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By Soo Kim
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A video of a dog "solving" math questions has gone viral on TikTok.
The video, titled "Math with my dog," was shared by @lunatheminicockapoo, the TikTok account of a cockapoo (a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle) named Luna. The clip has had 31.9 million views since it was posted four days ago.
The footage shows a man in the driver's seat of a car, while a dog is sitting beside him. The man asks: "Hey Luna, what's nine minus three?"
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The dog stares ahead as the man says "You can do it." She taps the man's arm with her paw six times as he says "good." She later appears to correctly solve another subtraction and addition question.
It's unknown exactly how Luna managed to work out the answers, but our canine companions are able to solve complex problems and are closer to humans and other higher primates than previously thought. That's according to Stanley Coren, a psychologist and lead canine researcher from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada. Coren spoke about "how dogs think" at the American Psychological Association's annual convention back in 2009.
"Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought," noted Coren, who believes dog's mental abilities are close to a human child aged from 2 to 2.5 years old, based on several behavioral measures.
Adam Boyko, assistant professor in biomedical sciences at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, told Newsweek in October 2021 that there are many different types of intelligence when it comes to dogs.
For example, wolves are quite intelligent and great at solving problems but lack the "social intelligence" that most dogs have, which makes them able to understand and use human social cues. Some dogs may have a good working memory but have poor spatial reasoning or vice versa, according to Boyko.
"The differences we see in dogs in these specific measures of intelligence tend to vary more at an individual level than a breed level, even when the specific skills that were selected for in each breed (e.g. herding, retrieving, pointing, sledging) mean dogs of specific breeds tend to have more of an innate drive to perform certain behaviors," he added.
'Her Thinking Face'
The man in the latest viral clip asks the dog "What is six minus two?" After a brief pause, the pup taps the man's arm four times. He replies "Good," before saying "Last one, five plus four."
A message overlaid on the video reads: "This one's big," as the dog stares ahead again.
"You got it. What is it?" he asks as the pup taps his arm nine times before the man says "Good job," as the clip ends.
A caption shared with the post reads: "Her thinking face after each one..."
Several TikTok users were entertained by the latest viral clip, with some claiming the dog may have been trained to stop tapping the owner's arm upon hearing the word "good."
User bigfireballc said: "The dog has no idea what he's asking. He just taps the guy with his paw until the guy tells him 'good'."
User @tdwt.austin agreed, writing that the pup is "stopping when you say good."
Others were still impressed by the dog, such as thelinabianca who wrote "WOW!!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!" and Leahjane who said "She is unreal."
User alonsobatista527 pointed out that "she's not tapping until he says good [because] on the last one she was tapping quickly until 9 then stopped. he didn't say good for a couple secs and she didn't."
Leilani agreed, saying "The dog literally stopped at 9 on the last one when he delayed the 'good' I doubt it's a keyword."
Val noted: "no matter how it's done. this puppers is so sweet."
Denellia Bronwyn wrote: "Honestly, the fact that Luna was able to follow a command so well is brilliant in itself!..."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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