Bailey's High School exit exam... j/k!

Bailey and I saw a book at Petsmart the other day, and it was a book to test how smart your pet was. It struck my curiosity and even though i didn't buy the book, i came home and did some internet searches and found this website. It basically gives you some simple tests to see how smart your pet is! Bailey and I had some bonding time, and he was actually excited to do these tests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/pets/testyourpet/tests/static/dog_1.shtml

The first test we did was the paw preference test, test #1. I decided to use a pet bowl that had a small opening in the handle. i knew is snout was too big to get the treat (freeze dried chicken ... mind you he was a little nuts about getting it), and even though sometimes he was able to reach it with his tongue (haha), he did paw at it. i let him get the treat everytime he pawed at it so i could "measure" which paw he used. He caught on quickly and I got some samples. The first paw was left left left, then it was right right right (he swiped quite furiously!!), then right right right, then another right, then a left, then a couple of more rights. Basically, after sampling like 10 times, i found that a majority of the time, he swiped with his right paw.

The results of this test told us that:
"Your dog appears to be right-handed. Right-handedness in humans is often associated with language ability and a logical mind. There is some evidence that right-handed animals can be better at remembering and using words, so maybe your dog understands more of your conversation than you had thought!"

I tend to agree. Bailey is quite vocal and has a variety of "noises". hah! but hes defintely keen on picking up words. I named a couple of important toys, and whenever he hears these names, his eyes and eyes perk up and hes ready to play. Same with doggie friend names. He is also good with visual cues.

The next test I opted to do was test #4 "Rounding the Bend" . We placed a treat on the other side. Bailey must be having brain spasms because I couldn't get a consistent answer from this one. The first time we did it, he went immediately to get it. The second time he tried to suck it up with his tongue through the crack, then looked at me and smiled, then eventually went to the opposite side to get it. Then, the rest of the times, he immediately went to theother side to get it. Should i say.. that the second time was a brain fart?? Hah!

Apparently this requires a lot of brain power. I knew Bailey would pass with flying colors because he already exhibits this kind of behavior at home. We have a door in the hallway, that, once opened, blocks the hallway, thus now allowing bailey to pass. Once i open the door and its inbetween bailey and I, he immediately knows to circle around to my side, all the way through the dining room and kitchen. I guess it sounds pretty simeple, but he doesnt just sit there and wait for the doorway to open up.

Bailey sitting for the treat

first pass - going directly to the treat

smart booger

second time - just sat there and stared at mom

then tried to be a vacuum through the crack

but eventually got over his brain fart

The third test we did was the test #3 "drop the treat". Basically, you stand in front of your pet , with a table inbetween you with a cushion on it, and drop a treat on the pillow instead of on the floor to test if your dog understands the treat is on the pillow vs. the floor. When I performed this test,on the first try bailey looked at the ground then looked at me then the table. every single time after that, he would only look at the table once dropped and he made a sound in his mouth like he caught the treat. silly him. anyways this apparently demonstates that your pet understands the way horizontal objects relate to one in the world. I guess that would make bailey above average in that area.

I've also thought about what kind of student bailey would be if he was in school. Have you? i.e. the jock, the nerd, the cheerleader,the class clown, the social outcast, etc. Bailey, I know would be a cross between jock and the class clown (weird combo i know). He's studly and acts like he knows it but he's really funny. :)

Who really knows if these tests are accurate, but i found them fun to try!!!!!