Posted on 04/28/2008 1:05:46 PM PDT by Clint N. Suhks
The CBS "Early Show" ran a story this week about dogs and their intelligence, or lack thereof. In the story, they shared their list of the top 10 smartest and top 10 dumbest dog breeds. These were their picks.
#10 Dumbest: The Basset Hound may be so sad-eyed because it was ranked the tenth least intelligent dog breed.
2 of 20 : #10 Smartest: The immensely trainable Australian Cattle Dog was called the tenth smartest breed. 
3 of 20 : #9 Dumbest: Don't tell the Westminster Kennel Club, but Uno, the beagle who won their 131st annual dog show, belongs to the ninth least intelligent dog breed. 
4 of 20 : #9 Smartest: The Rottweiler was called the ninth smartest breed. This one looks a tad surprised by the ranking. 
5 of 20 : #8 Dumbest: This Mastiff hangs its head in shame over being ranked the eighth least intelligent dog breed. 
6 of 20 : #8 Smartest: The Papillon, ranked eighth smartest, floats like a butterfly and knows its ABC's. 
7 of 20 : #7 Dumbest: The Pekingese is more famous for its "dustmop" look when groomed correctly. This one must be getting a haircut to avoid being associated with the seventh stupidest dog breed. 
8 of 20 : #7 Smartest: The most popular dog breed in the nation is also the seventh smartest: the Labrador Retriever. 
9 of 20 : #6 Dumbest: We know the Bloodhound has a brain somewhere beneath all those lovable wrinkles, but the "Early Show" rankings had them pulling sixth among the dumbest breeds. 
10 of 20 : #6 Smartest: The Shetland Sheepdog's agility, as shown here, helped it rank sixth smartest. 
11 of 20 : #5 Dumbest: Borzois are considered the fifth least intelligent dogs. 
12 of 20 : #5 Smartest: The Doberman Pinscher's intelligence is on full display here on a rescue mission. 
13 of 20 : #4 Dumbest: This Chow Chow can live with being considered the fourth least intelligent breed, so long as you keep its hair nice and fluffy. 
14 of 20 : #4 Smartest: Golden Retrievers were fourth on the list of smart dogs. 
15 of 20 : #3 Dumbest: The Bulldog was rated the third stupidest dog breed. 
16 of 20 : #3 Smartest: Loyal workhorses, the German Shepherds were ranked as the third smartest breed. 
17 of 20 : #2 Dumbest: The Basenji is considered the second least intelligent dog breed, but hey, it could be worse. 
18 of 20 : #2 Smartest: Love 'em or hate 'em, Poodles were ranked as the second smartest dog breed out there. 
19 of 20 : #1 Dumbest: Stylish and mysteriously ancient, the Afghan Hound nonetheless merits the dubious honor of being ranked the single least intelligent dog breed. 
20 of 20 : #1 Smartest: The Border Collie was ranked the single smartest dog breed. Do you think this one looks just a little bit proud of it? 
Smartest dog we ever owned was a toy poodle.. none other we have owned has came close... showed her for a few years. She was absolutely brilliant.
#37 Beautiful dog. They resemble a Border Collie or is that just the angle?
we have two Border Collies--Spencer and Penni... neat dogs... easy to train... honestly, they are so smart they seem more like people than animals... we will only ever have Border Collies...
they look a lot alike... i think the coloring is different... both are sheep herding dogs... they have the same stances...
I could also.
Your BC knowing not to jump in the truck to go to the vet doesn't surprise me. Mine could read my thoughts also.
One other quickie..
I friend from out West, don't remember which state, had friends that raised cattle and hired cowboys.
He told me the cattle ranchers got rid of the cowboys, 11 if IRCC and got 3 Border Collies.
It's the Standard Poodles that are pretty smart.
The toy and miniatures have been bred mostly for size, so brains aren't necessarily part of the package. There are some smart ones, but you're just as likely to draw a dumb one.
But while the Standards are smart, they aren't really very good retrievers any more. There is a couple in our hunting retriever club that is trying their hardest to get their Standard Poodles ready for a hunt test. Now, don't get me wrong, these are very smart dogs. But while they were originally gun dogs and water dogs centuries ago, they have lost most of the desire to retrieve, especially in water. They just don't WANT to get in the water to pick up that duck . . . they'll do it, but very reluctantly (while the ruder members of the gallery are hooting and hollering that they don't want to chip their nail polish or mess up their hairdo).
Meanwhile the Labs and Chessies are hitting the water at a dead run with huge splashes and great big grins . . . the problem is keeping them OUT of water.
I guess really the point of all this is that it's easier to get a dog to do what he's been bred for, than to just out of stubbornness or to prove a point try to train a dog to do something he wasn't bred for.
I've never seen a beagle do a 250 yard mark in heavy cover.
On the other hand, my Labs aren't very good at tracking rabbits.
I've known Labs that were as dumb as a bag of hammers, of course, but mine are pretty smart. They're intensively trained, though.
She catches on very quickly except she like to escape and run.
We just got a kitten too and they are just now becoming friends. It should be fun to watch them grow together.
The Border Collie is only a year old and the cat 2 months.
A small one would be good for a lap dog.
Ours is only a year but very light and doesn’t mind being picked up at all.
To counter the agility Setter, there's one in our agility club who began training in the same class as my Lab, some 4 years ago. My Lab has her AX and AXJ and is running in Masters, while last time I heard, that poor Setter had yet to get his FIRST qualifying score in Novice.
Having raised toy poodles for 12 year years, that has not been our experience whatsoever. The toy poodles were we raised seemed crème de la crème in intellenge. Of course owners were a different breed.
I used to breed and show Siamese cats, and I bred first for temperament, next for health, and only last for conformation. Had one champion, just the same.
Lots of folks weren't that picky and bred just for looks. There were plenty of mean, sickly Siamese around.
Oh really? I do hunt tests. My Reagan had her HRCH in the UKC and a CGC. She was a great hunter. Check out my home page.
Never tried any agility, guys in my training club might make fun, or any obedience either since you need that to get to that level. Looks like fun tho, I watch it on TV sometimes.
That’s not dumb; that’s rebellion. Very clever rebellion.
I assume you’re familiar with the Golden Retriever creep. You put one on a down & stay, and over the course of time, he creeps farther and farther away from where you put him, a little at a time.
He seems to know when your attention is not on him.
Here is a ranking site;
http://petrix.com/dogint/intelligence.html
My Yorkie is listed #27 out of 79 breeds. He is smart and listens well.
My last dog, “Potlatch”, was a Peke-a-Poo, half Pekinese and half Poodle and he was very smart. Looked like a tiny Shish Tsu.
Strange how a few of the smartest are ones likely to attack people, lol. I did not look at the rating of Pit Bulls, or Staffordshires.
Basenji’s stupid? If your idea of dog intelligence is a slavish slurping furbag, I guess so.
Mine are brilliant dogs, they just don’t obey for the heck of it. They’ve survived for thousands of years in the Congo, used for hunting small game. In that environment smarts are more important than slipper fetching, afterall you’re in competition with leopards, lions, cape dogs, hyenas... etc...
Plus, the neighbor’s love them because they don’t bark.
Face it... if it isn’t a Basenji it’s just a DOG.
I worked 3 years for a vet nearly went into the field... toy poodles IS a good breed.
Here's one that real.
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