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")

Views: 7115

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

11? Must be a typo. They meant 1.

AGREE!!!!  ;)

 

Haha Vicky! When you think that there are 184 dog breeds recognized and Corgis are 11th...that's pretty darn good.

Definitely smarter than the average bear. ;-)

I doubt there is a reputable source. Most of these "experts" look at some dogs, write a book and they are instant experts on the subject. I think every dog is different just as humans are. Breed aside, there are smart dogs and some that are a treat short. That said, there is no doubt that Border Collies are probably the smartest. Many tests and research have established that. As for the rest.....

Our Corgi has days when she is scary smart. She also has days when I don't think she can find her own tail. Every dog is unique. Love them for what they are, not what you wish they were. They are their own little personalities. Each has its quirks just as we do.. Accept them as they accept you.

As for the difference between Pembrokes and Cardis...

Once again this is an opinion of a self proclaimed expert. What dogs were used in the trials? Did they use a very large sample of each breed (they are separate breeds you know). Were precise results kept and correlated? I have a Cardi. She is generally smarter than I wish sometimes. She has a stubborn streak but that doesn't make her dumb, just hard headed. The Cardi preceded the Pembroke by about 2000 years. They don't share DNA or source breeds. I would be very surprised if they had identical traits and personalities. Once again love them for what they are and what they bring to your relationship. Don't expect them to help the kids with their algebra homework.

I think these rankings of intelligence are very subjective. There are different types of intelligence. I think the one where corgis are ranked #11 is based on how quickly a dog learns a new command. Given that, yes, corgis are smart. I taught my corgi most of her new tricks/commands by repeating something over and over and within 15 minutes, she's learned a new trick, rewarded with treats, of course. However, I've had 2 malteses, and I think they're really smart dogs in a different type of "intelligence". My first Maltese was very smart because he was extremely in tune to our emotions- was happy when I was happy, lay quietly by my side when I was sick, knows when humans are upset/raising our voices and when everything's fine. He was bilingual and understands more words than my corgi. My current Maltese is very visually intelligent. He can spot a tin dog on the TV screen, computer, iPad, phone, picture on the wall and know the difference between a dog and a bother animal. He becomes interested and engaged when it's a dog, but is indifferent when it's another animal. The corgi however, doesn't seem to see anything when I facetime him. So there are different types of intelligence and what dogs are smart at varies amount and even within breeds.

Curious:  Does your Corgi not see you on Facetime, or has he learned it's not important to him?

The reason I ask is my male Corgi used to listen to my husband's voice on the phone and get very excited, but after a time or two he realized my husband never, ever materialized from the phone and so started ignoring him.

Similarly, the first few times he saw animals on tv, he looked at the tv, looked behind the tv, etc.  He soon learned those tv animals had nothing to do with him and stopped paying any attention to them at all. 


Dogs are primarily scent-oriented, so they can learn to recognize shapes as meaning something, but unless they are rewarded for interacting with those shapes or disembodied voices, they often just tune them out.

It's sort of like saying you don't interact with the photos on your desk.  You put them there because they mean something, but most of us soon ignore them.   We don't treat them like the people they represent.

The television used to be a bit of a problem as Sully would get upset about crying puppies and people, such as the lady crying for help when she falls and can't get up. After a couple of months the TV seems much less worrisome, barely getting a glance or two at sounds of distress. I don't FaceTime so I can't say what would happen but I assume it would be similar. It would be interesting to see how it effects other pets.

I don't trust those lists. I do think they're based on trainability, more than actual intelligence, and corgis can be a little stubborn at times.

Malinois are not on the list, and they're hands down one of the most intelligent breeds ever, so it doesn't make sense.

I agree.  I have a brilliant extreme genius corgi that fetches in the newspaper.  It doesn't get any better than that.

Greg N

RSS

Rescue Store

Stay Connected

 

FDA Recall

Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall

We support...

Badge

Loading…

© 2024   Created by Sam Tsang.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report a boo boo  |  Terms of Service