Top 10 Most Intelligent Dogs In The World

The Intelligence of Dogs is a book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Coren defines three aspects of dog intelligence in the book: 1) Instinctive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to perform the tasks it was bred for, such as herding, pointing, fetching, guarding, or supplying companionship. 2) Adaptive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to solve problems on its own. 3) Working and obedience intelligence refers to a dog's ability to learn from humans. When Coren's list of breed intelligence first came out there was much media attention and commentary both pro and con. However over the years the ranking of breeds and the methodology used have come to be accepted as a valid description of the differences among dog breeds in terms of the trainability aspect of dog intelligence. Below are the “intelligence brackets”: Brightest Dogs • Understanding of New Commands: Fewer than 5 repetitions. • Obey First Command: 95% of the time or better. Excellent Working Dogs • Understanding of New Commands: 5 to 15 repetitions. • Obey First Command: 85% of the time or better. Above Average Working Dogs • Understanding of New Commands: 15 to 25 repetitions. • Obey First Command: 70% of the time or better. Average Working/Obedience Intelligence • Understanding of New Commands: 25 to 40 repetitions. • Obey First Command: 50% of the time or better. Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence • Understanding of New Commands: 40 to 80 repetitions. • Obey First Command: 30% of the time or better. Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence (I guess these ones just eat and stare at you! LOL!) Below is a list of the top 10 brightest dogs (from the topmost category). . . Source: Wikipedia

#10. Australian Cattle Dog The Australian Cattle Dog (ACD or Cattle Dog), is a breed of herding dog originally developed in Australia for driving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. In the 19th century, New South Wales cattle farmer Thomas Hall crossed the dogs used by drovers in his parents' home county, Northumberland, with dingoes he had tamed. The resulting dogs were known as Halls Heelers. After Hall's death in 1870, the dogs became available beyond the Hall family and their associates, and were subsequently developed into two modern breeds, the Australian Cattle Dog and the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog. Robert Kaleski was influential in the Cattle Dog's early development, and wrote the first standard for the breed. When on home ground, the Australian Cattle Dog is a happy, affectionate, and playful pet. However, it is reserved with people it does not know and naturally cautious in new situations. Its attitude to strangers makes it an excellent guard dog when trained for this task, and it can be socialised to become accustomed to a variety of people from an early age as a family pet. Country of Origin: Australia (Where else will Australian Cattle Dog come from?)

#9. Rottweiler The Rottweiler is a medium to large size breed of domestic dog. The dogs were known as "Rottweil butchers' dogs" (German: Rottweiler Metzgerhund) because they were used to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat and other products to market. The Rottweiler was employed in its traditional roles until the mid-19th century when railways replaced droving for herding livestock to market. While still used in herding, Rottweilers are now also used as search and rescue dogs, as guide dogs for the blind, as guard dogs or police dogs, and in other roles. Although a versatile breed used in recent times for many purposes, the Rottweiler is primarily one of the oldest, if not the oldest of herding breeds. A Rottweiler is self-confident and responds quietly and with a wait-and-see attitude to influences in its environment. It has an inherent desire to protect home and family, and is an intelligent dog of extreme hardness and adaptability with a strong willingness to work, making them especially suited as a companion, guardian and general all-purpose dog Country of Origin: Germany

#8. Papillon The Papillon (from the French word for butterfly, pronounced: [papiˈjɔ̃]), also called the Continental Toy Spaniel, is a breed of dog of the Spaniel type. One of the oldest of the toy spaniels, it derives its name from its characteristic butterfly-like look of the long and fringed hair on the ears. A Papillon with dropped ears is called a Phalène (French for moth). The small head is slightly rounded between the ears with a well defined stop. The muzzle is somewhat short, thin tapering to the nose. The dark, medium sized, round eyes have thin black rims, often extending at the junction of the eyelids towards the ears. The large ears can either be erect or dropped with rounded tips. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. The long tail is set high carried over the body, and covered with long, fine hair. Dewclaws are sometimes removed. The straight, long, fine, single coat has extra frill on the chest, ears, back of the legs and the tail. Coat color is white with patches of any color. A mask of a color other than white covers both ears and eyes from back to front. Country of Origin: France

#7. Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever (simply Labrador, or Lab for short) is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. Even-tempered and well-behaved around young children and the elderly, Labradors are athletic and playful, and are the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (since 1991). A favorite assistance dog breed in these and other countries, Labradors are frequently trained to aid blind and autistic people, act as therapy dogs, and perform screening and detection work for law enforcement and other official agencies. Labradors are relatively large, with males typically weighing 29 to 41 kg (64 to 90 lb) and females 25 to 32 kg (55 to 71 lb). Labradors' sense of smell allows them to hone in on almost any scent and follow the path of its origin. They generally stay on the scent until they find it. Navies, military forces and police forces use them as detection dogs to track down smugglers, thieves, terrorists and black marketers. Country of Origin: Canada

