Is your dog smart? Find out with Canine Intelligence Tests
How Intelligent is Your Dog
Ryan Joseph
It is entirely normal to look for signs of intelligence in your
dog. Even puppies that are not especially smart nonetheless
display flashes of brilliance in their behavior.
And it is also very normal to look for the same things in our
pets that we look for in our children, like a keen mind, a sense
of humor and loyalty. But the trait that we tend to brag about
the most is actually our dog’s intelligence.
There is not really a single type of canine intelligence.
According to Stanley Coren, writer of 'The Intelligence of Dogs',
there are several types of dog intelligence that can be measured
by canine IQ tests...
The first one is named Adaptive Intelligence. This relates to
learning and problem solving capability, the knowledge and skills
a dog can acquire. It also pertains to how much time it takes for
your dog to learn new a relationship.
As an example, if your dog recognizes people after just one or
two visits, this indicates a good adaptive intelligence
capability. You might also look at how well your dog comprehends
the laws of cause and effect by observation.
The next type is Instinctive Intelligence, which simply deals
with behaviors and skills programmed into the animal’s genetic
code. For example, Sheep dogs and Border Collies are superb
herding dogs. This is an innate abilty that these breeds of dogs
have and has little to do with training.
The third type is Working/Obedience Intelligence, which involves
the ability of an animal to follow commands. This type of
intelligence is primarily dependant on the actual breed of the
dog. Two examples are the dogs used for guiding the blind and for
K9 police work.
Another type is Adaptive Intelligence. At a time of the day that
you do not usually walk your dog, pick up your keys and his leash
when you know he’s watching. If he starts wagging his tail and
gets excited, 3 points. If you have to walk to the door before he
knows what’s going on, two points. If he sits there with a
dumbfounded look, give him one point.
Now if your dog lets YOU know it is time to go to the bathroom by
bringing you his own leash (without being trained to) or has
mastered the toilet, your dog is truly a genius!
One way to test your dog's problem solving ability is to take a
sizeable towel (or a blanket will do fine as well) and toss it
over your dog’s head. If he frees himself from the covering in
less than fifteen seconds, give him three points. If it takes
fifteen to thirty seconds, two points. If it takes him longer
than thirty seconds, give him or her a single point.
To check your dog's memory, Place some sort of treat under one of
three buckets that are lined up in a row. And be sure that your
dog sees which bucket the treat is under. Turn the dog away for
about ten seconds or so and then let him go. If he or she goes
straight to the bucket with the treat under it, three points. If
it takes two tries to find the treat, two points. If he/she
checks the wrong two first before finding the right one, one
point.
Now if your dog scores six points or more, you have a canine
genius; four to five points is average; three points or less,
well…who said that intelligence was a prerequisite for love?
For additional information on dog wellness visit Dog Food and
other Resources and learn more.
Ryan Joseph is a writer/researcher in Pet and General health
issues. For more detail visit
http://www.dog-food-nutrition.info/
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