Fair warning: the results may be ruff.
A doggy IQ test is making rounds online that could make it rather simple to learn more about the inner workings of your pup’s mind.
All a dog owner needs is simple materials consisting of treats, a blanket or towel, three plastic cups or containers, cardboard and a stopwatch, according to Canadian dog owner and sociologist Stanley Coren, who created the five-part, point-based rating system.
Use the towel or blanket and let your dog get familiar with it. Then place it over their head and assess how long it takes them to find their way out.
The dog gets three points if they escape in 15 seconds or less, two points before 30 seconds and only one for any later time.
Here’s a simple one.
Place a treat on the floor and cover it with the towel. Next, set a stopwatch and see how long it takes your dog to grab the tasty tidbit.
Again, under 15 seconds is worth three points, 15 seconds to a minute is two points, and anything over is just one.
This one’s a memory exercise.
Take three empty cups and place them upside-down next to one another. While your dog watches, put a treat underneath one of them before distracting the pup for a few seconds.
Then observe how long it takes for them to find the proper cup.
Locating it on the first try is three points, one miss is two points, and it is one point if he checks the wrong two before picking the correct cup.
Put a treat underneath a low piece of furniture that only their paw can access, and set the timer for a trial on problem-solving.
Finding it in under a minute and with only their paw is three points, while using their nose and paws is two. Just one point is awarded if the dog gives up.
Show your doggo a treat through an exposed window in a cardboard barricade that is too high for them to jump over and too narrow for them to fit through.
Next, take exactly a minute to motivate your dog to find a way to get the treat.
If they figure out to walk around in 30 seconds or less, that’s three points; over 30 seconds is two points. Only one is awarded to dogs who barrel through the barrier instead of finding another solution.