Smartest breed. Whats your point?

[Divinix]

So my friend has a border collie and has loved border collies since she was a girl. Recently she decided to say "my dogs breed is smarter than your dogs breed. Its actually number ONE on the list!"

So what? I told her. My dogs just as smart as your dog. Just because shes stubborn sometimes doesn't mean she's dumb.

"Look at the husky breed. Its 'average' on the intellegence list" she said.

I dont care. Those lists are full of it. Every dog is smart in their own way. Plus I'm sure sibes are way too smart to let any of those lists figure out how "smart" they are -____-

This "whos breed is better" challenge my friend is doing is annoying me.

I love all dogs, even collies, so stop it. Jeeze

Aghh stupid lists! Huskies are not "average" or "dumb" -____-

*rant on*

[Emma&Cookie]

Top of the 'best looking dogs' list

[Elyse]

It sounds like she sees her Border Collie as more of a possession for bragging rights than as a pet.

If she keeps it up, I'd tell her blatantly that you don't care what a list says and you still love your husky just as much as she loves her B collie.

If she still doesn't listen, I'd ignore her.

[Paranormal Wolf]

Stuff like that bugs me. There seems to be some breeds with more intelligence than other breeds. HOWEVER people need to remember dogs should not be judged by breed alone, each is an individual.

[BlueWolf]

I would've respond with "I take it border collies are also on the top one list of breeds with the most bragging owners?"

But anyway, who cares about which one is smarter? I find dogs that can figure things out on their own (opening doors, stealing hidden threats) way more intelligent than dogs that only listen and rely on their owners to do things.

[Paranormal Wolf]

I would've respond with "I take it border collies are also on the top one list of breeds with the most bragging owners?"

But anyway, who cares about which one is smarter? I find dogs that can figure things out on their own (opening doors, stealing hidden threats) way more intelligent than dogs that only listen and rely on their owners to do things.

Also dogs that can entertain them selves in my opinion are smarter. Both of mine can throw their toys around and play with themselves when no one is playing with them.

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

There is a great saying among exprienced mushers "tell a team of border collies to gee and you will go right, tell a team of huskies to gee and they will wait for the break in the trees" so you tell me which breed is smarter!?

And actually your right when you say those lists are full of it, there was a scientific study done that prooved that actually all dogs have the same level of intelligence. But then again theres just no arguing with some people your better off just saying "ok love you think what you like" in a patronising way, will wind her up far more!!

[achelow]

I wish they'd just call them "average", I can deal with average, here I've heard everything from stupid to "useless".. It's this impression people have of them for some reason. However I am kind of glad they do as at least it means they're not going to think of adopting one. To me Nadia looking at me with an expression that says "why?" when I give her a command shows just how smart she really is, I don't think I could deal with blind obedience - not after being owned by a huskyXmalamute.

[stormchaser09]

my mum loves her collies and has gone along this track for years, my argument has been that with our dogs that because they won't blindly fetch a ball til they drop is cos they are more intellegent than the collies cos the dog knows that if he brings the ball back your just going to throw it away again so stops playing after the 3rd time.

Our last breed the Irish setter, everyone used to say - oh they are stupid dogs aren't they, well actually no they were very easy to train but still retained the ability to think for themselves whereas the collie needs to be told everything.(sorry thats a silly generalisation as I know some collies are very clever but they are usually trained to do what they are bred to do - a bit like training a husky to kill small furries)

[Graeme&thepack]

Couldn't agree more... Our huskies won't do anything unless there is something in it for them. A smart dog does not follow commands blindly they think them through for themselves before deciding to carry them out or not

[instant-classic]

I had a border collie when i was a kid and the one thing i always remember is when my dad cut the grass Barkley (my collie) would always try to round him up and nip at my dads bum ....friggin funny as hell to watch ...... only ever did it to my dad though ....... and no my dad doesn't look like a sheep. Yeah my point is all dogs are individuals like humans just some breed excel in certain areas i think

[Indigo & Oisin]

My mum has 4 border collies who she has trained as working farm dogs, They are beautiful dogs, all sweet and friendly and very bright....BUT.....My dogs can out-do them in personality and in looks any day of the week! I know which I would prefer.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

see i hate this just cuz they are on sum clever list - doesnt mean they are clever - its just how easy their are to train - collies labs ect want to PLEASE their owners n would do ANYTHING for them - huskies ask why first n then decide if its worth doing - now whos smarter?

[valhalla]

She must be thinking of Lassie the film star, in which case her Collie is up there with Flipper, Skippy and Tarzans chimp Cheatah

[Indigo & Oisin]

Lassie is a rough collie though, very different to a border collie. I like rough collies much better!

[Arooroomom]

I have actually heard that there is no more "intelligent" breed. I've heard they all roughly have the comprehension/intelligence of a 5 year old. Don't quote me... this is from memory. Seamus is a very intelligent dog I can spend 5 minutes teaching him something.... not touch on it again for a month and he'll remember it. But Border Collies are much different than a sibe and I believe they have a different kind of "intelligence". The Huskies on the other hand can be taught something and will rework it in their brains and find an easier way to do it. I have never taught my Huskies to open doors... but they can. They've learned by watching. Sometimes Seamus will drop his ball in the pool and stare at it for hours because it's sunk. If the Huskies care enough for their own toy... they have taught themselves to dive underwater.

I'm not saying Seamus is stupid, not even close. But the way these intelligence scales are rated are silly and don't hold much truth. These dogs may be easier to train but I don't see how that can be marked up to intelligence.

[Aramek]

If you can imagine, it is really hard to measure intelligence.

