, 1886-07-10
THE INTELLIGENCE OF DOGS.


Some Remarkable Examples OF Canine
sagacity-A Conclusion.
Quite a remarkable paper on the dogs
intelligence from the pen of a we'll
known French savant appears in The
Popular Science Monthly. From its
title: "What May Animals Be Taught,
the writer's object, which is to show a radi-
cal difference between the human end n
NAL intelligence. He combats the theory
generally accepted at the present day,
that the dogs intelligence, however much
it may differ from mans in degree. is the
same in kind. Thus he says:
IF, while sitting at my table, l say to
my son: viii you be so good as to bring
me my slippers? he will understand me.
II I say the same thing to my dog, in
the same tone and without moving. he
will not understand me. / shall have to
express myself in a particular manner
and a particular tone of voice. He will
understand: 'Mouston, bring the slip
pers!' or 'Mouston, slippers!' or, Nous
ton, bring!' But he will not understand
the cool, calm request that is sufficient
direction to my boy. Provided | make
tn accustomed gesture, the dog will
obey, though l use the wrong word; and
he will not obey. though / use the right
word, if / speak in an Indifferent tone as
if to some one behind the scenes"
Now with all respect to the sagacity OF
this very clever writer, we beg leave to
differ with hin on the point raised, and
with Others who hold to the same theory.
Their contention is, that the action of
the dog in the case cited and in all SIM
liar cases, is the action of an automaton
or machine, made to run asst is directed
without any discourse of reason.
That the dog will not understand as
the boy does, the "cool, calm request, p"
unless it is accompanied by some gesture
or peculiar tone of voice to indicate what
is wanted, we deny. Take for instance
the historical case of the dog near De-
troit, which was left on shore, while his
master was on board a steamboat
anchored in the middle of the river. The
dog makes an effort to reach him by
swimming toward the boat; but the cur
distance below where the steamer is
anchored. AS soon as the dog sees this,
he Immediately swims back again, and
going higher up the shore, again strikes
out for his master; the current carries
him for the second time still below the
boat, but not SO far below as before.
The third time he swims out, starting at
n point still farther up the river than
when he started the second time. Thus
he repeats the experiment several times
more, being careful each time to start
out a little higher up the stream than
before, thus making allowance for the
rapidity of the current in carrying him
down stream, until finally he comes
abreast of the steamer, and is taken
aboard.
If the mental processes which the dog
went through in making these successive
! experiments were not those of reason,
and of reason precisely Ike that which
a human being employees, what in the
name of reason were they? And how
can they be explained on any p%retense or
principle of automatic action?
Again, take the movements of the
noble st. Bernard, which. a few years
ago, accompanied his master through the
principal cities of the United Sta.es, sell
ing some sort of patent medicine. Many
IA time we have seer his master issuing
orders to the dog in a low tone of voice
and with his head bent down, as if to
avoid giving instructions by any pecul-
iarity of tone or any movement of the
body. The orders were like these: Il
want you TO go to that wagon across the
street, where the driver sits with his
whip in his hand, and take a seat beside
him." or: go to that post down the
street, where they hitch horses, and see
if you can stand on it,"
Immediately in each of these cases,
and in others like them, the dog would
deliberately obey the instructions given
him, without his master raising his eyes,
or indicating by any popularity of tone
or gesture what he wished. And nothing
could be more comical than to see the
huge animal mount the post, and after,
perhaps, repeated efforts plant his four
feet in an upright position on the top,
with scarcely room enough for all four,
without putting one On top of another.
No human servant, however well
drilled, could have obeyed the commands
more punctually OF precisely; and none
could have performed the dogs feat.
There is then no difference between the
kind of intelligence shown by the dog
and his master, however great the differ
ence is in degree. American Field.