#6. Shetland Sheepdog The Shetland Sheepdog, often known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog. They are small to medium dogs, and come in a variety of colors, such as sable, tri-color, and blue merle. They are vocal, excitable, energetic dogs who are always willing to please and work hard. They are partly derived from dogs used in the Shetland Isles for herding and protecting sheep. The breed was formally recognized by the Kennel Club in 1909. The Shetland sheepdog is lively, intelligent, playful, trainable, and willing to please and obey. They are loving, loyal, and affectionate with their family, but are naturally aloof with strangers; for this reason Shelties must be socialized. Country of Origin: Scotland

#5. Doberman Pinscher The Doberman Pinscher (alternatively spelled Dobermann in many countries) or simply Doberman, is a breed of domestic dog originally developed around 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann. Doberman Pinschers are among the most common of pet breeds, and the breed is well known as an intelligent, alert, and loyal companion dog. Although once commonly used as guard dogs or police dogs, this is less common today. In many countries, Doberman Pinschers are one of the most recognizable breeds, in part because of their actual roles in society, and in part because of media attention. Careful breeding has improved the disposition of this breed, and the modern Doberman Pinscher is an energetic and lively breed suitable for companionship and family life. Although many Dobermans have been outdoor dogs, they are best suited to live indoors. Although they are considered to be working dogs, Doberman Pinschers are often stereotyped as being ferocious and aggressive. As a personal protection dog, the Doberman was originally bred for these traits: it had to be large and intimidating, fearless, and willing to defend its owner, but sufficiently obedient and restrained to only do so on command. Country of Origin: Germany

#4. Golden Retriever The Golden Retriever is a large-sized breed of dog. They were bred as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties, and were named retriever because of their ability to retrieve shot game undamaged. Golden Retrievers have an instinctive love of water, and are easy to train to basic or advanced obedience standards. They are a long-coated breed, with a dense inner coat that provides them with adequate warmth in the outdoors, and an outer coat that lies flat against their bodies and repels water. Golden Retrievers are well suited to residency in suburban or country environments. Although they need substantial outdoor exercise, they should be housed in a fenced area because of their instinctual tendency to roam. The dog sheds copiously, particularly at the change of seasons, and requires fairly regular grooming. The temperament of the Golden Retriever is a hallmark of the breed, and is described in the standard as "kindly, friendly and confident”. Country of Origin: Scotland

#3. German Shepherd The German Shepherd (German: Deutscher Schäferhund, German pronunciation: [ˈʃɛːfɐˌhʊnt]) (aka Alsatian and Alsatian Wolf Dog), is a breed of large-sized dog. German Shepherds are a relatively new breed of dog, with their origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, German Shepherds are working dogs developed originally for herding sheep. Since that time, however, because of their strength, intelligence, trainability and obedience, German Shepherds around the world are often the preferred breed for many types of work, including search-and-rescue, police and military roles and even acting. German Shepherds are the second most popular dog in the United States of America. In Europe during the 1850s, attempts were being made to standardize breeds. The dogs were bred to preserve traits that assisted in their job of herding sheep and protecting flocks from predators. German Shepherds were bred specifically for their intelligence, a trait for which they are now famous Country of Origin: (Refer to breed’s name) 1 Like

#2. Poodle The Poodle is a group of formal dog breeds, the Standard Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle (one registry organisation also recognizes a Medium Poodle variety, between Standard and Miniature), with many coat colors. Originally bred in Germany as a type of water dog, the poodle is skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding. Poodles have taken top honors in many conformation shows, including "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1991 and 2002, and at the World Dog Show in 2007 and 2010. The poodle is a very active, intelligent and elegant dog, squarely built, and well proportioned. Country of Origin: Germany, then standardized in France

#1. Border Collie The Border Collie is a herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep. Ranked number one in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs and typically extremely energetic, acrobatic, smart and athletic, they frequently compete with great success in dog sports, in addition to their success in sheepdog trials, and are often cited as the most intelligent of all dogs. In January 2011, a Border Collie was reported to have learned 1,022 words, and acts consequently to human citation of those words. True to their working heritage, Border Collies make very demanding, energetic pets that are better off in households that can provide them with plenty of play and exercise with humans or other dogs. Country of Origin: United Kingdom