Dumb of Not

Let’s admit it. We all want to be associated with smartness – smart ideas, smart points of views, smart friends, smart children and even smart pets. It is basic human psychology. Therefore, most times when we consider getting a dog for a pet we always want to get the best looking and smartest one.

But have you ever considered that there might be benefits of picking the less intelligent one? But how do you determine what level of intelligence a dog has? Smartness or dumbness regarding dogs will depend on the aspects of its behavior you would individually consider smart or dumb. This classification will vary for different dog owners.

Concept of Intelligence

One may consider an obedient dog quite smart as it’s able to follow instructions through while another dog owner may consider this trait dumb as not being able to have its own mind. Just as conception of what intelligence means varies for humans, the same diversity goes for dogs. That said, there is a common standard of what intelligent dogs seem like and likewise the less intelligent. A seemingly less intelligent dog will seem to have trouble memorizing commands and routines and solving problems on its own. These dogs however have their strengths too. But as are most things in life they bring with them both pros and cons.

Benefits of Having a Less Intelligent Dog

• A less intelligent dog can be more disciplined than a smarter dog. It will not feel the urge to break rules often as opposed to a smarter one. He maybe even doesn’t figure out how to do something bad when You are out of sight.
• A dumb dog can be less demanding. You will have an easier time feeding him as it’s not so choosy on types of food.
• Less intelligent dogs are more sociable and will spend more time with the owner trying to establish emotional connection than their smarter cheesy counterparts. They are therefore great playmates for kids and could be fun to be around.
• Less intelligent dogs can obey commands more often than smarter dogs. Smarter dogs may want to do things their own ways and may sometime be rebellious. If you want a dog that won’t give you migraines at the veterinarian, a less intelligent dog is a better bet.
• Less intelligent dogs are more tolerant. These dogs would bend their backs to keep peace. They will therefore hold themselves from causing trouble by nagging when hungry or sick. For those prefer their dogs with high tolerance levels that won’t nag for food during mall shopping, these are the dogs for you.

Disadvantages of Having a Less Intelligent Dog

A less intelligent dog is less expressive so it might take longer to realize that they have an issue bugging them such an infection. They are mostly confirmative and will not want to cause trouble and may feel the need to hide their pain to keep your peace.

A less intelligent dog will take longer to train. Less intelligent dogs have lower cognitive ability to not only understand but recall commands. It therefore may cost a little more money for professional training lessons and a lot of patience as they may appear slow. With a little patience, however, these dogs become the best domesticated dogs ever as they are very loyal to their master’s commands.

So, How do You Measure Intelligence in a Dog?

Dog intelligence can be classified into three types – instinctive intelligence, adaptive intelligence, working and obedience intelligence.

• Instinctive Intelligence

Instinctive intelligence basically refers to that inborn capacity that a dog possesses and/or was bred for. For instance, guard dogs will naturally keep watch over things, hounds are bred to track while some dogs just have an instinct to fetch items and are known as retrievers.

Some dogs however are bred to be social beings and simply interpret our body language and mood of the moment and just offer comfort. These are those that inspired quotes such as “a dog is man’s best friend”. They are loyal and friendly and will have a strong emotional understanding. Some dogs are so good at herding animals that all they require is a little human coordination and will impressively drive animals to the intended direction. It becomes hard therefore to rank intelligence based on this factor because basically the differences of the dog breeds are too variant for comparison.

• Adaptive Intelligence

This brings us to our next type of dog intelligence – Adaptive Intelligence. This is simply what a dog can adopt from environment and learn to do for themselves. Again, this will vary with different breeds. Adaptive intelligence will also vary among members of the same breed. While you may find one dog of a breed that is highly adaptive impeccably might find another of the exact same breed struggling with learning routines and solving new problems. This intelligence is measurable through appropriate tests.

• Working and Obedience Intelligence

The third form of dog intelligence is known as work and obedience intelligence. This is a dog’s ability to interpret human instructions and act in their accordance. The Border Collie breed is perceived to hold the highest level of this intelligence. Police dogs, hearing assistance dogs and search and rescue dogs are known to possess the highest form of this intelligence. Easily domesticated dogs also have a high level of work and obedience intelligence. As is adaptive intelligence, this intelligence is also measurable.

The top dogs by rank of work and obedience intelligence are Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd Dog, Golden Retriever, Doberman Pinscher, Shetland Sheepdog, Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler, Australian Cattle Dog.

Even dogs that may not appear impressively smart have their own strengths. These dogs maybe more friendly and sociable than others and may display a very high level of discipline. If you want a laid-back cool less dramatic pet dog, a less intelligent dog is a great pick.

And remember – happiness doesn’t always equal intelligence.