Study Ranks Smartest Dog Breeds

Hungry for knowledgeFor centuries, people have pondered the astonishing mental capabilities of our four legged friends. Canine intelligence never ceases to amaze, whether it is herding hundreds of sheep over rough land or rolling through complicated agility courses with precise accuracy. An exhaustive ranking of smartest dog breeds offers a compelling peek inside the canine mind. But when we talk about what it means for a dog to be “smart,” the definition goes beyond simply performing simple obedience drills, and into instinctive, adaptable learning and specialized working ability.

Understanding Canine Intelligence Categories

To understand what the researchers are actually measuring when it comes to dogs, it’s useful to take a look at the three underlying components of dog intelligence that animal behaviourists have identified:

• Instinctive Intelligence: This is what we think of as a natural born talent that a breed was bred for. It is a retriever fetching a downed game, or even better yet, it is a terrier hunting vermin; in both cases demonstrating raw evolutionary intelligence without formal human training.
• Adaptive Intelligence- This means the ability of a dog to learn from its environment, creating solutions to new problems and being able to think for themselves. This varies greatly from dog to dog irrespective of the breed.
• Working and Obedience Intelligence: This is the actual gauge that standardized behavioral tests are evaluated against. It measures the speed with which a dog learns a new command and how reliably it can follow that command on the first try.

The very best: The smartest dog breeds

Comparative study of dog breeds to determine the rank of smartest dog based on obedience and other working metrics tends to see some familiar contenders at or near the top more often than not.

• Border Collie: By far the number one ranked in this breed, a herding champion with blazing fast learning speeds and a crazy focus on human signals.
• Standard, Miniature and Toy Poodle: When considered only a show dog for far too long, the Standard, Miniature and Toy Poodle bathe you in superb problem-solving quickness — an agile thinking pet with great versatility.
• German Shepherd: Renowned around the world for tactical intelligence, they perform well in complex operational environments (e.g. military), security and high-stakes service work.
• Golden retriever and Doberman pinscher: More solidly in the top tier, they are quick to train and have high emotional clearing as well as a strong focus.

Factors Beyond the Rankings

Bad-scoring in dogs based on academic performance is an intriguing read but breeds with a lower score or breeds that are more independent like scent hounds or terriers are not “less smart.” They were bred to think for themselves, not to obey. Even ignoring a human command, very high cognitive skill in terms of tracking something — say hundreds of miles away — like a hound dog. When even that modern study of the smartest dog breeds came to pass, experts urged potential owners that a dog would only be as successful as their positive reinforcement and mental enrichment training with good human-canine bonding. So regardless of where your pup lands on this list, every dog has some sort of genius waiting to be unlocked.