Donnie the intelligent Doberman (OPEN FOR COMMENTS)

[allanboi]

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A segment on the National Geographic TV channel caught my eye yesterday evening. It featured a Doberman Pincher named Donnie, with apparently some unusually advanced cognitive abilities. It seems that Donny is a designer, arranging his toys in geometric patterns.

Donnie lives in a home with a large yard, and his owners supply him with some 80 stuffed animal toys of various kinds. After a while they noticed that the dog was arranging the toys in patterns, and sometimes according to type. Barbara Smuts, a researcher from the University of Michigan was contacted, and looked into it.

First, Smuts set out to determine if the claims were legitimate. She set up several video cameras to observe the dog, and watched his behavior herself -- viewing him with binoculars from the house window.

In time she became convinced that the dog behaves as claimed: Donnie places the toys in straight lines, triangles, and circles; he sometimes groups toy primates together, and toy frogs together. At times he appears to link chains of toys together, as if they were holding hands. Smuts is apparently convinced that the patterns are done on purpose, and are not a result of random play by the dog.


Making circles

[img width=500 height=375]http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2633/33oj0.jpg[/img]
Although Donnie has about 80 toys of many different kinds, he often seems to choose similar toys for particular arrangements, as in the "frog triangle" below.

[potterboy]

cute.

[JaM_meE]

wow

[eskeryon]

Yes! nakakita ko ini sa Nat Geo and its amazing!

[edgeowns]

Are you saying our dobbies arent intelligent?! :P

[allanboi]

Bred for a century to be an outstanding guard dog, the Doberman Pinscher is intense and energetic with tremendous strength and stamina. Versatile, highly intelligent and very easy to train. Determined, fearless and assertive, but not vicious. Noble, loyal and affectionate with the family. It likes to be physically close to the family members. Devoted and watchful, this is a very people oriented breed.

[gwapo_gyud]

wow! i hope ing-ani ka intelligent ako dobie

[allanboi]

Basin bro wala pa nimu na discover,bryt man jud ang mag dobes,up for the dobes!

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

I named my 5 month old Dobbie " CUBA " ... siya ang akong ka textmate hehehe .