The Intelligence of Dogs

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. Published in 1994, the book explains Coren's theories about the differences in intelligence between different breeds of dogs.

Based upon previous research, Coren recognizes that intelligence has a variety of different dimensions. Coren writes of three such dimensions: instinctive intelligence, adaptive intelligence, and working and obedience intelligence. 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. Adaptive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to solve problems on his own. Working and obedience intelligence refers to a dog's ability to learn from humans.

Methods
The book's ranking focuses on working and obedience intelligence. Coren sent evaluation requests to American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club obedience trial judges, asking them to rank breeds by performance, and received 199 responses, representing about 50 percent of obedience judges then working in North America. Assessments were limited to breeds receiving at least 100 judge responses. This methodology aimed to eliminate the excessive weight that might result from a simple tabulation of obedience degrees by breed. Its use of expert opinion followed precedent.

Coren found substantial agreement in the judges' rankings of working and obedience intelligence, with Border collies consistently named in the top ten and Afghan Hounds consistently named in the lowest.


 * 1–10 Brightest Dogs
 * 11–26 Excellent Working Dogs
 * 27–39 Above Average Working Dogs
 * 40–54 Average Working/Obedience Intelligence
 * 55–69 Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence
 * 70–79 Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence

Brightest Dogs
Understanding of New Commands: Fewer than 5 repetitions. Obey First Command: 95% of the time or better.


 * 1) Border Collie
 * 2) Poodle
 * 3) German Shepherd
 * 4) Golden Retriever
 * 5) Doberman Pinscher
 * 6) Shetland Sheepdog
 * 7) Labrador Retriever
 * 8) Papillon
 * 9) Rottweiler
 * 10) Australian Cattle Dog

Excellent Working Dogs
Understanding of New Commands: 5 to 15 repetitions. Obey First Command: 85% of the time or better. Pembroke Welsh Corgi Miniature Schnauzer English Springer Spaniel Belgian Shepherd Tervuren Schipperke Belgian Sheepdog Collie Keeshond German Shorthaired Pointer</li> Flat-Coated Retriever English Cocker Spaniel Standard Schnauzer</li> Brittany</li> Cocker Spaniel</li> Weimaraner</li> Belgian Malinois Bernese Mountain Dog</li> Pomeranian</li> Irish Water Spaniel</li> Vizsla</li> Cardigan Welsh Corgi</li> </ol>

Above Average Working Dogs
Understanding of New Commands: 15 to 25 repetitions. Obey First Command: 70% of the time or better Chesapeake Bay Retriever Puli Yorkshire Terrier</li> Giant Schnauzer</li> Airedale Terrier Bouvier des Flandres</li> Border Terrier Briard</li> <li>Welsh Springer Spaniel</li> <li>Manchester Terrier</li> <li>Samoyed</li> <li>Field Spaniel Newfoundland Australian Terrier American Staffordshire Terrier Gordon Setter Bearded Collie</li> <li>Cairn Terrier Kerry Blue Terrier Irish Setter</li> <li>Norwegian Elkhound</li> <li>Affenpinscher Silky Terrier Miniature Pinscher English Setter Pharaoh Hound Clumber Spaniel</li> <li>Norwich Terrier</li> <li>Dalmatian</li> </ol>

Average Working/Obedience Intelligence
<li>Understanding of New Commands: 25 to 40 repetitions. <li>Obey First Command: 50% of the time or better. <li>Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier Bedlington Terrier Fox Terrier (Smooth)</li> <li>Curly Coated Retriever Irish Wolfhound</li> <li>Kuvasz Australian Shepherd</li> <li>Saluki Finnish Spitz Pointer</li> <li>Cavalier King Charles Spaniel German Wirehaired Pointer Black and Tan Coonhound American Water Spaniel</li> <li>Siberian Husky Bichon Frise English Toy Spaniel</li> <li>Tibetan Spaniel English Foxhound Otterhound American Foxhound Greyhound Wirehaired Pointing Griffon</li> <li>West Highland White Terrier Scottish Deerhound</li> <li>Boxer Great Dane</li> <li>Dachshund Staffordshire Bull Terrier</li> <li>Alaskan Malamute</li> <li>Whippet Chinese Shar Pei Wire Fox Terrier</li> <li>Rhodesian Ridgeback</li> <li>Ibizan Hound Welsh Terrier Irish Terrier</li> <li>Boston Terrier Akita</li> </ol>

Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence
<li>Understanding of New Commands: 40 to 80 repetitions. <li>Obey First Command: 30% of the time or better. <li>Skye Terrier</li> <li>Norfolk Terrier Sealyham Terrier</li> <li>Pug</li> <li>French Bulldog</li> <li>Brussels Griffon Maltese</li> <li>Italian Greyhound</li> <li>Chinese Crested</li> <li>Dandie Dinmont Terrier Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen Tibetan Terrier Japanese Chin Lakeland Terrier</li> <li>Old English Sheepdog</li> <li>Great Pyrenees</li> <li>Scottish Terrier Saint Bernard</li> <li>Bull Terrier</li> <li>Chihuahua</li> <li>Lhasa Apso</li> <li>Bullmastiff</li> </ol>

Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence
<li>Understanding of New Commands: 80 to 100 repetitions or more. <li>Obey First Command: 25% of the time or worse. <li>Shih Tzu</li> <li>Basset Hound</li> <li>Mastiff</li> <li>Beagle </li> <li>Pekingese</li> <li>Bloodhound</li> <li>Borzoi</li> <li>Chow Chow</li> <li>Bulldog</li> <li>Basenji</li> <li>Afghan Hound</li> </ol>

Evaluation
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. In addition, measurements of canine intelligence using other methods have confirmed the general pattern of these rankings including a new study using owner ratings to rank dog trainability and intelligence.