DOG MEMORY

Your dog’s memory span lasts 30 seconds.

Whether your pooch sits on command or piddles on the rug, the reward or punishment you give should happen within half a minute. That’s the maximum amount of time the event stays fresh in the dog’s mind. “If you come home at the end of the day and you see your dog did something bad when you were gone, any reprimand won’t register,” says Bonnie Beaver, a professor at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine. But you can’t always count on that half-minute. As Beaver points out, “If you give a command and then, say, a squirrel runs out in front of the dog, forget it.”

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See if your pooch made the cut: The CBS Early Show recently picked the top 10 smartest and, uh, less-intelligent dog breeds. We always knew our poodle was exceptional.

If Fido needs a little extra tutoring, search for a trainer from the Animal Behavior College in your area.

Want to reward your beagle for remembering a command he learned 35 seconds ago? Don’t just grab any toy. This checklist from dogguide.net will help you sniff out something appropriate.

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