64. The Science of Dog Intelligence

Show Me the Science with Luke O'Neill

We know dogs are close to the top of the pecking order of animal intelligence, but the breadth of dog intelligence might just surprise you, from empathy to jealousy, and lots in between, our canine companions have plenty on their minds. This week Luke explores how, and why, humans domesticated dogs, and what intellectual traits of those first wild animals remain today, and what upgrades and improvements domestication has conferred on them. And then, of course, there’s the big event – ranking the most intelligent dog breeds. Listen and subscribe to Show Me the Science on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.