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How Smart do you think the average dog is?
Our guess is about 50 % would say... "I think my dog is pretty smart"
While the other 50% might say... " My dog is dumb as a box of rocks."
Just because a dog knows how to do 200 tricks and can respond to over 30 different words does not necessarily make him intelligent. What it does prove is that he is a good repetitive follower.
The true definition of Dog intelligence is the ability of a dog to learn, think, and solve problems without the assistance or interference of others.
Working dogs for instance have repeatedly proven to solve all sorts of problems, whether its tracking a trail to its source, or leading the blind through traffic.
But again, their intelligence cannot be measured solely by it’s breed. A Bloodhound is an outstanding tracker, but try teaching it Agility.
It can be done, but with great patience from the owner.
Working or “thinking” dogs must still be trained by humans to enhance their natural skills. They may be fabulous in one area, but not so good in another.
The thinking dog has to also instinctively use their own senses and judgment to take some form of logical decision while performing their duties.
One extremely important factor to understanding how smart any dog is, is not to confuse what they were bred for, for their actual learning capabilities.
Are they doing something because of genetics or just simply to please?
Just because a dog was bred to guard, doesn't’ mean he’s going to do it, without being taught.
A non working family pet can be just as wise as a working dog. A dogs brain is only half as large as the human brain, yet they are the most intelligent of " domestic" animals.
Still, many humans only measure their dogs intelligence by their ability to do what we humans want them to do.
When the dog doesn’t perform the action, now they are labeled as a “ stupid dog".
Was it really the dog, or lack of owner patience?
It is commonly believed that some breeds are smarter than others. Though this has really not been effectively proven, studies do show that owners who have exposed their dogs to ever changing environmental experiences and interactions have shown to make more intelligent choices than those not exposed to the same experiences.
This does not mean that the non exposed dog is stupid or dumb, he just hasn’t had an opportunity to learn.
Memory is also an important part of a dogs intelligence. The ability to retain information short and long term helps them to identify familiarities.
The bottom line is ,the more exposure to experiences they have, the faster they will learn.
The more you motivate and encourage to do, the more likely it is that they will continue to see these as positive experiences and be more apt to please and retain.
We owe our dogs a chance to develop their natural intelligence by training, showing,teaching,correcting and rewarding them as much and as often as we can.
So the next time you hear a "Stupid Dog" comment, remember, there's no such thing as a stupid or dumb dog, just a misinformed owner"
