Best Vs Overrated Breeds Table Akc

[teekay]

But huski how would you define intelligence? Is it problem solving? Obeying commands? Ability to work? Learning new.skills? Retaining info?

I'm not.convinced you can line up two dogs, especially of different breeds and say one is smarter than the other.

Its like people, I'm hopeless at math, but really great in other areas. Does this make.me less smart?

yes, how do you define intelligence? I agree with another poster who said that obedience doesn't equate intelligence. My three dogs, according to the list all dumb.

Aussie Shepherd - very trainable, picks things up very quickly, very keen to please, very people focussed.

GR x Samoyed - very amiable, easy to live with, very food motivated but still slow to pick things up.

Siberian Husky - independent, not easy to train.

A simple test for all of them. One of Those food puzzles where you have to turn the top plate to get the food out. This is how my three approached the challenge.

Aussie - just scrabbled with his paws til the top moved and he could get to the treats, basically did this till it was empty. Not sure there was too much thought process going on. Seemed to get to the food more by luck than judgment.

GR X Sammy - very food motivated, but sniffed at it a bit. Pawed at it a bit, then gave up and sat next to it

Husky - sniffed it. Pawed gently, managed to move the lid then appeared to very easily and carefully rotate the lid to each section to get to the food.

It was very interesting to see the different approaches and although the husky is the least obedient of the three I feel she is probably the most intelligent

One more test I remember reading about a long time ago.

Take a piece of food and make sure they are looking at it and drop it so it lands on a table. Supposedly a sign of intelligence is if the dogs gaze follows the food but stops at the table. Only my husky does this. The other two look straight to the floor expecting it to be there.

[brightstar123]

I love my Labrador because he's actually the dumbest of all the dogs I've owned. Or to rephrase - he doesn't do a lot of thinking for himself so it's easy for me to tell him how I want him to behave. Not every family dog should be super smart and problem solving. My kelpie was an awesome dog but she was not cut out to be a family pet. My amstaff was equally awesome but independent and stubborn. The sprinters I grew up with had a hard time shutting off and the family Westie was a terror in small pants.

My Labrador does what he's told, looks to me for guidance and doesn't have an independent bone in his body.

While breed certainly does matter, generalising an entire breed is a gross oversimplification. Some of the dogs this graphic rates highly, I wouldn't, based on personal experience. It all depends on the temperament you are looking for, and careful conversations with the breeder.

Do you think he could just be extremely biddable, like a good gun dog generally should be?

When we got our Lab I thought she was a bit slow for a few reasons - she didn't offer many behaviours, didn't have that cheeky independent spark and just waited to be told what to do. But when I started training her to do complex tricks, I realised that the intelligence is definitely there, she just had a different, people-pleasing approach to what I was used to. She's not flashy but she is a steady, consistent, no-fuss learner with an outstanding memory.

[VizslaMomma]

Interesting

Absolutely dumb as....

No Hungarian Vizslas...

WTF????

[Trisven13]

Sorry border collies are also smart and do think for themselves. If this turns into a border collie bashing thread I am going to get very pissed off.

I will confess I am letting my personal argument with a friend get in my way. I get very tired of her constantly telling me my Fauves are dumb and how much better her Border Collies are. It has led to me feeling a distinct lack of love for Border Collies.

[HazyWal]

I think hazy needs to write in with stans antics, don't tell me a fridge/oven opening greyhound ain't got the smarts

:laugh: Stan maybe as dumb as a box of rocks but when it comes to food he's a Rhodes Scholar!

Maddie on the other hand is an evil genius O.o and I can't even see the cat :/ don't tell me they were stupid enough to put it next to the greyhound :p

[VizslaMomma]

I think hazy needs to write in with stans antics, don't tell me a fridge/oven opening greyhound ain't got the smarts

:laugh: Stan maybe as dumb as a box of rocks but when it comes to food he's a Rhodes Scholar!

Maddie on the other hand is an evil genius O.o and I can't even see the cat :/ don't tell me they were stupid enough to put it next to the greyhound :p

Cat is near the papillon

[Little Gifts]

Besides no shar pei I couldn't see SBT's either (but I have a lergy and am not feeling human so could've missed it). I did see the cat! Tricky! I also disagree with a lot of them but I guess seeing what they determined as intelligent might put it in to context.

[Lhok]

there are two cats one is red the other is green

--Lhok

[Taliecat]

Besides no shar pei I couldn't see SBT's either (but I have a lergy and am not feeling human so could've missed it). I did see the cat! Tricky! I also disagree with a lot of them but I guess seeing what they determined as intelligent might put it in to context.

SBT is in the middle section, it's yellow and facing to the left

[grumpette]

But huski how would you define intelligence? Is it problem solving? Obeying commands? Ability to work? Learning new.skills? Retaining info?

I'm not.convinced you can line up two dogs, especially of different breeds and say one is smarter than the other.

Its like people, I'm hopeless at math, but really great in other areas. Does this make.me less smart?

yes, how do you define intelligence? I agree with another poster who said that obedience doesn't equate intelligence. My three dogs, according to the list all dumb.

Aussie Shepherd - very trainable, picks things up very quickly, very keen to please, very people focussed.

GR x Samoyed - very amiable, easy to live with, very food motivated but still slow to pick things up.

Siberian Husky - independent, not easy to train.

A simple test for all of them. One of Those food puzzles where you have to turn the top plate to get the food out. This is how my three approached the challenge.

