Just how smart is your dog? Dog owners generally believe that dogs are socially intelligent and very capable of learning social and general skills. In one study 25% of owners felt strongly that their dog was equally as smart as most people and nearly 50% of owners were of the belief that their dog was smarter than a 5-year-old child. It may or may not surprise you that the closer the bond between you and your dog the smarter you think your dog is! I can only speak for myself but…. I have always known my dogs were super intelligent! How about you?
The fact is (as of 1 pm on 16th September 2016): dogs have the average cognitive abilities of a 2 1/2 child. Surprising? Spread the word…this is so important for all dog owners to know as it directly influences our expectations, which impacts the number of dogs relinquished to shelters for behavioural issues. Let’s get real about what our dogs can and can’t understand. With the average intelligence of a toddler, our little Doggler’s are just doing the best they can with what they understand about the world.
our little Doggler’s are just doing the best they can with what they understand about the world
And for those of you keen to know whether your dog is smarter than the rest of the group?…quite possibly they might be. Recent studies are investigating an ‘intelligence factor’. So far it seems that this factor is independent of the breed.