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How Smart Are Dogs?

That's the question addressed in this column:

Q: Is there a simple way of getting a general idea about the intelligence of dogs?

A: No. So-called ''intelligence tests'' are confounded by motivation and emotion, especially fear. Intelligence and learning ability, not trainability, are closely linked. Some dogs are more intelligent than others -- with breed differences being less than individual differences within breeds.

I regard intelligence as the sum of many attributes that can be difficult to measure. Dogs' olfactory intelligence is far superior to ours. Their other sensory and cognitive abilities are equal to our own. Their emotional intelligence is on par with that of a 5- to 15-year-old human (my educated guess). Their intellectual abilities (reason, insight/foresight and ability to deceive) and their memories are sometimes stunning.

As for dogs being more or less intelligent than cats or pigs, my answer is, there's nothing more intelligent at being a dog than a dog.

Needless to say (needlessly) others have plenty of thoughts on the subject. From the Bill Foundation:

Intelligence is an elusive quality. Animals, including humans, learn to solve problems through interaction with their environments. Through trial and error or observation, an intelligent individual learns to predict outcomes of his actions accurately. Measuring problem solving skills helps us assess the intelligence quotient or IQ of an individual. Persistent individuals make several attempts before giving up, creating more opportunities to learn. For this reason, intelligence and persistence are complimentary traits in evaluating an IQ. IQ is just an estimate of an animal's ability to successfully solve the problems that life presents compared to other animals in similar situations.

Someday, perhaps we will devise 50 specific test problems for dogs, score 5 million dogs of various ages and breeds, and come up with an IQ score for the average dog. Until then, you can test your dog's IQ with home made problems.

Test problems should be scored pass or fail. Any solution to a problem, other than giving up, is a correct solution. For example, failure to retrieve food by a dog that is not hungry is not an indication of lack of intelligence. The problems you develop for the test must provide interest for your particular dog. Your creativity and knowledge of your dog will help you design appropriate problems.

Unique solutions are acceptable. For example, if you encourage your dog to reach you through a barrier but he goes around through another room instead, the goal of reaching you has been achieved and he has solved the problem. Also, note the number of times the dog approaches the problem before he succeeds in reaching the goal or loses interest.

Remember, persistence is part of IQ.

The greater the ratio of problems passed to failed, the greater the dog's intelligence quotient. The greater number of attempts at each new problem, the greater your dog's persistence. The greater the dog's intelligence/persistence the more quickly he can learn to solve the problems of life including understanding new commands. Don't forget to consider your dog's breeding as part of the testing selection. Dogs that are bred to herd are more likely to follow moving objects than to pick them up. Dogs bred to retrieve readily pick up objects but are most likely to bring them to you rather than manipulate them on their own. With encouragement, dogs can learn new behaviors. But you should expect different breeds to solve problems differently with better solutions to problems that encourage their natural talents.

The Purina Puppy Chow website adds this:

Intelligence can be measured several ways: how well or how quickly your dog can understand your meaning, figure out ways around obstacles or recognize people and things. But intelligence should not be confused with being a good companion. Smart does not always equal trainable. A smart dog might very well understand you but still choose to do something else.

The important quality of a companion dog is that he wants to please you. After all, most basic training involves conditioning your dog to listen to a command, but doesn’t require that your dog ‘understand’ the command in the way a person does.

Some signs of intelligence are easy to spot. For example, watch how your dog uses his paws. Using paws to reach for or retrieve a ball that has rolled under a couch is one sign of intelligence.

One popular test is to show your dog a new toy, then set it on the floor and cover it with a towel. Dogs of above-average intelligence will make the connection between the towel and the toy and look for their toy. Other dogs will think the toy simply disappeared and never look for it.

Evidence of memory can be seen in how your dog greets people he has met before. A dog with a stronger memory will not need to go back through the introduction process and will become comfortable with the visitor quickly.

Wherever your dog falls on the intelligence scale, remember that intelligence is developed through practice, just as it can be in humans. The more involved your dog is in your life, the more time you spend training and working with your dog, the more intelligent he’s likely to be.

And regardless of intelligence, the important thing to know is that your dog wants to please you. Unless you really need or want a dog that can figure out how to open the refrigerator, intelligence can be overrated. For most families, the qualities to look for are gentle, tolerant and devoted - those are what make a family dog one-in-a-million.

One of my cats is so adept at opening the refrigerator and the kitchen cabinets and drawers that I had to install "child safety latches" on all of them.

Author Stanley Coren questioned over a hundred dog breeders and tallied their opinions on the matter in a book on the subject. At the top of the list (smartest) were:

1. Border Collies
2. Poodle
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman Pincher
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Labrador Retriever
8. Papillon
9. Rottwieler
10. Australian Cattle Dog
11. Pembrook Welsh Corgi
12. Miniature Schnauzer

At the low end of the intelligence rankings are:

106. Borzoi
107. Chow Chow
108. Bull dog
109. Basenji
110. Afghan Hound

One of the more surprising things that this book points out is that, depending upon your life style, it may be more difficult to live with a more intelligent, rather than a less intelligent dog.

In an interview, author Lexiann Grant said this:

For most of the thousands of years that dogs have lived side by side with humankind, they were viewed in primarily a utilitarian manner -- as hunting aids, or farm workers. This relationship was self-limiting in that humans did not expect more and were unaware of canine potential.

When we look at what a dog can accomplish without special training, say, saving the life of a loved one by warning them of a fire in the home, it is even more amazing what they can be trained to do. Early on we learned to develop their natural instincts to do such things as guard livestock or hunt, now they help us in many capacities including serving as ears for hearing impaired persons, leading the blind, as arson detection dogs and much more.

As humans ask "What can a dog learn to do?", we raise the expectation and discover that dogs are capable of learning a great deal more than originally believed, and that they are capable of using that knowledge to interact with humans in helpful, meaningful ways.

The scientific community, in particular animal behaviorists, have only recently begun to study animal intelligence on a serious level. The findings of some of the initial studies are astounding -- that some non-human animals can comprehend abstract ideas, symbols, new concepts, and, can analyze situations and choose varied but appropriate responses for their reactions.

Personally I believe that there has always been much more to the canine mind than what we have in the past permitted ourselves to perceive. Believing this is no longer the wishful thinking of a pet owner anthropomorphizing their own thoughts onto those of their dog's. Rather, dogs have recognizable intelligence.

My own feelings on the subject are that if you need a dog for work, intelligence plays a strong role. On the other hand, if you just want that dog for a companion then stop worrying about how smart it is and raise it in a loving atmosphere. He'll have all the smarts and offer all the affection that you and your family need!

Posted by Jeff Soyer at April 25, 2006 01:19 PM