People who prefer cats have suspected it for some time, and now it's been confirmed: dogs aren't as bright as they think they are.

They may have an extra sense, in sussing out what sort of mood their "mum" or "dad" is in.

But when it comes to basic intelligence, Man's Best Friend leaves something to be desired, according to researchers at Exeter University.

In the biggest study of its kind, 75 dogs were tested on their problem solving abilities - and they failed miserably. However, in other ways, they can outshine even human beings.

One of the key exercises they were put through was a means-end test, which involved a tit-bit and a piece of string - as researcher Dr Britta Osthaus explains.

Dutch takes the test

"If you observe a dog, and some food is out of reach of the dog, they dig for it - like if it is under the fridge.

"So if you have a straight piece of string (with food attached to the end), then the digging close to the food just means they dig where the string is - but that doesn't actually mean they understand the string."

This is proved by a second exercise, where two pieces of string are used. One has a titbit on the end, and it crosses another piece of string which has nothing on the end.

In the test, the dogs went to the string closest to them - which wasn't attached to the food.

Britta, with Dutch

Britta said: "They go for the end of the string which is closesst to the food, which is the wrong end.

"Their success rate is below chance, which is how we reach the conclusion they don't understand the string."


Consultant in dog behaviour, Sally Jones, admitted: "They tend to know when we need a cuddle and when we want to play.

"So if you want to call that intelligence, then that's fine. But as far as intellectual ability is concerned then no, they're not canine Einsteins."

However, in other ways, dogs are surprisingly bright - sniffer dogs and guide dogs use all their senses to succeed better in some areas than human beings.

So, although they don't understand means-end connections, the researchers say they are still able to fulfil all their different roles in a human society.

The research is aimed at helping to understand dogs, and how they tick - which in turn can help us to know how we can enrich and improve their welfare.

And there's a very serious side to all this: the study shows we'd be wrong to "humanise" our pet dogs, as they are not the same as us at all. In fact, it can do more harm than good - and even lead to behavioural problems for your pet.