Can dogs think?
Many handlers will say that their dog can think when it’s performing a task. They usually validate this by saying look how the dog is covering off or if some of the stock steps out of line how the dog will counter that and put them back in place. This really is not thinking per se, but more a reaction to training. You see this particular type of behavior with a dog who has very strong instinct.
A thinking situation would be: the handler is standing on one side of a fence and the dog is bringing the stock to the Handler. The stock can only go as far as the fence and without the handler saying anything, if this was a thinking dog, the dog would start to look both to his left and to his right. If there was an opening a little ways down the fence line and was visible. And the dog could see it from his position and he had started to move the stalk towards that opening and through the opening and back to the handler, that could be considered as thinking as the dog has reasoned the solution.
Another situation that may be akin to thinking: if you send your dog to locate stock, say they are located in the bush, and the dog undertakes a search. searching for stock may be considered as instinct. however, if the dog locates the stock rounds them up and brings them back out to a clearing, and then searches for the handler, and then brings the start to the handler this could be construed as thinking but more likely his instinct.
There are several books published on this topic. In most cases handler saying that he has a thinking dog generally is a little bravado in the case of the handler. It is more likely that they have a very talented, well trained and experienced dog.
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