I had to look at the calendar – is it April first? The SPCA in New Zealand is teaching dogs to drive.
They’re trying to prove that rescue dogs, even some that have been abused, have the potential to learn and be great pets. I don’t quite understand why teaching them to operate a vehicle accomplishes this except that it catches the attention of people like me and we simply have to share what we’ve found. The vehicles are modified slightly and the dogs respond to commands – in other words, they don’t drive on instinct. But as this video shows, they’re really doing it. Still, I think we’re a long way off from hiring canine cabbies.
That is, without a doubt, one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t see a dog intentionally manipulating one control on a car in that whole video. All the dogs are doing is keeping a paw at the top of the wheel as the person beside them turns the wheel for them. That program appears to be a farce and a complete waste of time.
It does prove that the dogs can follow commands. In a longer edition of the video a dog turns the wheel as he’s commanded by a woman running beside the vehicle, giving him treats. True, they have no idea what they’re doing – but the video has gone viral so the message is getting out; rescue dogs can be smart!
I just watched the other video and in two different places when the dog appears to be steering, you can see the woman’s hand down near the bottom of the wheel. It’s a cute illusion but the dogs are just replacing their paw to the top of the wheel when it feels to them that it’s going to fall off due to the wheel rotating. I’m sure they are smart dogs like most dogs are but that project is a silly waste of time.
“The Internet – your leading source for silly wastes of time!”
Just goes to prove, there still is hope for humans being able to successfully operate a vehicle. Now if they were only as easy to train.