How well do you know your dog?

Photos courtesy of Erin E. Hecht; Illustrations by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

Science & Tech
How well do you know your dog?

September 24, 2024 1 min read

Take our quiz based on new Netflix documentary featuring Harvard researcher

Have you ever wondered how your dog feels about you, sees the world, or is trying to communicate? A new Netflix documentary, “Inside the Mind of a Dog” — featuring Harvard evolutionary biologist Erin Hecht, along with canine experts from Duke, the University of Pennsylvania, and others — sheds light on research that is starting to solve these mysteries. We asked Hecht, director of The Canine Brains Project, to weigh in on questions drawn from the documentary so readers can test their own knowledge.

1. Which of the following can dogs smell on a human:

Cancer

Diabetes

Parkinson’s

Mood

Stress

All of the above

2. Which is the dog’s brain?

A

B

C

D

E

3. Which of the following messages can dogs communicate through facial and body movements?

“Let’s play!”

“I’m scared.”

“That tasted awful!”

“What is that?”

“I’m so happy!”

All of the above

4. Just like no two people have the same fingerprints, no two dogs have the same:

Paw prints

Tongue print

Nose print

5. The average dog knows how many words?

25

165

48

6. Which of the following tail movements signals your dog is happy to see you?

Loose

Helicopter

Right

All of the above

None of the above

7. When humans and dogs with a close bond interact:

Humans release the “love” hormone oxytocin

Dogs release oxytocin

Both humans and dogs release oxytocin

8. What percentage of dogs have some form of anxiety?

50

70

10

9. Dogs exhibit variation in mothering styles that affect their puppies’ skills and personality later in life.

True

False

10. How many more sounds can a dog hear typically than a human?

100 times as many

Twice as many

Four times as many

11. Which of the following is true?

Dogs see twice as many colors as human

Their vision is sharper than humans

They have better night vision than humans

12. A dog is a young adult at 18 months.

True

False

Δ

Go deeper

You’ve taken the quiz and watched the documentary — how can you learn more? Hecht recommends the following books:

Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition

Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution

The Social Dog: Behavior and Cognition

The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People