Dizzy the border collie cross with Deborah during the making of the DVD 'DOG TRAINING THAT WORKS!'

Is your dog dumb? Maybe he's a genius at some things and a dolt at others. 

There are many different aspects to intelligence that effects how our dogs learn and how best to train them. Cleverness, problem solving, memory, communication, independence and much more plays a huge roll. Most dogs were bred for a job and still to this day excel when asked to do that job.  For example almost every Golden Retriever can fetch a stick out of water with little or no training.  Try that with an Afghan and he'll just give you a dazed and confused (but beautiful) look.  However, drag something behind a bicycle and voila that sight hound Afghan shows he can chase, follow, track and catch -maybe Afghans are not so dumb after all.

 Then again most of us don't exactly want our dogs to chase and bring down cyclists so for most of us, an Afghan hound probably isn't a smart choice.  The smartest dogs, include the Doberman, Border Collie and Standard Poodle and although those three are smart they too are not for everybody; Dobermans need a firm owner who is willing to be a strong assertive absolutely clear leader- a dominant type of  person, while the Standard Poodle does better with a person who communicates less marine-style and with more subtlety. The Border Collie? it is all about the work-outs for him- mental and physical work-outs.  If you are a tri-athlete in training, good choice.  If not, forget it, they may be smart but they are very smart at being bad when they don't get their work-outs.

 For most families there are plenty of dogs who rank more toward the middle in intelligence and are easy to train and easy to exercise and groom.  Most retrievers for example.  Don't be afraid to delve into the mutt world. With cross breeds and mutts what you see is what you get so you can go  by the traits that are most prominent.  For example,  If it looks like a labrador, has webbed feet and droopy ears and a soft round mouth like a lab then it will act like a lab. And if you meet the dog when it is already grown and its habits good and bad are in place you really do see what you get and can get the exact right mutt for you.

 Want to hear more on breed smarts and how dogs think, and learn? Check out the pet life radio show ANIMAL PARTY  posted here at redroom in Deborah Wolfe's author blog.  You'll hear bestselling pet author and expert Deborah Wolfe chatting about one of her favorite dog books, with its author Stanley Coren.  This show is full of facts and information that only a psychology prof. who has studied both animals and people can put together but its delivered in a very informal way because Deb and Stan know each other well from the 'dog and pony' tours they've done together promoting books and animal causes. 

Educate yourself about dog smarts with the professor without paying the tuition!  more radio shows with deborah wolfe and her weekly guests are available  free online anytime at www.campgooddog.com with links.

So...is your dog smart or dumb?

Want to know more about this exact topic?  ...Check out the posted radio show with Bestselling Author & Professor Dr. Stanley Coren as he discusses his book, 'the Intelligence of Dogs' with me, Deborah Wolfe.