So, you think your dog is smart? Think he or she would do well at a "canine college?"
Researchers across the country are opening school doors to the dogs. And your pet may be exactly what they're looking for.
Timber, a husky mix, is one of many dogs now enrolled in "canine cognition centers." His owner was thrilled to enlist him for duty.
"I thought it would be a really unique opportunity," said Laurie Stenerson.
That's also what dog owner Rhona McKhann thought. She signed up her dog, Angus, at a different cognition center. His task was to figure out how to open a box.
"I wanted him to do something that's fun and useful," said McKhann.
Canine cognition centers are now popping up at colleges and universities across the country.
"We've seen almost an explosion in this work on canines and how they think. You can see new centers opening all the time," said Laurie Santos, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Yale University.
The goal? Researchers are racing to figure out how the mutt mind works--- using your dogs.
"Canine cognition centers are an incredibly promising and exciting thing. It's a whole new research model where rather than having labs full of animals we rely on the animals that are in our communities," said Evan MacLean, Ph.D. assistant professor at the University of Arizona's School of Anthropology.
Scientists in Timber's and Angus' studies are calculating how dogs take cues from humans.
These pooches and others all help contribute to research and published studies, which not only help dog owners understand their furry family members, but how dogs can help us, too.
"We also hope to learn about the ways that dogs solve complex problems, so that we can improve the things they do in society such as helping us to find explosives or helping people with disabilities, or even medical detection work," said MacLean.
This was Timber's first time participating, but Angus has become quite the "professional student" and has racked up lots of "honorary diplomas" in the process.
"Both he and I love to come to do the studies and maybe we're contributing something to science," McKhann said.
Researchers usually look for dogs who are outgoing, friendly and good with people and other dogs.
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