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Thanks for CuriosityStream for supporting this episode! Go to CuriosityStream.com/SciShow to learn more.
感谢CuriosityStream对本期《科学秀》的支持！登录CuriosityStream.com/SciShow了解更多。
They say that you can't teach an old dog new tricks but that saying might not be as trustworthy as you'd think.
有人说老狗学不会新把戏，但是这种说法可能并不可靠。
Past puppyhood, dogs aren't actually set in their ways. In fact, research shows that not only can old dogs learn new tricks,
过了幼犬期后，狗狗的习惯、行为等并不是不可改变。事实上，研究表明老狗不仅能学习的新把戏
but teaching them could be a really good way of improving their quality of life.
而且教它们新把戏是一种提高它们生活质量的好方法。
A few studies have investigated this specifically.
一些研究对此进行了特定调查。
For example, a group of European researchers trained 265 dogs across multiple studies as recently as 2017
例如，就在2017年，一组欧洲研究人员在多种研究中训练了265只狗狗
to push their noses against a touchscreen. It showed them pictures like flowers, cups, and other things.
让它们用鼻子点击触屏。触屏上会显示花朵、茶杯和其他物品。
And when the canines picked the right picture, they were given a treat.
当它们选到了正确的图片时，就能获得奖励。
It took the animals a while to really get the hang of the game.
让动物们掌握这个游戏的诀窍确实花了一些时间。
But eventually, even the oldest doggy participants caught on, and they could consistently pick the correct picture to get a treat.
但最终，即使是最老的那一只参与游戏的狗狗都学会了，并且它们会为了获得奖励而持续选出正确的图片。
While all dogs could learn to pick the right image,
虽然所有狗狗都能学会选择正确的图画，
the researchers did notice that dogs over the age of 13 were much slower at learning than the younger ones.
但是研究人员注意到，超过13岁的狗狗比年轻的狗狗学得慢。
And that's because dogs, like humans, take longer to learn things as they get older.
这是因为狗狗和人类一样，年龄越大，学习新东西所需时间就越长。
Dogs' cognitive development parallels ours in some ways.
狗狗的认知发育在某些方面和人类一样。
Just like kids seem to be faster at picking up new languages than adults,
就像是儿童学习新语言的速度比成人快，
puppies seem to be generally quicker on the uptake than older dogs.
小狗似乎通常比老狗子学得快。
A 2014 study that tested 145 border collies on skills like memory and attention found
一项2014年的研究对145只博德牧羊犬的记忆力和注意力等技能进行测试并发现
that dogs' faculties start to decline as they get older maybe in a similar way that happens in humans.
狗狗们的才能随着年纪的增加而下降，其方式可能和人类相似。
They also found that older dogs were just generally less interested in new stimuli.
他们也发现年纪更大的狗狗通常对新刺激不太感兴趣。
While puppies are curious about anything and everything, older dogs tend to lose interest in things more quickly, or tune them out entirely.
小狗对任何事情、每件事情都很好奇，但年纪较大的狗狗会迅速失去对事物的兴趣或是完全没有兴趣。
So in order for older dogs to learn new things, you have to try a bit harder to capture their attention.
为了让年纪较大的狗狗学习新事物，你需要更加努力的抓住它们的注意力。
But even though it takes them a bit longer to learn new tricks, that doesn't mean it's any less important.
虽然它们学习新事物时间更长，但这并不意味着学习新事物没那么重要。
The researchers think that just like older humans can derive satisfaction from brain puzzles like crosswords,
研究人员认为，就像和年纪较大的人类可以从填字游戏等智力游戏中获得大脑满足感一样，
a bit of mental stimulation might be great for keeping older dogs healthy and happy.
一点脑力锻炼或许对保持老狗的健康和快乐有好处。
A 12-year-old dog might not have as much energy to play fetch as she did when she was a puppy,
一只12岁的狗狗可能没有年轻时的精力去玩刁骨头的游戏，
but she can still benefit from playing games.
但是她仍可以从玩游戏中获益。
And computer games like the ones used in these studies require less energy, so they might just fit the bill.
像这些研究中用到的电脑游戏消耗精力较少，所以正好符合这个标准。
The researchers even suggested their experimental setup could potentially be adapted to let dogs play computer games at home.
研究人员甚至认为他们的实验装置可以让狗狗们在家玩电脑游戏。
So not only can old dogs learn new tricks research suggests it's a great idea to try and teach them.
所以老狗不仅可以学习新把戏，研究表明，教它们新把戏是个很棒的主意。
It may be a little tougher for them, but it seems to be worth the effort.
这对它们而言可能有些困难，但似乎是值得的。
If something as simple as training your dog sparks your curiosity, you may be looking for even more ways to learn.
如果有什么事情能够像训练狗狗一样激发你的好奇心，那么你或许会寻找更多学习它的方法。
CuriosityStream is a subscription streaming service that offers over 2000 documentaries
CuriosityStream是一个订阅流媒体服务，上边有两千多个纪录片
and nonfiction titles from some of the world's best filmmakers, including exclusive originals.
和世界一些最棒电影制片人的非科幻影片。还包括独家原版。
They have videos on nature, food, exploration, tech, and more — which is one of the reasons we like them so much.
他们的视频包括自然、食物、探险、科技等等—这也是我们如此喜爱他们的原因之一。
There are just so many choices. You could watch Man's First Friend, because you're already watching this episode about dogs, right?
选择真是太多了。你可以观看《Man's First Friend》，因为你已经在观看关于狗狗的视频啦。
Learn even more about our 20,000 year history alongside our canine companions,
了解关于人类两万年历史、狗狗同伴以及
including how our bond with them came to be. You can get unlimited access to content like this starting at $2.99 a month.
我们和它们纽带的更多知识。你可以无限制观看这些内容，每月2.99美元起。
And as a special thanks to our SciShow audience, you can get the first 30 days for free!
为了特别感谢《科学秀》观众，前30天免费观看！
You just have to sign up at curiositystream.com/scishow and use the promo code "scishow" during the sign-up process.
你需要注册curiositystream.com/scishow并在注册时使用优惠码“scishow”。
