Is your dog a genius? New assessment sets out to measure your dog's brain activity

The Dognition Assessment measures a dog on different levels.

In Sta. Rosa, California, a woman with a movement disorder called dystonia, feels lucky to have a genius service dog. The woman, Wallis Brozman, was unable to move and speak, when her muscles lock while she is taking Caspin, her golden Labrador retriever, outside for a potty break.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Since Brozman couldn't call for help, and she wasn't able to yell or send a message, she believed Caspin would just end up stranded without anyone to help them out.

What Caspin did next surprised Brozman; he put his neck under her hand, until Brozman got her finger looped on the dog's collar.

Brozman said in an interview, "Then very slowly, he started to pull me forward. He pushed the door open. Then he stayed by me until I could function enough to get into bed."

The Dognition Assessment, created by scientists and trainers, ranked Caspin as a Protodog. A protodog is a spontaneous pooch that can solve problems on its own or with people. These dogs bond easily with people.

Using 20 testing games, the Dognition Assessment measures a dog's level of intelligence, cunning, communication, empathy, memory and reasoning. A dog owner wanting to test their own dog can obtain the series of tests from Dognition's website.

After you have recorded your dog's results, Duke University puts together your pet's profile and your dog will then be labeled as a Socialite, an Ace, a Charmer, a Stargazer, an Expert, a Maverick, a Renaissance, a Protodog or an Einstein.

The brainiac dogs are the "Einsteins." They can be socially awkward, but they can solve problems by looking at the facts in front of them.

The "Aces" are the socially elite ones, that are problem solvers, good at almost everything and they bond well with humans. They want to be nuzzled and they try to get away with bad behavior.

Dog owners who think their dogs are geniuses have entered their dogs on "Nat Geo's Wild" three-part-series. The show is called "Is Your Dog a Genius?" which will be aired from May 15 to 17.

According to the TV show's host, Brian Hare, "People will learn about and come to a new understanding of their best friends."

Hare, who is a member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, helped develop this dog intelligence assessment.

Brozman and her eight-year-old dog, Caspin, will be guests on the show. For Brozman, it is Caspin's problem-solving skills that makes him most valuable to her, and she doesn't ask for the impossible, as she says, "you have to be realistic about what your dog is capable of doing."

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