Do you want an intelligent pet or simply an affectionate and lovable
companion or family member ? I guess many people might answer both,
which raises the question, what is an intelligent dog ? Might you
describe a dog that fits into your home, understands all the rules of
the house and gets on with all the family as an intelligent dog ? Yes,
you probably would. Some people may say that a dog that is well behaved
and obeys your every command as intelligent, however others may think
the animal is merely subservient. This article will cover what makes a dog intelligent and list some of the breeds of dogs noted as intelligent.
Dr Stanley Coren is a leading authority on dog intelligence and has a website and book about how to perform a dog intelligence test. He has broken down intelligence into three distinct categories.
Adaptive Intelligence – this is the type of intelligence that is unique to the individual dog. It is the dog’s ability to solve problems. It includes things like inquisitiveness, concentration and creativity. An example given is to place a tasty treat under an empty tin can. Time how long it takes your pet to flip the tin over an eat the treat. The faster the more adaptive intelligence your dog has.
Instinctive Intelligence - this is the type of abilities a dog has based on it’s breed. Dogs have been bred for hundreds of years to fit into various roles. The most common ones are things like herding, gun dogs, guard dogs and even simply companion dogs. Based on their breed their experiences are different such that a gun dog would have different abilities than a sheep dog or a lap dog.
Obedience Intelligence – This is the ability to follow and obey commands. Again this is often breed dependent.
So the combination of these types of intelligence will give an overall intelligence of your pet. It has to be remembered that an animal that spends all day herding sheep will have vastly different experiences than a dog that spends lots of time indoors. Do the dog’s experiences also influence their intelligence ? You would think that they do.
To this extent, more intelligent dogs are thought to be breeds like Border Collies, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Poodles and Dobermann Pinschers.
This prompts the next question. Can you make your dog more intelligent ? It would seem that the breed of dog does have a big influence of the way we define dog intelligence however a dogs adaptive intelligence is that x factor that makes your pet unique. There is little doubt that the more involved and active your dog is, the more adaptive it will be. So by caring for your dog well and giving it varied experiences you can improve it’s intelligence.
Dr Stanley Coren is a leading authority on dog intelligence and has a website and book about how to perform a dog intelligence test. He has broken down intelligence into three distinct categories.
Adaptive Intelligence – this is the type of intelligence that is unique to the individual dog. It is the dog’s ability to solve problems. It includes things like inquisitiveness, concentration and creativity. An example given is to place a tasty treat under an empty tin can. Time how long it takes your pet to flip the tin over an eat the treat. The faster the more adaptive intelligence your dog has.
Instinctive Intelligence - this is the type of abilities a dog has based on it’s breed. Dogs have been bred for hundreds of years to fit into various roles. The most common ones are things like herding, gun dogs, guard dogs and even simply companion dogs. Based on their breed their experiences are different such that a gun dog would have different abilities than a sheep dog or a lap dog.
Obedience Intelligence – This is the ability to follow and obey commands. Again this is often breed dependent.
So the combination of these types of intelligence will give an overall intelligence of your pet. It has to be remembered that an animal that spends all day herding sheep will have vastly different experiences than a dog that spends lots of time indoors. Do the dog’s experiences also influence their intelligence ? You would think that they do.
To this extent, more intelligent dogs are thought to be breeds like Border Collies, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Poodles and Dobermann Pinschers.
This prompts the next question. Can you make your dog more intelligent ? It would seem that the breed of dog does have a big influence of the way we define dog intelligence however a dogs adaptive intelligence is that x factor that makes your pet unique. There is little doubt that the more involved and active your dog is, the more adaptive it will be. So by caring for your dog well and giving it varied experiences you can improve it’s intelligence.