Canine cognition · Research sample of 25,463 dogs

The Dog Mind, Measured

Name: Dognition Canine Cognition Aggregates
Creator: Dognition
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What we learned about how dogs actually think — from the largest cognitive dataset of its kind. This hub analyzes a research sample of 25,463 assessments drawn from that dataset — not every dog Dognition has assessed. Every dimension keeps the same color across charts, and every chart is free to download, cite, and embed.

Longitudinal findings derived from Continuous Cognitive Monitoring (CCM) — how cognition and behavior change across a dog's life — are published here as the record grows.

Communicationreading your gestures
Empathygaze & bonding
Memoryrecall
Reasoninginference
Cunningphysical problem-solving

Four cognitive dimensions plotted against age, from puppies under one to dogs of 13 and older. Each dimension has its own trajectory — the dog mind does not simply rise and then fall.

The dog mind across a lifetime

Empathy keeps rising with age while reasoning peaks early and declines after about age eight.

Research sample of 25,463 dogs · binned by age in years, n=444 (age 12) to n=3,539 (age 3)

Horizontal axis: Dog age: Measured in years, binned from under 1 to 13 and older
Vertical axis (empathy panel): Empathy — gaze score: Measured in seconds of eye contact, 0–90
Vertical axis (memory, reasoning, communication panels): Mean score for the age bin: Measured in proportion of trials correct, 0–1

Empathy gaze & bonding

Empathy — gaze score (0–90)

Memory recall

Memory — proportion correct (0–1)

Reasoning inference

Reasoning — proportion correct (0–1)

Communication reading your gestures

Communication — proportion correct (0–1)

Sample per bin ranges from n=444 (age 12) to n=3,539 (age 3); a research sample of 25,463 dogs.

Source: Dognition Canine Cognition Data Center · research sample of 25,463 dogsdognition.com/data

The finding: Empathy climbs steadily for a decade while reasoning peaks early and declines after age eight. An old dog reads you better than ever, even as problem-solving slows.

How we measured this

Dogs were binned by owner-reported age in whole years. Each point is the mean score for that bin across the 25,463-dog research sample (n=444 at age 12 up to n=3,539 at age 3). Gaze duration is measured in seconds (0–90); the other dimensions are proportions (0–1).

Read the full analysis: Do Dogs Get Smarter With Age? What 25,463 Dogs Reveal

The five deep dives

Each chart has a standalone analysis with methodology and FAQs.

Applying the data

Guides that use these aggregates to answer a practical question.

Best Family Dog Breeds — 13 breeds for households with kids, with the sample size behind each cognitive note.
The Smartest Dog Breed? — why the ranking everyone searches for is the wrong question.

Source: Dognition — a research sample of 25,463 dogs. Free to share with attribution.

Test your dog