO. This is interesting, but I would never go so far as to say the dingo is “smart”. This behavior requires the barest of cognitive skills, and the dog can still barely pull it off. When it falls off the table, it tries to jump at the food again, clearly forgetting that it couldn’t do this 20 SECONDS AGO.

]]> By: Tiktaalik http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31872 Tiktaalik Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:02:37 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31872 One of my dogs does that. She's an Australian Cattle Dog, a breed that includes dingo in its ancestry. She pushes the dog food container around to use as a step stool to get up on the counter. Not quite as complicated as this, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of canids do something similar. Smart dingo... One of my dogs does that. She’s an Australian Cattle Dog, a breed that includes dingo in its ancestry. She pushes the dog food container around to use as a step stool to get up on the counter. Not quite as complicated as this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of canids do something similar. Smart dingo…

]]> By: Bren http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/02/24/to-get-at-treats-this-dingo-uses-tools/#comment-31871 Bren Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:27:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=35326#comment-31871 I do not understand why, people continue to be amazed that animals have intelligence. I do not understand why, people continue to be amazed that animals have intelligence.

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