{"id":5903,"date":"2019-12-24T10:28:33","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T09:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mayhemandmuse.com\/?p=5903"},"modified":"2019-12-24T10:34:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T09:34:15","slug":"whos-a-clever-boy-stewie-the-math-dog-is-he-can-count-add-and-subtract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayhemandmuse.com\/whos-a-clever-boy-stewie-the-math-dog-is-he-can-count-add-and-subtract\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s a Clever Boy? Stewie the Math Dog is! He can count, add and subtract!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stewie is a Scottish terrier who lives with his dad Ian in the beautiful state of California, USA. As a pup, Stewie was so freakishly clever that Ian started reading up about animal intelligence and his curiosity led him to try teaching Stewie math games. The handsome Scottie dog is now five years old and able to count the pennies that Ian lays out, as well as answer addition and subtraction problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can You Handle the Cuteness? Stewie Counts Coins<\/h1>\n

In the first video, we can see Stewie counting pennies. Ian arranges the pennies where Stewie can see them and then the clever doggo selects a number shape as his answer. We see Stewie wagging his tail and chewing victoriously on the game piece before spitting it out so that Ian can set up the next math question. The number shapes are all chewed-up and well-used, a testament to how many times Stewie has chewed on the pieces with joy because he’s answered his math question correctly and received praise and a treat from his main man, Ian.<\/p>\n

Did you notice how Ian rewards Stewie with both a dog treat and a lot of verbal praise? This is a psychological training method called positive reinforcement<\/em>, and it works on humans too, not just pets. The idea is not to punish failure, but to reward success, and it works to train both pets and children to behave well. (So if you’re a parent or a pet owner and you want to train your kiddo or your doggo; you can read more about this method on Wikipedia<\/a> or on Psychology Today<\/a>. But it probably won’t work on cats<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

I asked Ian for some photos of Stewie playing his math games but it turns out that like most math geniuses, Stewie can sometimes be adorably camera-shy, so if he looks a bit abashed in the photos below, it’s because he’s very modest about being both ridiculously clever<\/a> and ridiculously good-looking<\/a>.<\/p>\n