Intelligence is a subjective concept but try these fun exercises to see how your dog's brain measures up.
Measuring dog intelligence is like measuring human intelligence. They all have talents in different areas and may score differently on IQ tests. Bloodhounds may not do very well at herding sheep but, on the other hand, Border Collies may not excel at tracking scents.
Sometimes what we perceive as stupid can really be a type of canine intelligence. For instance, in the wild, wolves must be very perceptive of their surroundings in order to stay safe and find food. That perceptiveness in dogs can translate into some pretty silly things. What if you set a new brand of cereal on the table and your dog took notice and appeared wary of the different colored box? It would seem silly to us but your dog’s intelligence would serve him well in the wild.
We usually agree that a dog who masters obedience and tricks is intelligent. However, dogs who do not cooperate well with training may not be stupid. They may simply have the intelligence to think for themselves and prefer to do things their way which may not be the same as your way. Many northern breeds are notorious for this trait.
Some police dog candidates fail the test because of their intelligence. Police dogs cannot be vicious as they are constantly in the public. They must learn who, when, and where to bite. They are taught bite techniques by people wearing full body suits including a “sleeve” which is padded to protect the arm underneath. The dogs who learn to bite the sleeve only are called “sleeve sure.” A dog who sometimes goes for the stomach or throat fails the test because he is considered too dangerous for police work. This dog is simply smart enough to figure out that biting that sleeve is not really hurting the enemy and that he should go for a better hold.
Keeping all this in mind, here are some simple and fun ways to measure your dog’s intelligence.
Throw a towel over your dog’s head and time how long it takes him to free himself. An average may be 15 to 20 seconds.
Place three paper cups upside down on the floor, three feet apart. Allow your dog to see you place a bit of weenie under one of them. Turn him in a circle twice or lead him into another room for about 30 seconds and then see if he can go to the right cup the first time.
Split a weenie in half so that it has a flat side. Place it just under the edge of the sofa. Time how long it takes him to get it out. An average may be around 60 seconds.
Take your dog outside the yard on a long leash and walk along the fence several feet from the gate which you will leave open. Toss a bit of weenie back over the fence. See if he figures out to go back around through the gate to get the treat.
The copyright of the article Canine Intelligence Test in Dog Training is owned by Joy Butler. Permission to republish Canine Intelligence Test in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
I have a rescued American Eskimo, or eskie, who we can't seem to
housebreak. We have had her since 1/6/08. We also have a 3 yr.old eskie,
who was 1 yr. old when we adopted her. Foxie was at a rescue in TN. They
had only had her for 6 days when we got her. We spent 2 days in the car to
get home. She has been showered with love. The vet said she was very
stressed, so he wanted to wait for a month before spaying her. She & my
other eskie, Lexie, get along fine. She was totally housebroken within a
few days to a week. Then we had a really bad ice storm,ground was covered
with about 1 inch of ice, & she started going in the house. Vet said
others were having the same problem, chip out a big area in the yard so she
could find her scent, that seemed like the answer. Then a few days ago she
started goung in the house, after coming in from outside. Being a nordic
breed they LOVE the cold weather & its sometimes hard to get them to
ocme in after playing. Last night I was about to give up! They had been
out, I saw her scrunch up like she was going to poop, they played for
another 10 minutes, came in & played again, with the towel, for about
15 more minutes. Then we came on downstairs. Hubby went to take a bath, I
had to go in the bedroom to take some meds, we are both sick, & both
dogs came with me in the bedroom & after a few minutes Foxie went into
the other room, I thought to get a drink. But when I came out after no more
than 7 minutes, she had pooped all over the family room. HELP! We love this
sweet little dog but I can't have a house that smells like dog urine &
poop. We clean it up really well & use a deodorizer spray on it. I
don't want to get rid of her but I am at my wit's end.
Feb 23, 2008 7:46 PM
Joy Butler :
Housetraining can be such a tricky thing because dogs can have so many
different issues involving this. At ten months she is still fairly
immature. I've seen puppies get sidetracked playing outside and forget to
use the bathroom while they're out. You might try letting them have some
time outside separately. Another thing, she must have been really stressed
(Eskies are famous for this) if the vet wanted to delay her spaying because
of it. The effects of stress can linger for a long time and she may feel
some insecurity for a long time. She may be enjoying the attention (your
reaction) she gets when she uses the bathroom inside. You might try giving
her extra attention, massages, etc when she is being good but make sure you
give no reaction at all when she does something wrong. When you clean up
the mess, be sure to use one of the cleaners that are specifically for
removing all scent so that the dog is not tempted to use the spot again.
These things will not work overnight but if her problem is stress or
immaturity related, it will work out with time. Incidentally, I just wrote
an article pertaining to stress in dogs. Here's the link. http://dog-training.suite101.com/article.cfm/dogs_suffer_stress_too
Feb 23, 2008 9:52 PM
Joy Butler :
I just happened to remember another article that may be helpful.
http://dog-training.suite101.com/article.cfm/dogs_urinate_in_weird_places
Dec 1, 2008 12:55 PM
Guest :
We got a yellow lab puppy when she was 7 weeks old. To housebreak her, we
bought a bell and hung that on our door. Each time we took her outside, we
brought her up to the bell, took her paw and had her hit the bell saying
"potty outside." When she messed in the house, we did the same
thing. She was potty trained in 1 week using the bell.
Feb 23, 2009 10:07 AM
Guest :
We had a retriever who had unusual intelligence. He did may things that
many other smart dogs could do but we have never heard of a dog doing this:
Every spring for the first four years, Brandy would pick up sticks in the
back yard and proceed to make a perfect circle. All the sticks would face
the same way! He would then sit in the middle of the circle. I would like
someone to explain how a dog would understand the concept of making a
perfect circle?
The was never on a lease or wore a collar. He
wouldn't cross the street without permission or trained to get the
newspaper. He never went to the bathroom in our house. These are just a
few of the things he would do!
Jul 30, 2009 2:44 PM
Guest :
I did the towel test and my dog only took 3 seconds to get from under it!
Then I did the weenie under the sofa test and it only took her 9 seconds!
No lie!I have a doberman.
Oct 25, 2009 3:51 PM
Guest :
I did the towel trick with my Afghan hound. His time? 2 seconds flat.
Afghans are usually scored at the bottom of intelligence of canines.
However, I disagree with that. Many times I've observed racing Afghan
Hounds "cutting the corner" on a figure 8 race track. I've
taught my Afghan Hound to sit still and catch a small (1" diameter)
cookie or anything that size. He comes to me and sits at attention. I ask
him: Do you want num-num? Do you need to go outside? Do you need water?
Do you want to go bye-bye in the car-car? When I get to the question he
needs, he barks. That is the only time he barks. When he sees me making
out a bank deposit slip, he goes and stands by his leash in the entrance
hall. I take him to the drive-thru and the tellers give him a Milk Bone in
a change envelope. One day he got into my purse. I was using change
envelopes to save cash for things I wanted to buy. I had 3 of them. I
walked in and found three envelopes chewed open and lots of bills and coins
lying on the floor, and Louie with a sheepish loook on his face. I'm lucky
that he did not eat the money. My maid speaks Spanish to him, and he
responds to her Spanish commands as well as he does to mine given in
English. A bi-lingual dog. Since Afghan Hounds are aloof, I ususpect that
they may be slightly autistic and/or headstrong, like you said, really
smart dogs prefer to think for themselves. I think Louie does.
