Rude New Study Claims That Dogs Aren't That Smart

Dogs are great pals, loyal and frequently hilarious, especially when you talk to them in a high pitched baby voice and they cock their heads to the side like huuuuh??? But they are, alas, apparently not that smart.

The New York Times reports that according to a new study published in the journal Learning & Behavior, dogs are not “super smart” compared to other animals. The study compared dog cognition to members of other groups such as carnivores, social hunters, and domestic animals, and found that dog cognition is not exceptional. Dr. Stephen Lea, who came up with the idea for the study, told the paper that “almost everything a dog claimed to do, other animals could do too.”

God, how rude!

Granted I’ve always thought cats are smarter than dogs given how they always have an air of “bitch, I’m better than you” about them and I just hang my head like the lowly human I am and accept it. Lea says that we tend to think of dogs as being super smart because of their ability to be easily trained, but I also personally suspect that their proximity to us humans has made them seem more refined than they really are given how much we project onto them.

Listen, superior intelligence or not, as long as these good boys can save me after falling into a well, I’m team dog.