Is your dog smart?

[Elrohwen]

Just for fun

Do you think your dog is smart? Average? What is his particular type of intelligence? Is he great at learning but with poor common sense? Is he really good at reading people's emotions? Is he street smart but not good at learning tricks?



I don't think Watson is particularly smart - at least compared to some dogs I've met and owned. He's a simple creature who doesn't try to out-think me and isn't a great problem solver. What he lacks in problem solving abilities he makes up for in determination - he will try the same thing over and over to get what he wants, even when it's not working :rofl1:

He's also not very quick at learning new behaviors - he needs a decent amount of repetition and for me to approach it from a couple angles before the light bulb goes off. Once he figures it out though, he has it and can usually apply it in completely new environments without a problem, and he's slow to forget. His generalization skills are surprisingly good.

I'm not complaining! Super smart dogs are awesome, but I like my sweet simple boy too.

 

[Oko]

Wesley is super smart, as far as I've observed. He is not very biddable, so he only uses his smarts when it pleases him usually. But for example: If Feist is playing with a toy he wants, he'll pick up a different one and run around squeaking it and making it enticing, then drop it near her. She'll go for it, and he'll happily prance away with the one she dropped, that he wanted. He has major problem solving skills.

Feist, Feist is creepy smart and I sometimes dislike her for it. It's really fun in training because she is crazy biddable and wants to please me like woah, but she learned how to open the trash can so fast it was just sad. She's also really good at figuring out how to cut Wesley off while they're playing chase games around the yard, ie waiting for him on one side of an object he goes around instead of following him, etc etc.

Cleo, the mini poodle, is/was the quickest to catch on to training. She was scary with her learning aptitude, but now she is an old lady dog, so she cannot dominate the world.

There is a reason I said the next dog I have, I just want it to not be smarter than me. :rofl1:

 

[Sekah]

I tend to think that people over-exaggerate how smart their dogs are, or have a skewed view of the average intelligence of dogs, but...

... I've always thought of Cohen as relatively smart. I think the crux of it is that she's more biddable than truly smart beyond the canine average. But to see her try to problem solve, and to see how well she can recall things from ages ago is pretty impressive.

The chihuahua drives me nuts with how dense she can be. Though... it may be not so much that she's dense, but that she's motivated most by her own personal comfort and isn't particularly biddable beyond an intense love of food. I still think she's dumb though.

 

[Elrohwen]

Yes, I'm all for having dogs who aren't smarter than me! One of my rabbits has scary problem solving skills and I'm glad she's small and doesn't leave the house so she can't cause too much trouble. It's hard to compare a rabbit with a dog, but I'm pretty sure she's smarter than Watson on some levels.

We train with a woman who owns catahoulas and they seem very smart. Her boy is always thinking and trying to figure out how to approach a situation. Last weekend, after 9 months of nosework classes, he decided that pawing the box and looking at her got him a treat, so he was going to do it to every. single. box. By the next round, he had already decided that wasn't working, and went back to searching for the scent. It's fun to see how creative he can be about things, even when you think a behavior is well trained and ingrained.

That type of thing would never occur to Watson. He is completely single minded in searching for the scent and doesn't over think it. He's never considered false alerting to get the treat.

 

[Equinox]

He's so impulsive that sometimes I forget how smart he is But yes, he is pretty smart! He catches on quickly and even beyond that, there are a LOT of things that he figures out or picks up on by himself.

 

[Elrohwen]

I tend to think that people over-exaggerate how smart their dogs are, or have a skewed view of the average intelligence of dogs, but...

I completely agree with this. I think some people, especially newer owners, think their dog is a genius because it learned to sit and lie down, not realizing that all dogs are smart enough for that. I think they just have very low expectations for dog intelligence and once they realize they can communicate with the dog and get it to do things, they think the dog must be smarter than average.

And on the other hand, I think we all think our dogs are the smartest because we're all biased Just like how I think my dog is the prettiest and best snuggler :lol-sign:

 

[nikkiluvsu15]

Sometimes I think Harleigh is smart, but then I see her struggling to sniff and find a treat that is in plain view and within 2 feet of her.

She's sweet though, so at least she's got that going for her :rofl1:

 

[AmandaNola]

Yes, she is very smart. "Scarily so", as my mom says.

What I find most intriguing about her intelligence is she's smart in nearly every aspect; she reads emotions like a book, knows when someone's sick before they do, very fast learner (teaching her to turn on the light ATM; first session and she did it four times), great problem solver, very cunning. She'll pull/push chairs up to the table to get on it and snatch food, can open handle doors, cabinets, ect.
She's a bit impulsive at times, but otherwise she's a genius.

 

[Doberluv]

My Chihuahua Jose` is very smart...very bright. Chulita, average to smart. I use to think she was dumb but she just had my number. And the Poodles are scaring me to death how smart they are. I'm going to have to learn a whole new way of training because they're one step ahead of me every time and I'm just baffled sometimes. They are truly thinking a whole lot when we're interacting and they just stare right into my eyes like no other dog I've ever had....like they're looking deeply into my very soul. They don't have that intense "desire to please" thing...at least not yet. I have to really get creative which I'm still trying to figure out. They seem almost human at times. Scary.

I think I prefer average intelligence. Well, too late now. :rofl1:

 

[krissy]

"Smart" is kind of hard because it can mean so many different things.

For example... Summit is not good at figuring things out for himself, but he will stay with me in training for quite awhile. Kili is great at trying to figure things out herself but she gets frustrated or distracted easily and so training sessions have to be kept really short.

Summit will not push open a door that is standing ajar... though I'm not sure if that's because he doesn't know how or just because he tends to be unconfident on his feet on slick floors. Kili will push open any door that is left ajar, can pull open her crate door to get in if I have pushed it closed (but not locked it), can figure out most puzzle toys with ease.

