The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions is a 1994 book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of canine psychology at the University of British Columbia. The book explains Coren's theories about the differences in intelligence between various breeds of dogs. Coren published a second edition in 2006.

Coren defines three aspects of dog intelligence in the book: instinctive intelligence, adaptive intelligence, and working and obedience intelligence. Instinctive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to perform the tasks it was bred for, such as herding, pointing, fetching, guarding, or supplying companionship. Adaptive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to solve problems on its own. Working and obedience intelligence refers to a dog's ability to learn from humans.

Methods

The book's ranking focuses on working and obedience intelligence. Coren sent evaluation requests to American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club obedience trial judges, asking them to rank breeds by performance, and received 199 responses, representing about 50 percent of obedience judges then working in North America. Assessments were limited to breeds receiving at least 100 judge responses. This methodology aimed to eliminate the excessive weight that might result from a simple tabulation of obedience degrees by breed. Its use of expert opinion followed precedent.

Coren found substantial agreement in the judges' rankings of working and obedience intelligence, with Border Collies consistently named in the top ten and Afghan Hounds consistently named in the lowest. The highest ranked dogs in this category were Border Collies, Poodles, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, and Doberman Pinschers.

Dogs that are not breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club or Canadian Kennel Club (such as the Jack Russell Terrier) were not included in Coren's rankings.

Evaluation Coren's book presents a ranked list of breed intelligence, based on a survey of 208 dog obedience judges across North America. When it was first published there was much media attention and commentary in terms of both prosExample: and cons.Example: Over the years, Coren's ranking of breeds and methodology have come to be accepted as a valid description of the differences among dog breeds in terms of their trainability.Example: A 2009 measurement of canine intelligence using another method confirmed the general pattern of these rankings,Example: and Coren included an updated study using owner ratings of dog trainability and intelligence in the 2006 edition of the book.

The value of survey-based cognition findings have been dismissed by some cognitive researchers and dog trainers.

The 1995 edition of Coren's book lists 130 dog breeds, and assigns them to 79 ranks with some ties, grouped into six descending categories.

Rank Breed Category 1 Border Collie Brightest Dogs Understanding of new commands: fewer than 5 repetitions. Obey first command: 95% of the time or better.Coren1995 2 Poodle 3 German Shepherd 4 Golden Retriever 5 Doberman Pinscher 6 Shetland Sheepdog 7 Labrador Retriever 8 Papillon 9 Rottweiler 10 Australian Cattle Dog 11 Pembroke Welsh Corgi Excellent Working Dogs Understanding of new commands: 5 to 15 repetitions. Obey first command: 85% of the time or better. 12 Miniature Schnauzer 13 English Springer Spaniel 14 Belgian Shepherd Dog (Tervuren) 15 Schipperke Belgian Sheepdog 16 Collie Keeshond 17 German Shorthaired Pointer 18 Flat-Coated Retriever English Cocker Spaniel Standard Schnauzer 19 Brittany 20 Cocker Spaniel 21 Weimaraner 22 Belgian Malinois Bernese Mountain Dog 23 Pomeranian 24 Irish Water Spaniel 25 Vizsla 26 Cardigan Welsh Corgi 27 Chesapeake Bay Retriever Above Average Working Dogs Understanding of new commands: 15 to 25 repetitions. Obey first command: 70% of the time or better. Puli Yorkshire Terrier 28 Giant Schnauzer 29 Airedale Terrier Bouvier des Flandres 30 Border Terrier Briard 31 Welsh Springer Spaniel 32 Manchester Terrier 33 Samoyed 34 Field Spaniel Newfoundland Australian Terrier American Staffordshire Terrier Gordon Setter Bearded Collie 35 Cairn Terrier Kerry Blue Terrier Irish Setter 36 Norwegian Elkhound 37 Affenpinscher Australian Silky Terrier Miniature Pinscher English Setter Pharaoh Hound Clumber Spaniel 38 Norwich Terrier 39 Dalmatian 40 Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Understanding of new commands: 25 to 40 repetitions. Obey first command: 50% of the time or better. Bedlington Terrier Smooth Fox Terrier 41 Curly Coated Retriever Irish Wolfhound 42 Kuvasz Australian Shepherd 43 Saluki Finnish Spitz Pointer 44 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel German Wirehaired Pointer Black and Tan Coonhound American Water Spaniel 45 Siberian Husky Bichon Frise King Charles Spaniel 46 Tibetan Spaniel English Foxhound Otterhound Jack Russell Terrier American Foxhound Greyhound Wirehaired Pointing Griffon 47 West Highland White Terrier Scottish Deerhound 48 Boxer Great Dane 49 Dachshund Staffordshire Bull Terrier 50 Alaskan Malamute 51 Whippet Shar Pei Wire Fox Terrier 52 Rhodesian Ridgeback 53 Ibizan Hound Welsh Terrier Irish Terrier 54 Boston Terrier Akita 55 Skye Terrier Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Understanding of new commands: 40 to 80 repetitions. Obey first command: 30% of the time or better. 56 Norfolk Terrier Sealyham Terrier 57 Pug 58 French Bulldog 59 Griffon Bruxellois Maltese 60 Italian Greyhound 61 Chinese Crested Dog 62 Dandie Dinmont Terrier Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Tibetan Terrier Japanese Chin Lakeland Terrier 63 Old English Sheepdog 64 Great Pyrenees 65 Scottish Terrier Saint Bernard 66 Bull Terrier 67 Chihuahua 68 Lhasa Apso 69 Bullmastiff 70 Shih Tzu Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Understanding of new commands: 80 to 100 repetitions or more. Obey first command: 25% of the time or worse. 71 Basset Hound 72 Mastiff Beagle 73 Pekingese 74 Bloodhound 75 Borzoi 76 Chow Chow 77 Bulldog 78 Basenji 79 Afghan Hound

See also List of dog breeds List of individual dogs

References