Posted on 10/16/2009 3:33:52 PM PDT by Lorianne
The CBS "Early Show" ran a story about dogs and their intelligence, or lack thereof. In the story, they shared their list of the top 10 smartest and top 10 dumbest dog breeds. These were their picks.
Poodles here. I think they are #2 on the ‘official’ smart list. We are now parents to two youngsters.
What? Helen Thomas didn’t make the dumbest?
Did anyone rank the intelligence (or lack thereof) of the voters?
As far as I’m concerned my miniature schnauzer is one smart cookie.
My sisters dog, a basset hound, is dam sure the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.
Had an Irish Setter when I was a kid....beautiful, but totally the dumbest dog on earth......
Mutts don't qualify as a breed.
Poodles are #1 in this household. My present tri-color male is the smartest I have ever owned. Too smart for their own good.
I have an 8-month old papillon. Bright little girl. My other dog is a min-pin, nearly 9 years old and is fairly bright, as well. Both are very good tempered pups.
It's got some problems in individual rankings and close rankings (i.e. 3rd vs 4th) because the tests they used were not very comprehensive and didn't take into account the different breeds' skills.
But there's really not much question about the extreme ends of the list. Border Collies are scary smart (to the extent that you DON'T want one if you're not an experienced dog owner and dedicated to LOTS of active dog sports), and Afghan Hounds are so stupid it's a wonder they remember to breathe. A school friend of mine bred and showed Afghans, and I have never seen so much stupidity concentrated in one place in my life.
My inclination would be to rate the guide dog breeds (Shepherds, Labs, Goldens) as the all around smartest in terms of being most useful and adaptable. They have to be to be guide dogs. Border collies would make lousy guide dogs because they are obsessive-compulsive and hyperactive as well as being smart.
The Border Collie came in at #1 smartest...no surprise there....
Oh soooo many names come to mind for that photo.
“My inclination would be to rate the guide dog breeds (Shepherds, Labs, Goldens) as the all around smartest in terms of being most useful and adaptable.”
Yep, I totally agree with that. Retrievers are just the best dogs....
Thanks. That just made my day.
There was an Irish Setter male who started Agility classes at the same time as my little Chocolate Lab. She went all the way through the various levels in two associations, when I retired her she was running Masters in AKC and Advanced in USDAA . . . and that poor Irish Setter was still trying to get his FIRST Novice qualifying score. He would get out on the course, forget why he was there, and wander around aimlessly, sniffing at stuff with a vacant look on his face.
He was a monumentally dumb dog.
They can be sensitive little cusses, our 2 YO female is shy, our little male 4mo. is a wild thing.. sweet, but a little stinker. way to smart sometimes. lol
I have a miniature schnauzer as well and agree that it's a very smart breed and very friendly too - although considers herself the center of the universe. I also had a basset hound which lived to be twelve and then had to be put down due to crippling arthritis. he, god bless his soul, was dumb as a brick but equally friendly and lovable. He was a loyal and gentle friend for my children while they were growing up.
oh, that is just wrong
The smartest dog I have ever known was a poodle-dachsund mix. Many times she surprised me with demonstrations of reasoning and planning.
Basenjis are way smarter than people who write these lists. They aren’t easily trained or obedient, but way smart.
I would put the Bernese Mountain Dog a very close second.
She does love to retrieve, though.
Madam is not amused!! She may be a bulldog, but she's not stupid!!
(Actually, she's an Olde English bullie - an attempt to bring back the breed as they were in the 1800's, but with milder temperament. Maybe that's why she's smart)
My daughter has 2 standard poodles....Blue is a sweet and smart dog.....Maizy is the dumbest dog on earth and has earned the nickname of Stupy, short for stupid....but it could be because she is a blond poodle....
The pony puppy!
For some reason I can’t download the list.
Someone dumped a Lab mutt mix who was mostly Lab in my yard. She was expecting pups. She turned out to be the sweetest natured dog I have ever seen.
She had 8 of the cutest pups one could imagine and I kept one and gave the others away. Put a sign in my yard and was surprised how easy it was to give them away.
He turned out to be just like his Mother, everyone said he was the best dog they ever saw and several asked me to give him to them. One day he just disappeared. Don’t know what happened to him Could have been snakebit as he loved to kill Rattlesnakes or someone may have stolen him. He looked like a full blooded lab.
His only fault is he really demanded attention.
Did you know that the original poodles were hunting dogs? They have webbed feet like water retrievers. Those pom-poms were to protect their joints while in the water. They also were multi-colored like my present poodle. I’m not computer literate enough to post a picture.
:)
A friend has one and she never had to train it....in the late afternoon it goes out and herds all the chickens into the coop. She just has to shut the door...Watched them work herds of sheep, and awesome animal......
Now that picture is downright cruel.......funny but cruel....
That is downright funny, they are stupid, poor babies...
I just love the pic and tag line on Rottweiler being 9th smartest, mine was surprised anyone would enter such a beauty contest. Although, after working with a number of herding breeds, I can attest they may be the smartest across the board.
How in the world can I print that out?
Last week someone had a picture of an Irish Setter with a toy in his mouth that looked like buck teeth.
Years back has a beautiful red Siberian husky with amber eyes....dug fox holes in the yard, ate snow fences for snacks and loved to tear carpet off the floor....Beautiful but totally untrainable except for sit.
But he did love to wrestle and it would be hard for me to get him down....if I did, he laid perfectly still, I wouldn't move my body just loosen my arm muscles a little and he would be off and wrestling again....He would wait for that slightly looser feel, in wrestling he was smart as a whip....
The intelligence of the herding breeds is pretty obvious. OTOH, I've seen dogs that are otherwise untrainable figure out things on their own. A lot of it is how the breed typically employs it's intelligence.
Heard a fascinating interview of the author of a book called "A Wolf in the Parlor". He contends that early domesticated dogs had a reduction of 10% of their cranial capacity when compared to their cousin the wolf. That has implications for intelligence, but I'm not sure that many people would say that a wolf is smarter than a border collie.
Wow. I’ve gone from the 8th dumbest dog, my dearly departed English Mastiff, to the third, my currently snoring English Bulldog. That makes my day.
I now am in possession of my sixth Irish Setter. What does that make me?
Never mind.
I have never seen a multi-colored poodle....wish you could learn to picture one...it would be interesting to see...:O)
Chrissy the DC Leghound looks like he is ready to mount Zero for some more lovin.
I used to let my dachsund balance my checkbook.
This is absurd-a poodle smarter than a beagle-no way!
Could the answer be frustrated? When it comes to a beautiful dog, they would be right up near the top...
Dingy Harry, Barney Frank (checking out a male Great Dane)...AND Pelosi (who hasn't been able to hold a gum ball in her mouth for years)
Beautiful and highly intelligent animals.
LOL!
LOL now that is one smart doxie.
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