It's hard to measure a dog's intelligence because there are different kinds of smarts.
A dog can be good at herding but not so keen on retrieving, and his ability to learn based
on environmental cues can also depend on training and the bond the dog has with its humans.
Long story short, there are a lot of arguments that can be made about how to tell when our
four-legged friends are truly intelligent.
But here are a few breeds that most animal lovers agree tend to show some wisdom most
often.
Australian cattle dog
If you've seen Mad Max 2, you know what an Australian cattle dog is.
They're also called blue (or red) heelers, and they're a sort of the all-around genius
of the dog world.
They're a fairly new breed who are believed to be part Australian collie and part wild
dingo, but no one argues that ranchers on the Outback were trying to create a dog that
was smart and tough enough to operate as sort of an independent ranch hand.
Australian cattle dogs know to keep quiet and work without needing much guidance, and
they can entertain themselves.
Border collie
Also big in the brains department are border collies, which boast what's called instinctive
intelligence, or intelligence that's been passed down for generations.
At the same time, you may have heard of a famous pooch named Chaser, who knows more
than 1,000 words, understands basic grammar concepts, and can use the process of elimination
to figure out new words.
You probably know people who have a more limited vocabulary than that; so, Chaser is a perfect
example of what some dogs are capable of if we just take the time to teach them, especially
in this breed.
Labrador retriever
Like a lot of our smartest dogs, Labrador retrievers became popular because they were
bred to do a certain job and excelled at it.
The earliest Labrador retrievers were put to work alongside the fishermen of the North
Atlantic as a sort of adorable deckhand.
They hauled in fishing nets, fetched gear, and retrieved the occasional fish.
Thriving through the 1700s and almost extinct by the 1880s, they were rescued by English
families who valued the dogs because they were sweet enough to be a family dog and smart
enough to earn their keep by learning almost any task they were presented with.
You see Labrador retrievers all over, and that's because they're high flyers with adaptive
intelligence.
That's the kind of intelligence that helps dictate how good a dog is going to be at learning
completely new tasks and solving problems.
That means they are great at learning everything from search-and-rescue and explosive detection
techniques.
And let's not forget …
"God they're adorable!"
German shepherd
German shepherds have retained the instinctive intelligence that makes them efficient at
their original jobs of herding and protecting, which was what they were first bred for in
the late 19th Century.
But it's their adaptive intelligence that puts them at the top of other classes, too,
from police and military service to assistance and even acting.
"Are you even paying attention to me?"
There's a reason so many canine actors are German shepherds, and it's because they're
not just a pretty face.
Rottweiler
They might have a reputation for being terrifying, but when raised properly, rottweilers can
be laid-back, affectionate, and devoted to their family.
It's that devotion and sense of protectiveness they were bred for, and that's exactly why
they need to be intelligent.
Early Rottweilers were bred to herd cattle and pull carts and were among the first to
be recruited into service as police and military dogs.
And in order to be such alert, observant dogs, they need to be one step ahead of anything
that might pose a threat.
They're always waiting, watching, and assessing situations like the good watchdogs that they
are.
Jack Russell
The dog world's foremost example of big things coming in small packages, Jack Russells have
been around for centuries.
They're believed to have originated in England as fox hunting dogs, and once people started
hunting less, their big personalities kept them popular as household companion dogs.
Their particular kind of intelligence is channeled into their personality, and since they honestly
love whatever task you might set them to, they're the embodiment of the philosophy that
if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.
They're smart and energetic enough to love just hanging out and joining in whatever you
want to do.
And it's no coincidence you often see them in movies and television, either, because
they're easy to train, quick to catch on to new things, and super eager to please.
There's one big, super-intelligent bit of wisdom we should all adopt from the Jack Russell's
point of view: love your life.
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