A team of researchers from the Duke University has found that dog owners can test their pets on canine intelligence at home for studies on canine intelligence. The team has also decided to provide an unorthodox source of funding for the research.

Researchers for their study analyzed data collected by 500 dog owners who played same games with their dogs at home that researchers use in the laboratory to find out about a dog's cognitive skills and problem-solving.

In five out of seven tests analyzed, citizen science data corresponded closely to the one that was produced by labs at Duke University and elsewhere. For example, in one of the test, digs were found to rely more on their memory than their sense of smell to fins a hidden treat.

Researchers during the test watched dogs as their owners hid food under one f the two cups. Later the owner switched the food to the other cup. Owners found that most dogs went towards the cups where they last saw the food.

The data were collected through a website called Dognition.com that was developed by Brian Hare, an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke who studies primate and dog cognition.

Hare said, "They're just games. The owners love playing them and the dogs love playing them. I realized more people could play them if they were online".

More than 17,000 dog owners from downtown Durham to Finland have signed up through Dognition.com and are sharing their data with the researchers.

Evan MacLean, a senior research scientist at Duke and co-director of the Canine Cognition Center said in a statement that the data produced by these dog owners is quality dat. It matches the results produced by the top research groups all over the world.