How Smart Is UR Pet?
Dr Nitin Mehta MSc, PhD, FICN, Dip.in Lib Sc;&Hosp.Admn.

Scientists have been studying the pets who share our lives.

Some findings:

• The IQ of dogs has been raised by contact with humans. They are more skilled at reading human signals than their close relatives e.g; wolves & chimpanzees.
• Dogs learn by observing humans, can count too.
• Cats can solve problems .They learn from trial & error & by observation. Their power of recall is superior .An adult cat has the IQ of an toddler. A sign of intelligence is seen when it’s hard to get cat to perform on cue for a reward.

Then we all want to know or believe our pet is smart as it seems, & every now & then we read a dog or cat does something astonishing in crisis like saving a life or mere gesture to save your face before others. Let me tell you a story about my she- dog, Mishty, a Lasha Apso breed. I took her to my colleague’s house, so that she can play with few children there.After some time she was not to be found, but was seen in the toilet of the guest’s house. She didn’t want to embarrass all of us .And even though by any standard of being a meek dog, she used to bark all the time at one plumber used to work in our house.

The real question is: how much do animals really know? scientists are seeing evidence of higher mental abilities in a wider range of animals now than previously known or imagined, observed unexpected traits & skills .Empathy for them is an important & difficult to prove, as actions do not always imply intent. Empathy relies on self awareness that only an animal recognizes itself, can understand another’s plight. Can it be proved that an animal knows that it is a separate creature from others, the case of animal empathy becomes stronger? A widely used mirror test for a sense of self is to see an animal recognizes & reacts. A white mark is put on the forehead of the animal, then placed before the mirror .Monkey, cats & rats reacts as though encountering another member of their species & unlike dolphins, great apes & elephants did not show any curiosity about the white mark. However, not much is known about how elephants use their brains – they have the largest brain of any land animal. Elephants used the image to guide their trunks to examine the white mark on the forehead. This may mean that elephant recognize that another animal or human needs help & thus have the capacity of empathy. Examples of animal empathy have been noted very sparsely. We have to be ready to accept that the animals may be conscious or smart .The stories narrated in our children’s book about the merchant gets all his “topies” back as monkeys showed a form of empathy. It is said a Russian scientist could get a chimp to come down the roof only after she pretended she was hurt .We are now much clear or free to talk their mental & emotional processes.

The use of tools or weapons need high intelligence, the idea that animals use weapons probably was the stuff of science fiction films. The understanding of their origins be broadened as the insight into their intelligence, empathy & foresight shed some more light.

Scientists have evidence that animals have higher mental abilities in a wider range of animals than previously imagined,& willing to say animals are intelligent .More studies in their nature will increase our respect for them, already there are ample animal loving people around the world.