Surprising Insights
Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside your dog’s head? Dogs can herd sheep, guide blind people and sometimes it feels as if they can read your mind, but how much brain power do they actually have? Find out with these 10 fascinating facts about dogs’ brains:
- They understand as much as a toddler. The average dog is as intelligent as a two-year-old.
- Dogs can work out in seconds who is friendly and who is not.
- The part of the brain that analyses smells is 40 times bigger in a dog’s brain in comparison to a human’s. This means that their sense of smell is up to 100,000 times better than ours. Dogs are so good at smelling, they have been trained to sniff out cancerous tumours in humans and can smell blood sugar drops in people with diabetes.
- Dogs have feelings – for example, they experience happiness, fear, depression and excitement.
- Dogs communicate with body language; when a dog is nervous, they turn their head away or lick their lips.
- A dog’s brain responds positively to rewards – an area of the brain called the caudate nucleus aka the reward centre, is packed with dopamine receptors and dopamine is associated with pleasure.
- There is a region in the dog’s brain that enables it to recognise human faces.
- Expert believes that dogs dream because their brains show similar activity when they sleep to human brains. You know your dog is dreaming when they do one or more of the following: twitching paws, barking, swishing their tail, twitching their body, flickering the eyes and breathing heavily. It is thought that dogs’ dreams are important for their wellbeing in the same way that human dreams are.
- The average dog can learn up to 165 words and a really clever dog can recognise up to 250. Some trainers claim their dogs know as many as 350 words. Dogs can also remember numbers and some can do simple calculations. Border collie’s are the smartest, closely followed by poodles and German Shepherds.
- Dogs are smarter than cats. Experts believe this to be the case because they have more twice the number of neurons than cats do.
Understanding how dogs' brains work not only deepens our appreciation for their intelligence and emotional depth but also strengthens the bond we share with our furry companions. From their incredible sense of smell and ability to learn hundreds of words to their emotional responses and dreams, dogs continue to fascinate and surprise us with their capabilities. By recognising their unique traits, we can better support their well-being and nurture the special connection that makes them truly our best friends.