Here Are The ’Smartest’ Dog Breeds, According To A Psychologist

BI ^ | 1-26-2017 | Gus Lubin

[blam]

There’s no easy way to rate dog intelligence.

As psychologist Stanley Coren wrote back in the 90s, there’s adaptive intelligence (i.e., figuring stuff out), working intelligence (i.e., following orders), and instinctive intelligence (i.e., innate talent) — not to mention spatial intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and more.

Indeed, as animal behaviorist Frans de Waal has argued, humans tend to judge animal intelligence in limited and unfair terms and often bungle the experiment.

While labs at Yale, Duke, and around the world are studying this question, for now we do at least have data on one metric: working intelligence.

Coren, in his book, "The Intelligence of Dogs," featured the results of a lengthy survey of 199 dog obedience judges. The responses, he said, were remarkably consistent; however, he noted that many judges pointed out that there are exceptions in every breed and that a lot comes down to training.

Here’s what he found:

TOP TIER—the brightest working dogs, who tend to learn a new command in less than five seconds and obey at least 95% of the time.

1. Border collie
2. Poodle
3. German shepherd
4. Golden retriever
5. Doberman pinscher
6. Shetland sheepdog
7. Labrador retriever
8. Papillon
9. Rottweiler
10. Australian cattle dog

(snip)

[CJ Wolf]

yeah, that’s nuts.

[balk]

Rahjah, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but most definitely loyal.

[jazminerose]

Black Labs Matter!

[Maine Mariner]

A poodle on the list and not a beagle. Absurd.
Snoopy would be upset.

[Hillbilly sage]

Seven of the ten tested smarter than the psychologist

[Mr. Douglas]

We have an 8 year old Maltipoo. He has a vocabulary of around 40 words. I’ve never really liked poodles, but this dog is so good at communicating to us that it is downright scary.

[heartwood]

We’ve got a Shepherd-Lab mix, maybe. When we first got her, she tried to eat a broken light bulb. Hence, the maybe.

She’s also stood stock still while a rabid raccoon walked up to her and latched on to her face, and slipped the leash and ran into a car when she decided she was done with her walk.

Basic survival instincts are a bit lacking, but she’s a sweet dog.

[Sarah Barracuda]

That list is RIGGED..our Pomeranian mix Nemo is super smart and so is his brother Maxie(Shih Tzu)

[okkev68]

I have a half Aussie, half Chow that is dumb, dumb, dumb. Love him to death, but he kills skunks and then brings them up to the house with his tail wagging and eyes bloodshot and tearing. He still hasn’t figured out that the squirrels live in trees. He will chase them to the tree and can’t figure out where they went.

I would say this list is pretty accurate for dog at least.

[central_va]

Some sled dogs are pretty dang smart. But for being able to read human facial expressions and human-dog communications a mutt tops about any pure breed I can think of.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Miniature Schnauzers are about 1/3 poodle (that's how they “miniaturized” them) so I imagine they are on par with that group.

[Snowybear]

Great Pyrenees at #64? Bovine scatology. They’re just more independent. Mine are super smart.

[Osage Orange]

Q: What do you call a cold dog?

A: A Chilli Dog.

[cornfedcowboy]

I owned a German Wirehair a few years back. Not dumb, but didn’t give two hoots what I was up to. Aloof is an understatement. Worse than a cat.

[BluegrassCardinal]

I’m on on my third labrador. All of mine have been female. Great dogs-sweet, playful, intelligent and very social. My current lab is a master at sensing emotions. If I’m angry or anxious, she will cuddle with me or become very affectionate. I’m not ashamed to admit I bawled when my last lab passed, and I’ll probably cry like a baby when this one goes.

Dog’s are truly man’s best friend. I’ve always said one of the cruelest things in life is to own a dag that possessed only a fraction of our own life span.

[dpetty121263]

I have 3 Chocolate Lab brothers, never had smarter dogs. As pups they house trained themselves, they needed to go out they came and woke me up and all when out together and came in together. Today they are by my side every minute and someone they do not know shows up they let me know and them as well they better be coming in peace.

[rickomatic]

Australian Shepard #42 Sorry but this study is just not believable. Who did it? The same people who had Hillary with a 90% chance of winning?

No kidding. We just got our 3rd Aussie. We've had 7 other breeds of dogs, and the Aussies have been the brightest by far.

[CivilWarBrewing]

I grew up with Shelties (Shetland Sheepdogs). I can attest not only to their smarts but their incredible loyalty, too. A dog that will lay down in a doorway of a room where a baby is sleeping to serve as the protector and sound the alarm the minute the baby gets fidgety.

Wonderful dogs but need room to run and 'herd' outside:

[latina4dubya]

Border Collies are like highly intelligent people...

[RedStateRocker]

My American Bulldog is plenty bright, however obedience is not a top priority for her. Heel and down/stay (even if squirrels are running past!) fine, but beyond that anything had best involve lots of tasty treats.

I think the American Bulldog is more bred for independent thinking rather than slavish following; better than a lot of the dogs on the above list if you need a creature to intelligently guard an area and make decisions about what is and what is not a threat.