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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2015
Text copyright © 2015 Rachel Federman
Illustrations by Chuck Gonzales
Cover and interior design by Rosamund Saunders
Cover images © Shutterstock
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN 978-0-00-794928-1
Ebook Edition © October 2016 ISBN 9780008151904
Version: 2016-09-13
To Sky,
for a depth of loyalty I thought existed only in myths and fairy tales.
Contents
Chapter Two: The Dog About Town
Chapter Five: Do You Speak Dog?
The General Certificate of Canine Excellence
You know your dog can sit, fetch and roll over. But can he sit like a human? Respond to commands in multiple languages? Roll a die? Help you with a crossword puzzle? Appreciate Mozart? For this, the genius edition, we are going to take things up a notch.Think about the kind of dog whose aptitude lands it in the news, like the Labrador Bullmastiff in Seattle who regularly takes the bus to the park by herself. (Don’t try this at home.) We don’t want to know if your dog is simply well accommodated to life as your companion; we want to know if he could navigate the world without you. We know your dog is smart, but do you have a canine whiz on your hands?
To help you find out, I’ve loaded this book with quizzes that ask you to imagine your dog in various situations, and activity tests for you to perform with your dog.You’ll also find hints and tips to boost your dog’s brainpower.These activities might not get your four-legged friend into the college of her choice, but they will give you another way to bond with your pup, besides the eight hours you spend snuggling in bed, the four hours you spend snuggling on the couch, the many walks you take together every day, and, of course, the long, drawn-out celebratory hugs that happen every time you reunite after an hour apart. Hopefully the results will increase your bragging rights to friends and family, put an extra bit of swagger in your tail-wagger, and lend weight to your not-so-secret conviction that your pup is superior to the rest of the neighbourhood dogs.
We know that intelligence tests for humans don’t assess raw intelligence, but one that is context-dependent, aiming to determine an individual’s ability to succeed in the modern developed world. And even then, most tests don’t always work well. Not least among the criticisms of today’s testing culture is the fact that tests aren’t a good predictor of future success: we all know someone who regularly did poorly on every test they were given as a child and whose career now outshines our own.
In the genius edition I’ve refined the approach to do the canine equivalent of separating the men from the boys (dogs from the pups?). Many of the skills tested aren’t necessarily those a dog would need to succeed or to flourish. A dog who can conduct higher order reasoning and engage in rigorous critical thinking may not fare any better day to day at the park than his birdbrained pal – but he’ll learn faster, understand you better, and might even enjoy a reading of Shakespeare or a trip to a modern art gallery if only he’d be allowed in.
For the first five sections, you don’t have to conduct any trials. Simply pick the best answer from the choices given; nobody knows your dog like you do. For the sixth section you’ll rely on your dog’s expertise, and the activity tests you’ll do with your dog. Keep a note of your answers and check your scores on pages 116–117 once you’ve finished all the sections.