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Dog Intelligence/Temperament

How Smart is Your Dog?

Jun 24, 2006 Joy Butler

When choosing a dog, breed intelligence and temperament, among other things, are important considerations. If you already have a dog, how does your breed measure up?

Intelligence can be measured in more ways than one. Problem solving ability and instinctive ability are important qualities in a dog but, when tested in obedience alone, a dog trainers'survey produced some interesting results. When dog breeds were temperament tested by the American Temperament Testing Society, even more surprising results were recorded.

Alfons Ertel established the American Temperament Testing Society (ATTS) in 1977. The test simulates a casual walk through a park and focuses on stability, shyness, aggressiveness, and friendliness as well as the dog's instinct for protectiveness toward its handler, and/or self-preservation. The test is for all breeds and is uniform throughout the country. Approximately one thousand test events have been held, with 26,615 dogs tested as of December 2005 and 21,615 dogs have earned TT titles.

Listed below, in order, are dog breeds that understood new commands in less than 5 repetitions and obeyed first commands 95% of the time or better, along with their ATTS passing percentage.

  • 1. Border collie, 79.7%

  • 2. Poodle, 76.2%

  • 3. German Shepherd, 83.1%

  • 4. Golden Retriever, 83.7%

  • 5. Doberman, 76.8%

  • 6. Shetland Sheepdog, 66.9%

  • 7. Labrador Retriever, 91.4%

  • 8. Papillon, 79.7%

  • 9. Rottweiler, 82.5%

  • 10. Australian Cattle Dog, 78.1%

  • Listed below, in order, are breeds that understood new commands in 5 to 15 repetitions and obeyed first commands 85% of the time or better, along with their ATTS passing percentage.

  • 11. Pembroke Welsh Corgi, 78%

  • 12. Miniature Schnauzer, 78.6%

  • 13. English Springer Spaniel, 84.3%

  • 14. Belgian Tervuren, 77.1%

  • 15. Schipperke, 91.2%Belgian Sheepdog, 79.7%

  • 16. Collie, 79%Keeshond, 80.2%

  • 17. German Shorthaired Pointer, 75.9%

  • 18. Flat-coated Retriever, 91.5%English Cocker Spaniel, 93.2%Standard Schnauzer, 66.1%

  • 19. Brittany Spaniel, 90.3%

  • 20. Cocker Spaniel, 81.7%

  • 21. Weimaraner, 79.4%

  • 22. Belgian Malinois, 90.2%Bernese Mountain Dog, 85.8%

  • 23. Pomeranian, 75%

  • 24. Irish Water Spaniel, 88.5%

  • 25. Vizsla, 82.6%

  • 26. Cardigan Welsh Corgi, 75.9%

  • Other Breeds of Interest and their ATTS Passing Percentages

  • Standard Smooth Dachshund, 66.7%

  • Boston Terrier, 86.2%

  • Beagle, 79.7%

  • Dalmation, 81.6%

  • Chihuahua, 67%

  • American Staffordshire Terrier, 83.3%

  • American Pit Bull Terrier, 83.5%

  • Mixed Breeds, 85.4%

  • Average ATTS pass rate of all breeds, 81.2%

  • Related articles:

  • The Intelligence of Dogs

  • Canine Intelligence Test

  • Identifying Mixed Breed Dogs by DNA

  • The Canine Good Citizen Test

  • About Chihuahuas

  • About Beagles

  • Katrina Dog Hero

  • Fun Dog Facts

    • The copyright of the article Dog Intelligence/Temperament in Dogs is owned by Joy Butler. Permission to republish Dog Intelligence/Temperament in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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    Comments

    Jul 26, 2008 8:57 PM
    adrian chan :
    Hi, its very interesting to read the above article. Infact, the intelligence or the trainings can be inherited by pups.
    I have 1 german sheperd mix male (named: cougar) and 1 retriver like mix female (named: wishes) plus 1 offspring from both male and female.

    Both dogs were train by us using positive reinforcement methods however, what surprises me was that their offspring (named: Fire, due her high fever when she was young) were even more intelligent that her parents. a lot of commands and tricks were somehow inherited from her parents. In fact, she is much smarter than her parents!

    She did not require a lot of training from all aspects, some commands when mentioned for the first time, she would understand and knows what to do as though she had been taught previously. Until today, almost 2 yrs of age, she has practically improved on whatever her parents have learn.

