In this 2021 review published in Animal Cognition, Brian A. Hare and Morgan Ferrans explored how cognitive skills play a decisive role in determining whether dogs excel in service, detection, assistance, or protection work. While traditional selection methods rely on observing temperament and behavior, this article emphasizes that cognition may be the underlying driver of working dog success.
The authors explain that through domestication, dogs evolved socio-cognitive abilities that match or even rival some primates, including the ability to read human gestures, respond to communication cues, coordinate behaviors, and engage in cooperative problem-solving. These traits are especially crucial in working contexts where partnership, attentional control, decision-making, and adaptive reasoning are required.
Recent studies have identified cognitive skills that strongly correlate with working success, including:
• Social inference and gesture reading – recognizing human intent and interpreting body language
• Problem-solving and cognitive flexibility – adapting to novel challenges and environments
• Impulse control and delayed gratification – regulating emotional responses under pressure
• Attention stability – sustaining focus despite distractions
• Cooperative communication – aligning action with human guidance
Hare and Ferrans highlight that cognitive traits show developmental stability and can be measured early in life, offering a promising pathway for improving selection, breeding, and training protocols. The authors suggest that cognitive testing could help detect promising candidates before costly training investments are made.
They conclude that the success of working dogs arises not only from learned behaviors, but from evolved cognitive capacities that enable cooperation, interpretation, and partner engagement. By embracing cognition-based selection, working dog programs may improve performance outcomes and efficiency.
Source: Hare, B. A., & Ferrans, M. (2021). Is cognition the secret to working dog success? Animal Cognition. Published March 1, 2021.
