How Smart is Your Dog?

When I was a kid, I read somewhere that a typical dog was about as intelligent as a 4 year old child.  Although it made sense to me at the time, I now see that it's clearly nonsense.  After having kids, I can tell you that a child of 4 is far ahead of even the smartest dog in reasoning ability and problem solving (not to mention the obvious difference in communication skills).  Today, some research indicates a canine intelligence level closer to that of a two year old child - that's better, but it really doesn't tell the whole story.

Before we can agree on how smart dogs are, we have to agree on how we define intelligence.  If being smart means you can memorize things, and learn new tasks, then many dogs are quite intelligent.  I tend to view intelligence more in terms of abstract learning - how well are they able to figure out new situations, or solve complex puzzles.

Almost all dogs can learn basic obedience commands, and most can learn even fairly complex tasks - and they're really good at picking up non-verbal cues and knowing what's going on.  No question about it, our canine friends can be very clever.  In other ways, however, dogs aren't so smart.  My all-time favorite dog may be Charlie.  She was a wonderful dog, very well-behaved, and mild-mannered.  She already knew most basic obedience commands when we got her, and quickly learned the others.  She could also be clever, at times - she knew how to open certain kinds of refrigerators, and could even get the cupboard open, if she was sufficiently motivated.  Some things, however, she just couldn't figure out.  Sometimes I'd come home with her in the car and let her out in the garage.  If the other car was pulled too far ahead so you couldn't get through in front, she NEVER could figure out that all she had to do was walk around the other way!   Others figure this out easily - Cassie (who still struggles to understand that every other dog on the street isn't a danger to her) just turns around and goes around the car.

Cassie is, in my opinion, one of the smarter dogs I've owned.  She caught on very quickly to obedience training, and understands more words than most dogs I've owned.  Virtually every night, she demonstrates how smart she is - when she wants to take Kodak's spot on the couch, she'll go to the door as though she wants out.  Kodak will immediately get up (he loves to go outside with her), so she'll just walk over and take the prize couch position.  Every night, same thing - he falls for it every time.  There's no question in my mind she knows what she's doing, and he never seems to figure it out.  Of the two, Cassie is clearly the more intelligent.

My daughter's dog, Jada, can be amazing at times.  Jada knows about presents (she unwraps her own Christmas gifts), and understands a lot of what you say.  She understands much of what you say, so you have to watch it when you're talking about Petsmart, the lake, or anything else she really likes.

I've never seen a correlation between dog intelligence and how much I like the dog.  Kodak is definitely no genius, but it would be hard to find a more pleasant dog to have around.  Cassie's really smart, and I think she's a great dog.  Patrick, a really dense Irish Setter I adopted when we were first married, was a wonderful dog.  I really liked our beagle Lucy, but she was a giant pain - probably because she was so smart.

The bottom line is this:  how intelligent your dog may be is difficult to determine, and makes very little difference anyway.   In this manner, it's very similar to kids.  I have little faith in the ability of standard tests to accurately measure intelligence, and don't view I.Q. levels as a valid prediction of personal worth or earning potential.  Loyalty, honesty, and integrity mean much more than numbers on a piece of paper, and I've certainly liked and respected plenty of people who wouldn't score highly in a test. 

Chances are, your dog is pretty smart.  Equivalent to a 4 year old child?  I doubt it.  Most likely, he's got a unique blend if instinct, brains, and training that allows him to function very well in his environment.  Dogs are not short, hairy, slow-witted kids - they are unique creatures with their own set of abilities.