Whenever we talk about the problems caused by gender differences between men and women, it always leads to a debate of words. In fact, the same is true among animals. In addition to the behavioral differences caused by obvious physical differences, even cognition There is also a certain difference in strength.

What is cognitive ability? It refers to the ability of the human brain to process, store and extract information, which is what we generally call intelligence, such as observation, memory, imagination, etc. For dogs, it is mainly a manifestation of concentration, which includes navigation ability, memory ability, social learning ability, inhibitory control ability, empathy ability, etc. Some dogs may have outstanding social learning abilities but poor memory and empathy abilities, while other dogs may have the opposite effect.

In 2011, in an effort to clarify the relationship between gender and cognition, researchers at the University of Vienna conducted an experiment to find out whether dogs, like people, can't see, hear, or touch objects. , and still be curious enough to find its location.

A total of 50 dogs were found in this experiment, including golden retrievers, poodles, Australian shepherds and mixed breeds. They were divided into 25 male dogs and 25 female dogs. The researchers tied two blue tennis balls of different sizes together with a string, then placed the dogs opposite the balls and used a wooden board as a visual obstruction, then tested them in four scenarios:

· After the ball rolls to the wooden board, it will appear again after staying;

· After the big ball rolls to the wooden board, it will appear again after staying;

· After the small ball rolls to the board, the big ball will appear again after staying there;

· After the big ball rolls to the board, the small ball will appear again after staying.

According to the experimental results, it was found that there was a clear difference in the reactions of male dogs and female dogs. The male dogs did not notice any change in the size of the blue tennis ball at all, but the female dogs immediately noticed it. In the next two scenes, after the female dog saw that the sphere coming out from behind was different from the previous one, she stared at it for about 36 seconds, which was three times longer than the previous scene where the sphere of the same size disappeared and reappeared. about.

Researchers at the University of Vienna concluded that female dogs have a higher cognitive ability than male dogs in this visual change. At least in terms of information processing, the gender difference in dogs does lead to differences in the way information is processed. The reason is probably due to changes in the process of evolution. Female dogs need to always pay attention to the whereabouts of their puppies, but because the body odors of newborn puppies are almost the same, smell alone is obviously not enough, so they are smellier than male dogs. Rely more on vision. As for male dogs, their sense of smell is obviously higher than that of female dogs, so almost all tasks that need to be completed in tracking projects are done by male dogs.

But ask me whoWho is smarter? Then I really can't make a choice. After all, it's just a different way of cognition. Due to the influence of testosterone, male dogs will be more competitive than female dogs under pressure, and they will also be more competitive in terms of physical strength and endurance. Better than a female dog. But gender differences also show up in aspects other than cognitive abilities.

·Aggression

Among dogs, especially male dogs, aggression is the best way to gain a competitive advantage. It can defend territory and prevent other dogs from wanting to possess their own food or compete for female dogs. It can also ensure that one's own class status.

Although in daily life, such aggressive dogs are not welcomed by humans, but in specific background situations, such as military dogs and guard dogs, they still need to be aggressive to a certain extent. Of course, this must go through strict training. Under training and supervision.

Compared with the causes of aggression in male dogs, female dogs appear to be single. Only during the process of pregnancy and taking care of puppies will their personality become extremely sensitive due to hormonal reasons, resulting in a strong tendency to attack. Interviews with 1,000 dog families found that female dogs’ aggressive behavior was mainly directed at other dogs of the same sex.

In a study of 20 dogs of different breeds, it was found that male dogs were more aggressive than female dogs towards other dogs and strangers, but this aggression could be reduced once neutered Sex, the results show that this aggression has a certain relationship with the level of male hormones in the body.

· Brain laterality

Lisa Tomkins, a professor at the Australian University School of Medicine, found in her research that dogs with right-brained hemispheres change their hair in a clockwise direction, while dogs with left-brained hemispheres change in a counterclockwise direction. There is a close relationship with the performance. The passing rate of dogs with front chest hair turned clockwise is 29% during the training process, while the passing rate of dogs with counterclockwise direction is not only twice that of dogs with clockwise direction, but also has a more stable and stable performance. Full of energy. Scientists speculate that the connection between hair whorls and brain development may be related to the fact that the nervous system and cortex share the same ectodermal embryonic beginnings.

In the original hemilateral study of dogs, researchers covered a cloth with a cloth and then observed which paw they would use to try to move the cloth away. More than 50% of the dogs used their right paw, and 18% of the dogs used their right paw. The left claw is used, and the remaining 25% is left and right. More than 70% of 50% of the dogs are female dogs. Can it be said that female dogs use the right side of their brains more than male dogs?

If you are interested, in addition to the above, you can also try these methods at home.

· Give it a handshake command and see which paw comes out first more times.Many;

·Put food/toys under the sofa and see which paw reaches out first;

· Put a small piece of tape on his nose and see which paw he uses to remove it;

· Place a toy (such as a food leaking ball) where he can see it, making sure the position is not tilted to the side, and see which paw he uses to hold the toy;

· If the dog has the habit of scratching the door, you can also see which paw it uses to scratch the door and enter the house.

It is best to repeat these test methods multiple times in order to calculate the number of times the dog's left and right paws are used, and to be more precise about which paw the dog is accustomed to using.