Heck, it is hard to do it, objectively on people, let alone things that cannot speak. So, what they do is a pretty broad "X repetitions until visible memory could be observed." As in, "How long does it take for a dog to learn a trick?" There are, obviously, issues with the possible accuracy of it, so, don't worry too much about intelligence reports.

[raindog]

Who Says Huskies aren’t smart!!!

Five men were bragging about how smart their dogs were. One was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, the fourth was an IT consultant, and the fifth was a local government officer.

To show off, the engineer called to his fox terrier. "T-square, do your stuff."

T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen and

promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.

Everyone agreed that was pretty incredible.

But the accountant said his border collie could do better. He called to his dog and commanded "Spreadsheet, do your stuff." Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen cakes. He divided them into 4 equal piles of 3 cakes each.

Everyone agreed that was good.

But the chemist said his dog could do better. He called to his poodle and said, "Measure, do your stuff." Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a pint of milk, got a half pint glass from the cupboard and poured exactly half a pint without spilling a drop.

Everyone agreed that was more than a little impressive.

The IT Consultant tech knew he could top them all with his basenji. "Hard Drive, have at it." Hard Drive crossed the room and booted the computer, checked for viruses, upgraded the operating system, sent an email, and installed a cool new game.

Everyone knew that was a tough act to follow.

Then the four men turned to the local government officer and said, "What can

your dog do?"

The local government officer called to his Siberian Husky and said, "Tea Break, do your stuff!" Tea Break jumped to his feet, ripped up T Square’s paper and peed on the pieces, ate Spreadsheet’s cakes, drank Measure’s milk, erased all Hard Drive’s files on the computer, sexually assaulted the other four dogs, claimed he injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for Disability Benefit and went home for a six-month sick leave.

Mick

[Elyse]

I have actually heard that there is no more "intelligent" breed. I've heard they all roughly have the comprehension/intelligence of a 5 year old. Don't quote me... this is from memory. Seamus is a very intelligent dog I can spend 5 minutes teaching him something.... not touch on it again for a month and he'll remember it. But Border Collies are much different than a sibe and I believe they have a different kind of "intelligence". The Huskies on the other hand can be taught something and will rework it in their brains and find an easier way to do it. I have never taught my Huskies to open doors... but they can. They've learned by watching. Sometimes Seamus will drop his ball in the pool and stare at it for hours because it's sunk. If the Huskies care enough for their own toy... they have taught themselves to dive underwater.

I'm not saying Seamus is stupid, not even close. But the way these intelligence scales are rated are silly and don't hold much truth. These dogs may be easier to train but I don't see how that can be marked up to intelligence.

Yeah - Suka learned how to open doors by himself. We didn't train him and he didn't know before. He just watched and learned.

And, during training, Sibes try to take an easy 'shortcut' to get to the treat. For example: When I'm training Suka to 'crawl', he'll start to crawl towards the treat like he's supposed to...but then he'd quickly stand up and try to snatch the treat away!

[jayt]

I remember reading that one of the best and useful parts of huskies are that they ask why. I'm remembering something like when a sled musher has the dogs going voer a lake, and the huskies think the ice is too thin, they wouldn't go, even though they are being told to. They knew it was dangerous. THAT is intellegence.

And remember that intellegence is an abstract measure of tests some poeple find to be interesting. Whether we are talking about people or dogs, it doesn't matter. "Intellegence" as shown in tests has no real bearing on determining success of an individual. I've been measured to have VERY high intellegence, and we see how that works out! LOL

[Bec]

Those lists are really a test on bidability, not intellect and does not reflect how well the dog performs the tasks it was bred to do.

Beagles for example rank somewhere in the 70s on that list yet take them out tracking or give them scent work and they'll do their jobs extremely well and will out perform dogs ranked above it doing so. The same goes for Sibes. Hook a BC up to a sled and see how well it competes against a husky

[Smiler]

Having a look at the 'intelligence' tests a few week's back I've come to the conclusion that they don't really tell intelligence - just how good a dog is at passing the test that's set...some tests favour some breeds instincts, others tests favour another...

I like the general tests of cognition such as 'object permanence' and the like, far more interesting to me...and more general to all dogs whatever their innate (genetic) instincts...

If someone says that their dog is more intelligent due to one of these lists then I just smile and know where they are on the human list...

Best regards,

Smiler

[Bec]

Even with testing, so much of it comes down to how the dog has been raised and trained. I've met dogs people would call dumb and stupid but they are dogs who have not had a day of training in their lives and don't know how to earn a reward and have not been taught how to learn or think.

Dogs have to be taught how to learn and it's very obvious when you work with dogs who have and haven't been trained to do so

[Indigo & Oisin]

for tricks/obedience etc. My Chihuahua X JRT totally blows me away! When he's earning a treat he will focus on nothing else, i can practically see his brain working! He learnt by the time he was 12 weeks old how to sit, give paw, lie down, recall, go to his bed, stay, play dead AND spin (stand on his back legs and spin in a full circle). However, he can still think for himself. He weighs up wether or not doing a trick is worth it. If there is food involved he'll do ANYTHING he can for it, sometimes he'll go through his whole list of tricks before I've even told him which one to do. And when people see him and that he is a small "Ratty" dog they call him dumb. :mad: Breed of dogs is quite often irrelevant to how clever a dog is! They are all individuals.

[Divinix]

You all have great points

that's exactly why I got a husky in the first place, they don't follow instructions blindly and are very independent

I told her if my husky was stuck in a labyrinth she would look for the best way possible to get out while her border collie will probably accept it or wait until command

Not to be cruel

But Theoretically speaking of course.