PHOTO COURTESY DOGNITION.COM
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Tassie with Dr. Brian Hare.
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Dog Days at Duke Sure, your pooch is smart, but how smart?
TARTUPS BEGIN WITH THE BIG IDEA – “LET’S ALLOW EVERYONE TO PUT UP
their videos – cats and all – and call it YouTube”; “Let’s get everybody communicating in 140 characters or less”; “What if everyone had every question on every subject answered through a search engine?” – but no one really knows if his or her big idea is going to gain traction. Take Dognition as an example of an idea that is a little left of center and definitely growing: At dognition.com, pet owners can subscribe to get assessments of their dogs’ intelligence, empathy, special skills and much more – discovered through interactive, science-based games. “Contrary to popular belief,” Dr. Brian Hare, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Duke and director of the Canine Cognition Center, says, “all dogs have their own unique
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December/January 2017