In 1994, Stanley Koren( born 1942), a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, published the book The Intelligence of Dogs. This book became a bestseller, it has already withstood 16 editions and translated into 26 languages (there is no translation into Russian yet).
In his book, the author reviews three aspects of the intelligence of dogs: instinctive intelligence , intelligence of obedience and adaptive intelligence .Instinctive intelligence allows the dog to perform functions that have already been genetically assigned, for example, shepherds or guardians. Adaptive intelligence is manifested when performing tasks with the help of their own forces. The intellect of obedience is the ability of a dog to train the execution of human commands. It was the intelligence of obedience that formed the basis for the ranking of the most intelligent breeds of dogs that Stanley Koren presented in his book. Data on the ability of dogs to perform various commands Koren received, interviewing judges on the training of dogs in the US and Canada. The author himself recognizes the limitations of his approach to determine the intellectuality of a particular breed, becauseriding or hunting breeds of dogs must have a significant degree of independence for the successful resolution of the tasks facing them, for this reason they are less likely to perform commands than domestic dogs. Therefore, despite the fact that riding or hunting breeds of dogs are in the rating much lower than domestic breeds, this does not always mean that domestic breeds are uniquely more intelligent. In addition, the author notes in his study that the relatively recently bred breeds of dogs are more educable than the ancient breeds of dogs whose genotype is closer to the genotype of the wild wolf, it is no accident that the last place in the ranking is taken by the Afghan greyhound - one of the oldest breeds of dogs.
Stanley Koren divided the dogs in the ranking into groups, based on their ability to learn and execute commands. In the group with the lowest ability to learn ( for the development of a new team it takes from 80 to 100 repetitions, the percentage of the team's performance from the first time is 25% of cases and higher) included the following breeds of dogs: Afghan hound, basenji, English bulldog, chow-chau, Russian Borzoi, Bloodhound, Pekingese, Beagle, Mastiff, Basset Hound, Shih Tzu. Dogs of this group were ranked in the ranking from the 80th to the 70th.
The next group is the dog with the ability to train below the average x( mastering the new team - from 40 to 80 repetitions, the execution of the team from the first time - in 30% of cases and above).The group included Bullmastiff, Lhasa Apso, Chihuahua, Bull Terrier, St. Bernard, Scotch Terrier, Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Bobtail, Lakeland Terrier, Japanese Hin, Tibetan Terrier, Vendee Basset Griffon, Dandy Dinmont Terrier, Chinese Crested Dog, Lionretka, Maltese Bolognese, Brussels Griffon, French Bulldog, Pug, Silichem Terrier, Norfolk Terrier, Skye Terrier. Dogs of this group were ranked in the ranking from 69th to 55th.
Places 54 to 40 occupied breeds with average training abilities ( assimilation of a new team - from 25 to 40 repetitions, execution of the team from the first time - in 50% of cases and above), this is Akita Inu, BostonTerrier, Irish Terrier, Welsh Terrier, Ivisian dog, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wild Fox Terrier, Sharpey, Whippet, Alaskan Malamute, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Dachshund, Great Dane, Boxer, Scottish Dirhound, West Highland White Terrier, Griffon Cortals, Greyhound, Otterhound,american foxhound, englishfoxhound, Tibetan spaniel, king Charles spaniel, bichon frize, Siberian Husky, American water spaniel, blackheaded kunhound, drachhaar, cavalier king Charles Spaniel, Pointer, Finnish Spitz, Saluki, Australian Shepherd, Kuvasz, Irish Wolfhound, Curly Retriever, Irish Soft Coated Wheatenterrier, fox terrier, bedlington terrier.
Places with the 39th to the 27th place took breeds with the ability to train above the average ( mastering the new team - from 15 to 25 repetitions, the execution of the team from the first time - in 70% of cases and above), this Dalmatian, NorwichTerrier, Clumber Spaniel, Pharaoh dog, English Setter, Miniature Pinscher, Australian Silky Terrier, Affinpinscher, Norwegian Elkhound, Irish Setter, Kerry Blue Terrier, Core Terrier, Bearded Collie, Gordon Setter, American Staffordshire Terrier, Australian Terrier,newfoundland, field spaniel, Samoyed dog, manchester terrier, welsh springer spaniel, briar, Border Terrier, Bouvier des Flandres, Airedale, Giant Schnauzer, Yorkshire Terrier, bullets, Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
Places from 26th to 11th breeds of dogs with excellent abilities for training e( mastering a new team - from 5 to 15 repetitions, the execution of the team from the first time - in 85% of cases and above):
26th place - welsh corgi( cardigan):
25th place - Hungarian vigil:
24th place - Irish water spaniel:
23rd place - Pomeranian Spitz:
The 22nd place was shared by the Bernese Mountain Dog and the Belgian Shepherd( Malinois).
Bernese Mountain Dog:
Belgian Shepherd( Malinois):
21st place - Weimaraner:
20th place - American Cocker Spaniel:
19th place - Breton spaniel:
18th place was divided by Mittelschnauzer, English Cocker Spaniel:Spaniel, Straight Retriever.
Slinger Schnauzer:
English Cocker Spaniel:
Straight Retriever:
17th place - kurtshaar:
16th place was shared by Collie Longhair, Collie Shorthair, German Spitz( Keeshond).
Collie Longhair:
Collie short-haired:
German Spitz( Kedeschond):
15th place - Schipperke:
14th place - Belgian Shepherd( Tervenure):
13th place - English Springer Spaniel:
12thplace: zwergschnauzer:
11th place - welsh corgi( pembroke):
Seats 10 to 1 occupied dogs with excellent training abilities ( ability to understand the new team in less than 5 repetitions, the execution of the teamfrom the first time - in 95% of cases and above):
10th place - Australian shepherd'saka:
9th place - Rottweiler:
8th place - Papillon:
7th place - Labrador Retriever:
6th place - Shetland Sheepdog( Shelter):
5th place - Doberman:
4-1st place - golden retriever:
3rd place - German Shepherd:
2nd place - poodle:
1st place - border collie.
The fact that the border collie is the most intelligent breed of dog is confirmed by the legendary dog of the Border Collie breed named Rico. He became the first dog to remember more than two hundred simple human words. He not only distinguished these words by ear, but also understood their meaning. His phenomenon involved scientists from the Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. It turned out that in addition to the intellect and the ability to make independent decisions, Rico had a wonderful memory. He remembered all the words and commands four weeks after the scientists had stopped daily tests.
Researches of scientists were extremely curious. For example, in one room they placed Rico and his masters, and in the other - the dog's favorite toys. The man called the name of the toy with a request to bring it. The dog coped with his task in 38 cases out of 40. Then, a new object unknown to Rico was placed in the room with toys. When the owner asked to bring it, the dog unknowingly guessed that an unfamiliar word meant a new thing and happily brought it. According to the scientists, Rico possessed about the same abilities as small children, who quickly learn the language in the first years of life.
