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Who is smarter dolphins or dogs?


There has long been a debate over whether dolphins or dogs display greater intelligence. Both species exhibit complex behavior and cognition that suggests high levels of mental capability. Determining which is “smarter” depends on how intelligence is defined and measured. This article will compare dolphins and dogs across various metrics of intelligence to shed light on their relative cognitive abilities.

Brain Size

One way to compare intelligence is to look at brain size relative to body size, known as the encephalization quotient (EQ). Animals with larger EQs tend to be more intelligent.

Animal Average Brain Weight Average Body Weight EQ
Bottlenose Dolphin 1,700 g 150-650 kg 4.14
Border Collie Dog 90 g 12-20 kg 1.55

The above table shows that dolphins have a significantly larger EQ than dogs, suggesting greater problem-solving skills and capacity for complex cognition. Bottlenose dolphins have the highest EQ outside of humans at 4.14, compared to dogs which range from 1.15-2.21 depending on breed. The higher EQ of dolphins indicates that their large, complex brains confer greater general intelligence compared to dogs relative to body size.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness, or having a sense of self, is considered a sign of higher intelligence. Studies show dolphins recognize themselves in mirrors, while dogs do not. When marked with a colored dot in invisible ink, dolphins will examine the mark on their body when in front of a mirror. Dogs do not seem to recognize their reflection.

The ability to be aware of oneself as separate from others demonstrates complex self-concept in dolphins. Dogs likely have some sense of identity through scent, but do not pass the visual self-recognition test that dolphins do. This suggests dolphins may be more self-aware and have a more advanced sense of self than dogs.

Communication

Dolphins have an intricate language system encompassing a wide range of sounds, postures, and touch. Recent studies identified over 1000 distinct dolphin sounds used in different social contexts. Dolphins communicate identity, emotions, and activities through their sophisticated vocalizations.

Dogs also display complex communication abilities. Dogs can learn hundreds of verbal commands and read human gestures and expressions. However, dogs lack the elaborate language system seen in dolphins. The advanced vocal repertoire of dolphins may indicate greater social and communication skills.

Problem-Solving Skills

Studies have found dolphins can understand abstract concepts, use tools, and apply logic to solve complex problems. For example, dolphins can:

  • Quickly mimic the actions of other dolphins
  • Understand numerical concepts like “less than” or “greater than”
  • Comprehend symbolic representation of objects
  • Innovate novel behaviors to solve problems

Dogs also display intelligence when solving problems, such as:

  • Understanding object permanence (items exist even when unseen)
  • Learning to operate mechanical devices to get rewards
  • Responding accurately to human pointing gestures

However, dolphins show abilities to think abstractly, apply learned behaviors creatively, and rapidly understand symbolic information that exceeds the problem-solving intelligence displayed by dogs.

Social Complexity

Dolphins live in large, complex social groups with dynamic relationships and alliances. They cooperate and coordinate with others, sometimes working in teams, to accomplish tasks. Their groups have complex social structures with stable long-term relationships between individuals.

Dogs form close attachments with humans and can get along with other dogs. However, the degree of social complexity in dog groups does not compare to that of dolphin pods. The highly elaborate social structures of dolphins require greater social intelligence.

Mimicry and Deception

There are many anecdotal reports of dolphins tricking humans and con-specifics through mimicry and deception. For example, dolphins may pretend to be injured to attract people’s attention or fake actions to steal fish from other dolphins. These behaviors require advanced understanding of others’ perceptions.

While dogs do engage in some deceptive behaviors like fake limping, their social mimicry and deception does not appear to be as complex or prevalent as that seen in dolphins. The ability of dolphins to model and manipulate the behaviors of others demonstrates social cognition used for adaptive purposes.

Play Behavior

Play activities in young mammals are important for developing cognition, physical skills, and social bonds. Dolphins are known to engage in elaborate object play and social play-fighting from a young age. Dolphins playfully invent novel behaviors like creating bubble rings or balls.

Puppies also learn through play with objects, other dogs, and humans. However, dolphin calf play seems more extensive and includes behaviors like creating toys, suggesting greater cognitive complexity. The long developmental period for play in dolphins allows greater time to learn and practice important survival skills.

Observational Learning

Dolphins show high rates of observational learning. Dolphins can watch the behavior of others and quickly copy novel behaviors. For example, dolphins learned to walk on their tail after observing humans on TV, without any training. This capacity for fast social learning indicates advanced cognitive abilities.

Dogs also learn many behaviors by observing humans and other dogs. But dogs seem to rely more on conditioning and reinforcement to learn, compared to dolphins’ rapid mimicking through observation alone. The tendency of dolphins to immediately reproduce the intricate behaviors of others highlights their aptitude for social learning.

Multisensory Intelligence

Dolphins possess good eyesight and excellent echolocation for navigating. But they also have acute hearing, touch, taste and smell that they integrate to gain a multisensory understanding of their environment. For example, dolphins can identify objects purely through echolocation, without using vision.

Dogs rely primarily on scent, sound, and vision in perception. While dogs have outstanding sensory abilities tailored to life on land, dolphins have more diverse sensory adaptations that provide detailed underwater perception. Integration of multiple senses gives dolphins enhanced environmental awareness that dogs cannot match.

Transmission of Knowledge

Dolphins transmit ecological and social knowledge across generations, maintaining cultures. For example, tool-use practices and unique vocal dialects are passed on over time and shared within certain populations. Mothers even teach their calves specific hunting methods.

Dogs may learn some hunting and survival techniques from parents or packs but lack the rich cultural transmission displayed in dolphins. The preservation of learned dolphin behaviors, dialects, and tool-use over generations demonstrates a type of cultural intelligence.

Working with Humans

One area where dogs outshine dolphins is in their ability to communicate with and work cooperatively with humans. Dogs have been selectively bred over thousands of years to follow human directions and cues. Today, dogs work alongside humans successfully as service dogs, shepherds, hunting dogs, and in many other roles.

In contrast, dolphins generally do not work cooperatively with people other than in captivity. While training dolphins is possible, they have not undergone the extensive domestication that adapts dogs so well to integrating with human needs and tasks. When it comes to working with humans, dogs show greater capability compared to dolphins.

Neuroplasticity

Dolphins have larger and more convoluted brains with greater neocortical elaborations compared to dogs. The dolphin neocortex also contains more spindle cells that are linked to higher cognition, emotions, and social awareness.

Research shows the dolphin brain has abundant neuroplasticity, with seasonal changes in brain structure and growth of new neurons throughout life. Their brains are capable of extensive remodeling based on environmental and social variables. The highly plastic dolphin brain allows greater adaptation of cognitive abilities and behaviors.

Conclusion

Overall, dolphins demonstrate more traits associated with intelligence, from self-awareness to complex communication, problem-solving, sociality, and cultural transmission of knowledge. Dolphins show flexible learning abilities, mimicry, abstraction, tool-use, and multisensory perception that exceed canine cognition.

Dogs excel when it comes to model sensory capabilities adapted for land environments and integration into human tasks and communication. But dolphins outperform dogs in multiple metrics of general intelligence, especially those relating to social cognition, innovation, and plasticity. While both species are highly intelligent in their own ways, when the full range of intellectual capacities are considered, the balance tips toward dolphins as the smarter species between the two.