Aussie - just scrabbled with his paws til the top moved and he could get to the treats, basically did this till it was empty. Not sure there was too much thought process going on. Seemed to get to the food more by luck than judgment.

GR X Sammy - very food motivated, but sniffed at it a bit. Pawed at it a bit, then gave up and sat next to it

Husky - sniffed it. Pawed gently, managed to move the lid then appeared to very easily and carefully rotate the lid to each section to get to the food.

It was very interesting to see the different approaches and although the husky is the least obedient of the three I feel she is probably the most intelligent

One more test I remember reading about a long time ago.

Take a piece of food and make sure they are looking at it and drop it so it lands on a table. Supposedly a sign of intelligence is if the dogs gaze follows the food but stops at the table. Only my husky does this. The other two look straight to the floor expecting it to be there.

And what about the dog that picks up the toy, turns it over, gives it a shake and gets all the treats out at once? Bloody evil genius. The same one that at lure coursing, worked out after one circuit that the lure comes out of the pipe, so went over to it and turned it over with their nose, expecting a whole family of lures to come out.

Problem solving dogs are hard work. No wonder I have a coffee addiction.

[Little Gifts]

Can still only see the one green cat but I found the 'dumb' SBT!

[Dame Aussie]

Border collies are actually very intelligent, as are most breeds IMO. This is stupid and I don't understand why some feel the need to put some breeds down in order to defend their own. Weird.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Dame Aussie

[Steph M]

Mine just gave up, he knew dinner would come anyway so what the hey. Hahaha.

[mita]

Information like this pisses me right off.

I have friends with Border Collies who live two houses away. They constantly tell me that their dogs are sooooo much better than mine because they're sooooo much smarter. They're not smarter - they're just more obedient and have been bred for generations to BE more obedient. Intelligence and obedience are two vastly different things.

Totally agree.

They listed Tibetan Spaniels as dumb. We had working dog breeds, Border Collies, Blue Heelers and Shelties for many years. Loved them & their 'your wish is my command' attitude to being trained.

Then we down-sized to Tibetan Spaniels, totally different mindset ... 'show me your wish has some point & I'll think it thro'.' I love how Tibbies size up situations for themselves. It's been the Tibbies who've acted independently to alert about a car thief in the driveway, an intruder coming up into the house (then tracking him), & discovering & alerting about a lost child on the street outside.

Still love both groups .... but different manifestations of 'intelligence'.

[huga]

Also, calling a pointer, husky or whippet dumb. LOL.

I like my dogs a little slower than me mentally. Its how I keep up, dammit!

Ha. Me too. I would never own a working breed for that reason. I feel like Sid and I are even steven :laugh:

[Stressmagnet]

I love my Labrador because he's actually the dumbest of all the dogs I've owned. Or to rephrase - he doesn't do a lot of thinking for himself so it's easy for me to tell him how I want him to behave. Not every family dog should be super smart and problem solving. My kelpie was an awesome dog but she was not cut out to be a family pet. My amstaff was equally awesome but independent and stubborn. The sprinters I grew up with had a hard time shutting off and the family Westie was a terror in small pants.

My Labrador does what he's told, looks to me for guidance and doesn't have an independent bone in his body.

While breed certainly does matter, generalising an entire breed is a gross oversimplification. Some of the dogs this graphic rates highly, I wouldn't, based on personal experience. It all depends on the temperament you are looking for, and careful conversations with the breeder.

Do you think he could just be extremely biddable, like a good gun dog generally should be?

When we got our Lab I thought she was a bit slow for a few reasons - she didn't offer many behaviours, didn't have that cheeky independent spark and just waited to be told what to do. But when I started training her to do complex tricks, I realised that the intelligence is definitely there, she just had a different, people-pleasing approach to what I was used to. She's not flashy but she is a steady, consistent, no-fuss learner with an outstanding memory.

I think he's exactly how he should be -- for his breed. He's extremely biddable, stays close by circling on walks. He's a dog that wants to be told what to do so he can show you he can do it. He's calm, steady and nothing seems to phase him - but if something does, he looks for me for guidance. He will calmly wait at my feet during a conversation until I'm ready to move on. I think he'd make an awesome gun dog but given he comes from gun dog lines, that's no big surprise.

The Labrador up the street is a whirlwind, regularly scales the fence and despite training, cannot be relied upon to settle. At ALL. Two Labradors, two different lines, two different temperaments, two different dogs. Ones not necessarily better, just different.

[Lhok]

Just had another look at the pic now that I have my glasses on. Turns out the red cat I thought I saw was a chihuahua.. :laugh:

--Lhok

[Agility Dogs]

Hopefully it's just a bit of fun because trying to rank dogs on intelligence is such a ridiculous concept. They are bred for purpose - intelligence is a human concept IMO.

As for border collies - I've got 4. All are incredibly different, think for themselves at varying degrees.....largely a reflection of my progression as a trainer. ;)

It's good for a bit of a giggle, but that's about it.

[Little Gifts]

Just had another look at the pic now that I have my glasses on. Turns out the red cat I thought I saw was a chihuahua.. :laugh:

--Lhok

[Guest hankodie]

Bahahaha that chart is so funny :laugh: Hank has many wonderful qualities but ranking near the top for intelligence? hmmmm.....

And Odie is so devious and so smart it kind of scares me sometimes. She's an expert at duping me. Last night she wanted my place on the couch so she stood by the window and barked and when I went over there to look she dashed back to the couch and claimed my warm seat.