Top 10 Smartest Dogs In The World

[dancinbcs]

I have been to a TON of websites and all of them say the same thing, yet only about a year ago the top 10 was VERY different. I want to know what people think of this list?

1. Border Collie

2. Poodle

3. German Shepherd

4. Golden Retriever

5. Doberman Pinscher

6. Shetland Sheepdog

7. Labrador Retriever

8. The Papillion

9. Rottweiler

10. Australian Cattle Dog

All these lists always have Border Collies and Poodles as the top two and then they vary after that. Until you have lived with and trained these breeds, you have no idea just how smart (not just trainable) they are compared to other dogs. For trainablility alone Goldies and GSDs would probably rank higher because they don't try to out-think the trainer as much. Apart from that I think that list would be pretty accurate except I would put ACDs after Poodles in 3rd spot then move the others down one.

[Maddy]

No.

Call this "the 10 most easily trained dogs in the world" and I might.

Have to agree with this.

Greyhounds can be annoyingly intelligent (our current foster figured out how to climb part-way up a tree to be able to look over the fence at the neighbour's dogs)) but as far as training goes.. the best we've ever managed was teaching a few how to sit (and even that was a struggle).

Greyhounds learn things very quickly (especially when it relates to stealing food) but they just aren't interested in doing silly tricks to entertain someone else. If anything, I'd say this makes them even smarter

[GoldenGirl85]

Hmm, GRs are up pretty high. I must have a dud.

Honey is so purdy, but, bless her, she's a bimbo.

Me too, Im disappointed that JRTs arent on there, mine is too smart for her own good!!!

[fuzzy82]

I don't agree, I suspect the list is based on old fashioned training methods, which include corrections and molding. A lot of dogs don't respond well to that. Such as the JRT. I have a JRT x puppy, and he is extremely smart. When they asked me at basic obedience what he was and I told them, they commented that he must be really smart then. So they know that JRT's are smart, but they don't respond well to corrections at all.

I dare say my JRT x is smarter than my poodle x, as in he picks up new behaviours quickly, and also picks up the cue for the new behaviour more quickly than the poodle x.

[indigirl]

I have to say i dont think my golden is super intelligent. Shes not a complete moron but she is no rocket scientist

[gsdog2]

I have been to a TON of websites and all of them say the same thing, yet only about a year ago the top 10 was VERY different. I want to know what people think of this list?

1. Border Collie

2. Poodle

3. German Shepherd

4. Golden Retriever

5. Doberman Pinscher

6. Shetland Sheepdog

7. Labrador Retriever

8. The Papillion

9. Rottweiler

10. Australian Cattle Dog

All these lists always have Border Collies and Poodles as the top two and then they vary after that. Until you have lived with and trained these breeds, you have no idea just how smart (not just trainable) they are compared to other dogs. For trainablility alone Goldies and GSDs would probably rank higher because they don't try to out-think the trainer as much. Apart from that I think that list would be pretty accurate except I would put ACDs after Poodles in 3rd spot then move the others down one.

Not sure I agree with this - I own both breeds and both breeds are used as guide dogs. I don't know a lot about guide dogs but from what I've read I thought they had to be able to think things out for themselves to a certain degree without prompting (guidance) from the handler.

[minxy]

No.

Call this "the 10 most easily trained dogs in the world" and I might.

Have to agree with this.

Greyhounds can be annoyingly intelligent (our current foster figured out how to climb part-way up a tree to be able to look over the fence at the neighbour's dogs)) but as far as training goes.. the best we've ever managed was teaching a few how to sit (and even that was a struggle).

Greyhounds learn things very quickly (especially when it relates to stealing food) but they just aren't interested in doing silly tricks to entertain someone else. If anything, I'd say this makes them even smarter

This has always been my theory too. Kyojin picks everything up straight away, but if he can't see the point in doing it, why would he?? People view intelligence in different ways.

[RL1]

I really thought Rottweilers would be in the top 5 to be honest, but i can't disagree with the BC at #1.

[benshiva]

Of course I agree with this

Smartest dog I ever knew was a Border Collile. My Shiva was smarter than any human I've ever met

[DerRottweiler]

Malinois?

Seriously? Why is it missing. Flawed list is flawed.

[gsdog2]

Malinois?

Seriously? Why is it missing. Flawed list is flawed.

Have to agree - if there's one breed missing it's the Malinois

[Kavik]

Oy! Kelpies are missing too!

[gsdog2]

Oy! Kelpies are missing too!

Yessss!!!!!! Can I also put Dutch Shepherds up there

[koalathebear]

Kavik: Kelpies are always missing from those lists! It's funny how they are so incredibly ubiquitous here in Australia yet are a supernatural water horse in many other places I have so many North Americans asking me questions about Kelpies because they've never heard of them.

I always find these lists interesting because they prompt people to always say that it's measuring trainability not intelligence and that it's possible to argue that the less trainable breeds are actually smarter than the more trainable breeds etc. At the end of the discussion, it always looks like all dog breeds are smart.

As it cannot possibly be the case that all dog breeds are smart, are there any breeds that are both not-smart and also not very trainable? I know that there will be always be exceptions, just talking about general rules like Border Collies and Kelpies are generally very trainable, another breed is very independent and less easy to train etc.

[Merrirose]

I agree with Poodlefan, Intelligence & Trainability are 2 completely different things.

I do agree however that BC's are incredibly intelligent & very trainable.

[jacqui835]

Well I think dobermans should be higher. At least in my case I have a very trainable dog who is also capable of thinking for himself and solving problems. I don't mean to offend anyone, but most labs I meet don't seem that bright, they are just trainable and heavily food motivated.

A list of brightest and most trainable dogs would be one I'd want to see. I want trainable and I want bright, and I think that's why I'm so drawn to dobes and GSD's.

[Staranais]

I suspect they only tested the more common breeds - hence the malinois, kelpie, etc missing out.

I agree with Koalathebear, I have heard people define intelligence in such a way that all dog breeds appear to be equally intelligent. I don't think this makes much sense. To me, intelligence is how quickly a dog can learn a new task to achieve a goal, or maybe how complex a problem a dog can solve to achieve a goal.

[Aidan3]

We don't really know how to measure intelligence in humans. I think we're a long way off defining and measuring intelligence in dogs.

I like dogs that can solve problems and pick up on stuff that we don't necessarily have to teach them.

[koalathebear]

Well I think dobermans should be higher. At least in my case I have a very trainable dog who is also capable of thinking for himself and solving problems. I don't mean to offend anyone, but most labs I meet don't seem that bright, they are just trainable and heavily food motivated.

To save yourself a world of pain, you might want to tweak with that observation I don't own a Labrador - I have a Kelpie x Border Collie and a Kelpie - but Labradors are definitely intelligent and capable of thinking for themselves. It's what makes them such good assistance dogs. A guide dog has to know when to ignore commands from its handlers, for instance, the handler wants to cross the road and the guide dog will ignore the command if there is potential danger. Guide dogs need to learn how to navigate their handlers through spaces that are wide enough for both dog and handler, this takes a bit of independent thought, not just mindless rote-learning.

Edited April 11, 2011 by koalathebear

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Of course the list is right - well at least about 1st place!!

Oh, I have 2 BC's!!!

Really though, I think it has to be a combination of the breed, the breeding , the trainer and then there's the issue that each dog is an individual. So there can never really be a truely accurate list because there will always be a dog somewhere that proves it wrong!! Thank goodness!!!