 

[Oko]

Yes, I'm all for having dogs who aren't smarter than me! One of my rabbits has scary problem solving skills and I'm glad she's small and doesn't leave the house so she can't cause too much trouble. It's hard to compare a rabbit with a dog, but I'm pretty sure she's smarter than Watson on some levels.

Ahaha, I have an evil rabbit with crazy smarts too, I love her so much. She was my first rabbit, so I was in for a shock when I got the next two...don't get me wrong, I love them, but they are just bunnies. Ivy is a crazy evil genius.

 

[Dizzy]

Now you see.....

Bodhi I'd have said is smart... She's quick and agile and looks at Fred in disgust half the time. She understands what I say to her, and acts accordingly. But introduce a clicker and she turns into a Tasmanian devil and doesn't pay any attention to anything. She can learn new things, but takes awhile as she's too busy not doing what you want her to do. I think she's pretend smart, and is actually a bit thick headed... I don't know, can't work her out. She does use initiative.

Fred looks stupid, and acts stupid. But is actually a lot easier to train and picks things up really quickly. He just doesn't seem to have much initiative lol

I don't think either of them would take over the world unless they learnt to work together. Bodhi would definitely be the evil genius and Fred would be the brawn. Master blaster lol

 

[Elrohwen]

Ahaha, I have an evil rabbit with crazy smarts too, I love her so much. She was my first rabbit, so I was in for a shock when I got the next two...don't get me wrong, I love them, but they are just bunnies. Ivy is a crazy evil genius.

Sounds like Hannah! My husband quotes Jurassic Park things like "she's testing the fences!" and "clever girl". She has gotten past countless gate configurations trying to get up the stairs (she loves to explore upstairs) until we finally put an xpen there because it's too heavy to move and too tall to get over. You can tell by the way she looks at you that she's always thinking and assessing the situation. Then she does hilarious things like dragging her stuffed bunny over to where she eats hay, and propping him up as if he's eating hay too.

She's my second. My first boy, who is bonded to her, is really not bright. He's the cutest thing that ever existed, so I tell him he doesn't need to be smart.

 

[casey82]

I'm not sure if Hunter is smarter then the average dog. A non bias opinion, he really is pretty average. I do think though, he's the dog who's intelligence I appreciate the most because he's not shut down with choke chain type training. I love watching him learn a new skill and his training really sticks which I like.

 

[Laurelin]

Mia is scary smart. I have never had another dog like her. The GSD mix was smart in a very different (ie: sane and noble) and Nikki was also pretty darn smart. I can't even explain how smart Mia is but it's something a lot of people who are around her mention. She is difficult though in a lot of ways because she's overly observant and somewhat reactive and also just fearful. But she's also the dog that picks things up faster than can be if she wants to, she knows many objects and things by name, she problem solves to impressive degrees. The last is what blows me away with her. She is a very creative thinker and comes up with some zany ideas on her own. The biddability and intuitiveness is nice but the creativity is what blows me away. Mia makes me reevaluate how intelligent dogs can be.

Summer is average I'd say. Shes called Dummer for a reason. My trainer called her a Barbie yesterday and that fits. Summer is simple and uncomplicated whereas Mia is complicated in every way possible. Summer loves pets, loves people, loves food and loves agility. She's a bit neurotic and weird but nice and easy. She is the easiest dog I've had to train. I think she is smarter than I give her credit for but she's no Mia. And no problem solver. She has no common sense.

 

[Red.Apricot]

Elsie is very biddable and very clever.

Zobby is very self-oriented and clever.

Zoey is very biddable and not particularly clever.

 

[Snark]

Riley seems dumb about some things but pretty darned smart about others, so I dunno. He's not persistent, if something doesn't work right away - ie, solving a puzzle toy, he'll walk away. Easily frustrated, I guess?

This same dog watched other dogs in agility class one night taking some jumps (in a full course) which curved to a dogwalk, that he hasn't liked since he almost fell off and banged his stifle (3 years ago!), and refused to take that series of jumps when it was his turn. The first & second jump in the sequence didn't even put the dogwalk in his line of sight, but he knew where the course was going and stopped consistently at the first jump of the sequence (hadn't refused any obstacles prior to that point). It's just that particular dogwalk, too, because Riley has no qualms about going over the other dogwalk at class.

Mick and Murph are about average, I guess, with Murph being a bit smarter than Mick. I'm not sure if temperament has anything to do with it, since Murph tends to be more even-tempered and calm and doesn't stress over learning new things, while Mick is rather volatile and anxious and if he doesn't understand, will keep frantically offering behaviors he does know.

 

[Lyzelle]

Zander is impulsive, but extremely clever and calculated when it suits him. He knows how to block the tv when he eats attention, he learned how to open doors and locks fairly easily, he is definitely an escape artist, and his sense of humor generally involves some overly intricate and complicated trap to humiliate or frustrate dogs/humans.

Training is hard because he is stubborn and free-willed. Easily bored. And as common sense goes, it is sorta nonexistent due to impulse issues.

Almost 9 years and he is still a work in progress. Lol

 

[kaykay21]

the moment laika learned how to open the fridge i knew i was doomed lol shes super smart but acts stupid most of the time. training her is not very easy at all she will learn things when she feels like learning them lol

jayson hes average. he hasnt figured out most of the things laika has.

 

[LostAndConfused]

Hudson is smart, but impulsive and unmotivated, so he is also a bit of a train wreck.

Peco, the Blue Lacy, was wicked smart. He mostly did his own thing and didn't know many tricks, but he caught onto things so fast