I found this interesting article via Instapundit.
My dogs are of course the smartest dogs in the universe *grin* but apparently being smart isn’t necessarily a good thing for animals in terms of evolution and life span. Of course the scientists used fruit flies in their experiment (what is it about fruit flies?). I honestly don’t know how their results truly translate to larger mammal populations.
“…the very act of learning takes a toll. The scientists trained some fast-learning flies to associate an odor with powerful vibrations. “These flies died about 20 percent faster than flies with the same genes, but which were not forced to learn…”
I know I feel pretty drained after learning anything new. Ha! I just hope I’m not shortening Trooper’s life span by teaching him new things in Agility Training. =)
I wonder how this study would apply with cats. If Fade can learn how to play dead (*grin*) he has to have some smarts! I know that my kitties are so smart that they even clean their own litter boxes (that’s another story for another day).
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