Posted on 10/16/2009 3:33:52 PM PDT by Lorianne
No Border Collies on the smartest list. The list is bogus. But then that is if you consider the Border Collie to be a dog in the intelligence sense of the word. An argument could be made that they transcend dogdom in that area.
Oops my mistake I didn’t push the last button, i.e I missed the Border Collie at number one. Carry on
I've got one. He's smart, but not very scary. He isn't quite full grown, and we don't do dog sports. Instead, he has a slightly older Australian Shepherd as a workout buddy. A few hours each day running
around our one acre, wrestling, jumping over things, and playing 'bitey face', and add in some help from our pound mutt, and he's ready for his nap!
While still VERY young: 
Gotta be careful who you piss off!
I’m surprised that English Springers didn’t make the smart list. We have an ESS and a Sheltie, and accepting for variations in individual dogs our Springer is way smarter than our Sheltie who came in at No. 6.
I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life, but I’ve never had one as sharp as my Sheltie.
I’m not so sure. Friends of mine have an Irish Setter tricks you into thinking that she’s as dumb as a post. She has no issue operating doorhandles, opening the refigerator and is a supreme escape artist.
Did the picture turn out? I tried to read the directions and post it for you.
LOL
Your Border Collie wouldn’t have made that mistake. :)
There are exceptions in every breed. I've known a couple of calm BCs . . . one was an agility champion, but his owner was a professional handler and looked all over the country to find him. He was a "switch" dog - calm as could be until you went to the line.
But you have to be pretty smart to fool everybody into thinking you're dumb . . . .
I’ve got two “nut-jobs” myself. Knoow what you mean.
Best dogs in the world are German Shepherds.
My kelpie is smarter than any German Shepherd.
Jack (or Jac-Jac, as my granddaughter calls him) is like that. When he goes, he GOES. But when you come inside, he curls up next to or on top of your feet, and is as happy as can be - provided he is close to his people. Our vet, a dog sports fan, claims she has never seen such a relaxed Border Collie.
Our previous Border Collie was also like that. They both came from working lines, and that may have something to do with it - a hyperactive sheep dog dies shortly after harassing the sheep...
BTW - the pound mutt is an awesome guard dog. Extremely gentle, but very alert.
In his own way, he’s every bit as smart as the Border Collie. He figures it is HIS job to alert, and MY job to get a gun and investigate!
I guess they figure they'll retrieve the body afterwards.
He was a monumentally dumb dog.
Lost at the end of his leash.
I have 3 basset hounds. And, if you look at life from their point of view, they are pretty darn smart. They get EVERYONE to feed them, including a couple of neighbors. It seems everyone in our neighborhood walks by to say hi to the silly hounds, so they get a lot of attention. And soft, warm beds.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.