The problem with evaluating dog intelligence
Dogs as intelligent as two-year-old children
I have never agreed with Dr. Coren’s use of the term “intelligence” to denote a dog’s response to obedience commands. I would have liked it better if he used another term – perhaps “obedience application” rather than “intelligence”.
Look at the breeds ranked as “most intelligent”:
- Border Collie
- Poodle
- German Shepherd Dog
- Golden Retriever
- Doberman Pinscher
- Shetland Sheepdog
- Labrador Retriever
- Papillon
- Rottweiler
- Australian Cattle Dog
Half of them are from herding backgrounds and three of them from retrieving backgrounds – types of dog that are naturally attuned to their owners. These are types of dog bred to work closely with humans and to take direction.
Here are the breeds ranked the least intelligent:
- Shih Tzu
- Basset Hound
- Mastiff
Beagle (tied) - Pekingese
- Bloodhound
- Borzoi
- Chow Chow
- Bulldog
- Basenji
- Afghan Hound
6 of the 10 are scent or sight hounds, bred for hunting and pulling down game. Not bred for working to close commands with the owner, not bred to take intricate direction.
Since Coren did not evaluate Shibas in his “intelligence” tests, let’s take a look at similar breeds to figure out where they would stand.
Above Average Working/Obedience Intelligence
33. Samoyed
36. Norwegian Elkhound
Average Working/Obedience Intelligence
43. Finnish Spitz
45. Siberian Husky
50. Alaskan Malamute
54. Akita
Low Obedience Intelligence
76. Chow Chow
78. Basenji
So, I would say that the Shiba would be in the Average category. But this is where this is flawed. As Shiba owners know, obedience is not an indicator of overall intelligence. As Shiba owners also know, their dogs also can put any 2 year old human child to shame when it comes to single-minded escape maneuvers. Shibas can learn and execute commands with blinding speed; they just don’t give a shit unless you’re waving a poached salmon wildly in their sight… if they’re hungry … if there isn’t something more interesting around … if the wind happens to be blowing westerly and its Tuesday…
Sometimes I’m sure we would all love a stupid dog who can’t figure out that they can jump from the compost heap to the garbage can to the top of the fence and catapult off like a high diver in the Olympic finals. A dog who can’t figure out how to open simple lids would also be nice, as would a dog who can’t calculate your length of reach to the millimetre so that they can keep the leash exactly just out of your grasp if they get loose.
Average. Sure.
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I agree with you completely. Shibas are very independent and self assured, perhaps stubborn at times. They may not be so keen to follow orders as other breeds. I have owned several dogs in the past and two Shiba Inu dogs presently. I can attest that because a dog is not predisposed to do tricks and follow orders does not neccessarily correlate to intelligence. I have had dogs that were more easily trained than my Shibas, but not more intelligent. These guys actually reason and conspire together at a level that is really almost scary. I own an invisible fence to keep them from running away. These two guys actually worked together to remove each other’s collars in order to run away. I’ve had one distract me, while the other took my food. Trust me, Shibas are highly resourceful and fiercly independent dogs, and I love them.
I’m a member of Mensa, and my dogs have occasionally outwitted me. Very embarrassing. One is a Shiba mix, and the other is a Norwegian elkhound mix. Thank goodness, they don’t work together, or I’d be in big trouble.
But don’t get me wrong, I embrace my canine servitude. I wonder if there’s medication for that?
Wow. My current dog is a Shih Tzu, and while I am aware of and agree with the widely held view that they are one of the most difficult dogs to train, I have never once thought that he disobeyed out of stupidity. It’s really quite the opposite; he’s never shown anything but bright alertness and wily calculation when learning words and commands. It has always seemed to me that his mulishness means that he’s smart enough to know exactly what he can and can’t get away with.
I thought the SAME thing when I first read that article… obedience does NOT correlate to actual intelligence. I think Coren is referring more to domestic trainability than communication and problem solving skills.
On the flip side, in his book How Dogs Think he discusses canine communication skills and the primitive breeds are the superstars in that category.