Are goats smarter than dogs? Village experience and laboratory experience (6 photos)

Once upon a time, my grandparents kept goats. A dozen horned animals were a good help in the village: milk, wool, meat and kids for sale were not lying around on the road. But you know, before I somehow never thought about how smart these animals are! For me it was in the order of things that my grandmother talked to the goats as if they were people. Because they understood her perfectly!





I'll be smarter than some people on the road!

No one taught the ungulates special commands, no one trained them the way dog handlers now train dogs. But the horned ones were much smarter than most modern watchdogs. Each goat knew by heart its name, its pen and its turn for milking. They all perfectly understood simple words, like, stop, come to me, you can’t, you can, go away. And all the animals knew perfectly well where they lived and who their owners were.



Today I'll play human. To do this, I will get up early, rise on my hind legs and go to my least favorite job.

The goats woke up at 5-6 in the morning - in time for driving to pasture. Together with a large herd of all the village goats and a shepherd, our charges went far into the fields, and in the evening, like clockwork, they returned back. By this time, all the neighbors were coming to meet their animals. And no one ever had to separate the goats by hand: already on the approach to the village, they themselves scattered into groups and each went to their owner. It happened that my grandfather was unable to meet our people - so they themselves came home, entered the yard and dispersed into the paddocks. And now the dogs will break off the leash, run into the neighboring yard - and remember what their name was!





A crowd of schoolchildren rushes to the cafeteria during the big break. The wildlife is amazing!

This story was another confirmation of the modern discoveries of scientists. In the last decade, biologists have begun to study and test the mental abilities of not only the recognized geniuses of the animal kingdom, such as monkeys, dolphins and dogs. Now all domestic animals are under attack: cows, horses, piglets and goats. And what do you think? Goats are almost as intelligent as man's best friends! Now this has been proven not only by my personal experience, but also experimentally!



Close the door, I'm going to sit on the toilet for an hour and do crossword puzzles.

In numerous studies, ungulates demonstrate a variety of cognitive qualities, from long-term memory to the ability to learn from their mistakes. In one experiment, goats were taught to use two levers to open a box and retrieve a treat. Not only did the horned ones master this skill very quickly, but they also remembered for a long time how to quickly get a tasty treat.



You're under arrest for hiding treats from a herd of goats! You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in court!

Another experience was unusual: the goats were offered two options for a treat: one behind a closed door, the second lying just like that. So, in almost half of the cases the animals chose what was behind the door. But why? After all, it’s much easier to take the treat that lies in front of you! Scientists believe that overcoming difficulties allows animals to feel some control over their environment, and perhaps their whole life, which makes goats feel comfortable. Doesn't seem like primitive behavior, right?



Goats can be taught quite dog commands. For example, “sit”, “give me a paw”, “serve” and much more. Some even put on a circus show with trained animals!

In the third experiment, in addition to the container with food, there was an ordinary person in the room with the goats. If the biped stood facing the container, most goats looked into its eyes and tried to establish visual contact. This is usually done by companion animals and small children in the hope that an adult will help complete a difficult task and get a tasty morsel. That is, this is not just a look, but a whole intention aimed at communicating with a person!