    Adrian
    Sep 11, 2008 4:57 PM
    Guest :
    I have come to realize that dogs are intelligent in what they were bred to do, the fact that a dog obeys commands means something, but why does that make them more intelligent than others? What about a dog that is not motivated by food? Yes, those exist! A bloodhound will track MUCH better than a poodle, a pyrenees and other livestock guardian breeds cannot even be compared to other 'guard dogs' in their ability to distinquish good from bad and use as much force as required to protect their flock and not a bit more. In my opinion from having dogs, training them and seeing many different breeds is that everyone thinks their dog is the smartest of them all, which is great, you should think your dog is smart, and love and respect them. Fact is, if you were to put a poodle in a field with sheep and taught them in one command to protect the flock from bad things, how well do you think they would suceed? They would not have a clue. Every test I have seen out there to say 'How smart is your dog' I won't name names tests to a certain degree however I would by no means ever use that as a foolproof method of detmining intelligence. What infact do we see as intelligent? Taking commands like a soldier or by thinking on their own like a cat??? In my opinion cats are much smarter than dogs and those dogs that act like cats are the most intelligent. These are usually the ones left out of testing. I have owned the 'smart' and the 'dumb' and I would honestly say that the smart are not that smart. Every dog was bred to do a certain job, and a properly bred dog will do it to perfection.
    Sep 21, 2008 1:51 PM
    Guest :
    I have to agree with the most recent comment. I have a Lhasa Apso, which tends to be very independent (and scored #68 on one test's ranking). I know from my own dog, that if her intelligence was defined by obedience or doing "tricks", how she could score so poorly. However, I have a story about her that I believe illustrates high intelligence in problem solving despite a level of disobedience. While my wife and I were out of town, Coco was staying with a coworker of mine who agreed to look after her. Coco is accustomed to sleeping in bed with us, but my coworker didn't want a dog in the bed. After two tries hopping onto the bed and being taken off, Coco curled up on the floor until after my coworker went to sleep. At that point, she got back onto the bed and made herself comfortable. As I said earlier, I believe that this shows plenty of intelligence. Coco knew what she wanted, saw the obstacle, and figured out how to get around it. Measuring a dog's intelligence really can be a tricky endeavor.
    Dec 30, 2008 10:48 PM
    Guest :
    Becca:
    Hi, I have a Jack Russell, Ralphie (female), who's about 2 1/2 years old. I got her my freshman year in college, which was not the smartest idea I've had, and did not take the time to train her. She knows basic commands like sit/down/roll over, small stuff from Petsmart training. She's very aggressive towards other dogs, especially when I feed them all, and becomes aggressive towards me when I try to discipline her. I was wondering if there is anyway I can teach her to become obedient towards myself, or teach her that I'm the "pack leader" as I've heard it being called. My boyfriend is constantly telling me that there's nothing that I can do to fix this and I'm going to have to give her up, which I refuse to do. I can't afford professional help right now but I was just wondering if anyone could help with any little tips or advice to help me control her more.
    Feb 9, 2009 8:51 PM
    Guest :
    I have a Cocker Spaniel and was surprised about their intelligence according to this chart. Everyone I have met that has had a Cocker Spaniel says they are dumb. "Stupid" is actually what I hear more offten. I always suspected mine was trying to put one past me and ACT like she doesn't know what I'm asking of her. I suspected it was an act because when I pull out a treat she suddenly becomes smarter. Now I know or maybe I should be repeating things to her 15 times before I give up on her. I am curious to know now if someone has a really smart Cocker Spaniel.
    Mar 12, 2009 10:51 AM
    Guest :
    I have a highly intelligent American Cocker Spaniel. He is 14 months old and has gone for two sets of obedience classes. I am really surprised that your friends have rated them 'dumb'. That is certainly not the case. They are highly intelligent animals and he was top of the class despite his age. It takes practice for them to learn and just 5-10 mins per day which is time very well spent. He was potty trained when he was 2 months old using a door bell.
    Apr 14, 2009 1:30 PM
    Guest :
    I agree that intelligence should be measured by problem solving. I have a German Shepard that will study everything you do. She actually figured out how to open the gate we have up to keep her out of specific rooms when we don't want her in there. The first time we caught her doing it we were amazed.
    Jan 22, 2010 12:13 PM
    Guest :
    My late Boxer who passed away on 12-30-2009 always listened on the first or second at the most command. I could say find my son (by my son's name) and he would go to him. I could take him out in the back yard and tell him to fin his toys and knew the difference between a ball and frisbee. He learned to catch a frisbee almost automatically. We wouldn't let him jump on our glass sliding door for us to let him in, so he learned on his own to tap the glass with his nail. I could say get in the tub, he would. Go to bed, he would. He knew the difference between truck and van. He knew all the basic tricks. He learned to open his gate, but when I told him it was bad he never did it again. I could go on all day.... I really miss him, but we got a new 6 week old boxer pup and I hope he is as inteligent as the other.
    How could a stupid beagle rate higher then a boxer? I have never seen a really well trained rot either....
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