Corgi's intelligence

Gosh, I keep seeing this intelligence ranking being pushed on the web:
http://www.petrix.com/dogint/1-10.html, again and again...

and the corgi is ranked 11 in the list. I wonder if there is any truth in it. Cause I strongly believe that corgis are a LOT smarter than Rottweilers or Poodles.... They are very lovable, extremely protective, exceptionally loyal, and easy to train like no other dogs... It's not like I have any prejudice against other dogs ;).

Can anyone offer any other reputable source of dog intelligence ranking? I'm just curious.

Thanks,

Al
("Crazy about my corgi")

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Permalink Reply by Sam on December 3, 2007 at 7:13am

Much of the difference is trainability and biddability. While corgis are no doubt very smart they dont always "choose" to follow repetitive commands. Visit and obedience or agility trial. While corgis do well they usually are not the top contenders. One must be quite creative to entice a corgi to do the repetitions to be a top contender. I think they generally excel in agility far more than obedience. The training is often more fun and rewarding to the dog then the series of repetitions in obedience. Sure, they learn it quickly but often dont see the point. Many a corgi have humbled even the best of handlers.

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Permalink Reply by Al Gaiv on December 3, 2007 at 12:35pm

Good points, Sam. Still, it would be great to see rankings by other authors... Dr. Coren's opinion seems to prevail all over the web, I searched wiki on "dog intelligence" and not much offered there but his views: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs

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Permalink Reply by Petra Marteus on December 3, 2007 at 9:05am

Hm... As a Cardigan Welsh Corgi owner I wonder how they can put Pembroke as number 11 and then Cardigan as number 26!!!? Que?

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Permalink Reply by Zed on December 3, 2007 at 10:41am

I don't own a Cardigan but I did wonder how they were at 26 compared to the Pembroke's 11. I've always heard that Cardi's had a bit more of a stubborn streak in them but I always assumed it was a very minor difference.

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Permalink Reply by Susan - Fromax kennel on December 3, 2007 at 12:30pm

Is it always intelligent to be obedient? I just wonder...

I used to have a Dachshound (No 49 on the list). I thought he was very clever. Because he always knew when he was out of my reach - and could run away and have fun by himself for a couple of hours (in the country-side I must add)...

Our Cardigan Frodo has a relative (his grandma's sister) who was a "member" of the National Team of Obedience in Sweden. The owners of the big dogs (German Shepherds etc) regretted laughing at her when she first showed up at the obedience competitions...

I think it depends much on the individual dog and owner how intelligent - or rather obedient - a dog is. But of course it is much easier to train a Cardigan - or a German Shepherd - than the Bedlington Terriers and the Dachshound I had.

Susan

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on December 3, 2007 at 12:44pm

I do agree that it also depends on the different trainers and dog personalities... while this is probably a good outline for a list, I don't think anyone can put their finger exactly on it.

Speaking of training classes.. we apparently have the import.. everyone else has labs lol.

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Permalink Reply by Susan - Fromax kennel on December 3, 2007 at 12:57pm

The most intelligent dog we ever had was Sunga - a mixture of German Shepherd and Australian Cattledog. You could speak to her in a normal voice - and she understood and did what she was told to do. It didn't matter if you spoke in Swedish or in English - she understood both languages. (She was born in the USA.)

Petra's Cardigan Saga is not far behind. She is very obedient - and intelligent.

My Cardigan Tina (Frodo´s daughter) is more "stubborn". She seems to think twice before she does what she's told. "Is there anything good in it for me", she wonders...

And if so is the case, she is more than willing to obey... (she loves food etc a bit too much).

Susan

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Permalink Reply by Al Gaiv on December 3, 2007 at 1:30pm

Our dog loves learning tricks from Kyra's book "101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step...". She knows exactly where we keep the book, and she sits on the floor and stares at the shelf until somebody picks up the book. Then she starts barking and spinning and jumping... it's the happiest time of the day for her (except for feeding time, of course).