There are 3 kinds of dog intelligence
Find out where your dog ranks on each! We’ve got the facts about how dog intelligence is measured, plus links to tests or assessments that will help you understand your dog’s unique abilities.
Is a smarter dog a better pet? That depends entirely of what you want out of your dog. Smart dog breeds don’t necessarily make for better dogs, but rather dogs that are either really great at problem solving or good at learning a job. Intelligence doesn’t make him or her any cuter or better-behaved. In fact, a smarter dog is more likely to suffer from boredom—and the unwanted behaviors associated with trying to stay entertained.
In his book, “The Intelligence of Dogs,” Dr. Stanley Coren divides dog intelligence into three distinct areas: Adaptive, Instinctive, and Working.
- Adaptive Intelligence refers to problem solving and social awareness (skills like reading facial expressions or recognizing frequent visitors.)
- Instinctive Intelligence refers to inherited traits, such as the instincts to herd or retrieve, or a strong prey drive.
- Working Intelligence refers to obedience and the trainability necessary for high level “dog jobs” like being a guide dog.
Adaptive Intelligence
Adaptive intelligence is truly the foundation upon which developing a dog’s skills rests. How quickly your dog learns and picks up social cues during training directly affects how easily you can shape his instinctive intelligence into useful skills, and how well he performs a job. This is especially apparent when things get a little complicated, like when your dog is asked to blend multiple commands into a seamless performance. Think Agility or Obedience coursework, or solving a complex problem while doing guide work.
The Adaptive Intelligence Test in Coren’s book consists of six simple timed tests to give you an idea of how quickly your dog figures things out on his own. This test has the greatest bearing on your day-to-day life with your dog.
Instinctive Intelligence
You probably already have a good sense of your dog’s prey drive, retrieving, or pointing instincts based on your hours of play together. This Personality Profile from “Dog Training for Dummies” gives insight into how to better work with your dog based on his inherent instincts and natural responses.
Doing a Herding instinct test requires a little legwork on your part, mainly finding a local organization with the facilities to issue such tests. Many dogs who are not obvious herd dog breeds will show a talent for and enjoyment of herding. If you do find a club in your area, I recommend going to watch a trial and consider signing your dog up for a test if you think he’d get a kick out of it. You can also learn more about what it takes to get Herding Instinct Certified.
Working Intelligence
Dogs with a high Working/Obedience Intelligence excel at any job requiring quick learning and the temperament to reliably execute that training. Dogs with high working intelligence make great service dogs and excel in dog agility.
Think your dog has what it takes to be a guide dog? Try the Puppy Test for Service Dogs from the book “Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog” to see how your pup rates.
While any dog can enjoy and benefit from obedience or agility training, some breeds have shown over time to be especially bright in this area.
What do you think of the official AKC top ten Obedience dog breeds? What similarities do you see in the top ten and which are a surprise? You can see the full rankings here.
- Border Collie
- Poodle
- German Shepherd Dog
- Golden Retriever
- Doberman Pinscher
- Shetland Sheepdog
- Labrador Retriever
- Papillon
- Rottweiler
- Australian Cattle Dog
Having owned a German Shepherd and Dobermans I know they deserve their place in your list. I have worked with Border Collies and Poodles and they too rank top of the list in my opinion. But you are overlooking a very intelligent dog, albeit in a small package, that competes in all six classifications of obedience training with amazing success. I am referring to the Dachshund. I am very impressed by this incredibly smart, high achiever that now shares my life.
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Are border collies and Australian Shepherds in the same class?
My sweet, brilliant 3lb.teacup chihuahua is the smartest most loving dog I have ever owned! He is my friend, my child, my admirer and loves to protect me! His name I Max “Maximillion Parker”. As far as I am concerned Max is the BEST!
i have a pit lab mix. i prefer the female dog because of their natural protective instint. they also learn faster than males. this pit lab i have is the smartest male i have ever had.there several words that have had to spell because he learned the words. i have had to change my use of certain words by spelling it another way cuz he has learned to spell those words. he knows the names of most of his toys. it doesn’t take him long to learn a new one. if he can’t see a toy out in the open i can tell to go look in the toy box. he will find it. i bought him one of those kong frizbee. he had it 2 days & was tired of it blocking his view if he picked it up upside down. he took out the center circle so he could see where he was going. very smart dog. he also is a clown which i have read is a pit bull trait. i also have 4 chi/poodle/yorkie mix. they all sit up & beg, turn circles on their back legs & walk on their back legs. we also have a 5 month old chi/poodle/yorkie/? that i have not started working with but i have seen her sit up & beg & when i look at her she puts her paws together & it looks like she is waving.
My Border Collie of 11 years has been a constant companion to my wife and I for eleven years, we are both retired so “Bonnie” has learned English during these eleven years and other things about people. She is amazing. She will do anything that is ask of her within her abilities, She is truly a most intelligent dog.
Terry Brettner