Woof, Woof!

A team of Hungarian scientists "has been studying canine cognition for the past decade and, in the process, has built a body of experimental evidence that suggests dogs have far greater mental capabilities than scientists have previously given them credit for. 'Our experiments indicate a high level of social understanding in dogs,' [Vilmos Csányi] says. In their relationship with humans, dogs have developed remarkable interspecies-communications skills, says Mr. Csányi. 'They easily accept a membership in the family, they can predict social events, they provide and request information, obey rules of conduct, and are able to cooperate and imitate human actions,' he says. His research even suggests that dogs can speculate on what we are thinking." More.