Dog IQ Test

Three different things, which popular dog IQ tests tend to blend into one number. Problem-solving is the towel and the treat under the sofa: what your dog does when the obvious approach fails. Memory is the cups and the moved furniture. Reading people is the pointing game and how quickly a new cue sticks.

Most dogs are stronger at some of these than others, which is why the result breaks the score down by task rather than handing you a single verdict. A dog that aces the cups and ignores your pointing finger is a different dog to live with than one that does the reverse, and neither is smarter.

The last game, learning a new cue, is the one closest to the best-known breed ranking. Stanley Coren asked obedience judges to rank breeds for his book The Intelligence of Dogs, and he explains his method in a Psychology Today article. In a later article he separates three kinds of dog intelligence: working and obedience intelligence (learning from people and performing on command, which is what the judges ranked), adaptive intelligence (solving problems on its own) and instinctive intelligence (doing the job the breed was developed for, such as herding, retrieving or guarding). Our smartest dog breeds guide covers his top ten and what a clever working dog needs in an Australian home.

Check the everyday explanations first: an older dog, eyesight or hearing that is not what it was, a treat your dog does not rate, a hot day, or a dog that simply trusts you to sort the towel out. Any of those can move the score.

A low score is not a sign of a poor dog. The breeds at the bottom of Coren's list include the Beagle, Basset Hound and Bloodhound, hounds bred to hunt by scent, often well away from a handler. Being less eager to follow commands is not the same as being unable to solve problems.

The result worth acting on is a change. If a dog that used to manage these games easily now cannot, or seems confused in familiar rooms, raise it with your vet rather than repeating the test.

Quick learners need a job. Coren's top ten includes the Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd Dog, Labrador Retriever and Australian Cattle Dog, and the Kelpie is a breed whose Dogs Australia standard calls it “extremely alert, eager and highly intelligent”. Dogs like these usually do best with short daily training, food puzzles or a dog sport alongside their walks. Our easiest dogs to train guide covers the biddable breeds, and why easy to train is not the same as smart.