Many dogs can easily be trained to retrieve.

Dog intelligence is the ability of a dog to learn, think, and solve problems. Dog trainers, owners, and researchers have as much difficulty agreeing on a method for testing canine intelligence as they do for human intelligence. Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 212 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 212 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... A dog trainer is a person involved in the training of dogs. ... Intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ...

Certain breeds, like Border Collies, Poodles, German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers, are generally easier to train than others. It is worth noting that these descriptions are relative to other dogs, not relative to the world at large. The ability to learn and obey commands is not the only possible measurement of intelligence. Other breeds, such as sled dogs and Border Collies demonstrate intelligence in other ways. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Border Collie is a breed of herding dog that originated in the border country of England and Scotland. ... The Poodle is a breed of dog; specifically, it is a gundog noted for its ability in the water. ... Country of origin Germany Classification Breed standards (external links) FCI, AKC, ANKC, CKC KC(UK), NZKC, UKC The German Shepherd Dog (known also as the Alsatian or Schäfer(hund)) is an intelligent breed of dog. ... The Golden Retriever is a large breed of dog, historically developed as a gundog to retrieve shot waterfowl and upland game during hunting. ... Obedience Training usually refers to the training of a dog and the term is most commonly used in that context. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sled dogs, known also as sleigh dogs, sledge dogs or sleddogs are a group of dogs that are used to pull a wheel-less vehicle on runners (a sled or sleigh) over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines. ... The Border Collie is a breed of herding dog that originated in the border country of England and Scotland. ...

Inherited abilities

Dogs are pack animals. They understand social structure and obligations, and are capable of interacting with other members of the pack. Adult canines train their young by "correcting" them when they behave in an unacceptable manner (such as biting too hard or eating out of turn) and reward them for acceptable behavior, by playing with them, feeding them, or cleaning them. A pack of canines—most notably wolves, the domestic dog, and some other wild canines—is a group of animals that is organised according to a strict social hierarchy. ...

They are also den animals. This means that they can easily learn behavior related to keeping the den clean (such as housebreaking) and relaxing in an enclosed area (such as a crate during travel or for training). Look up lair in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Housebreaking is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house to eliminate (urinate and defecate) outdoors, or in a designated indoor area, rather than inside the house. ... Crate training is the process of teaching a dog to go into its crate on command and to be comfortable there while enclosed. ...

Some breeds have been selectively bred for hundreds or thousands of years for the quality of learning quickly. That quality has been downplayed for other breeds in favor of other characteristics like the ability to track or hunt game, or to fight other animals. The capacity to learn basic obedience, however, and complicated behavior is inherent in all dogs. Owners must simply be more patient with some breeds than with others.

Nonetheless, inherited behavior is not necessarily an indicator of intelligence. For example, a sheep herding breed, like a Border Collie, would be expected to learn how to herd sheep very quickly and might even perform the job with little training. The same breed, however, would be a challenge to train how to point and retrieve game. A Pointer often points to game instinctively and naturally retrieves game without damaging it, but most likely could not be taught to herd sheep. Pointers pointing stance The Pointer is a group of dog breeds; specifically, they are a type of gundog typically used in hunting birds. ...

Evaluation of intelligence

The meaning of "intelligence" in general, not only in reference to dogs, is hard to define. Some tests measure problem-solving abilities and others test the ability to learn in comparison to others of the same age. Defining it for dogs is just as difficult. It is likely that dogs do not have the ability to premeditate an action to solve a problem. Some dogs may, however, have more drive to keep trying various things until they accidentally reach a solution and still others might have more ability to make the association between the "accident" and the result.^{[citation needed]}

For example, the ability to learn quickly could be a sign of intelligence. It could be interpreted as a sign of blind subservience and a desire to please. In contrast, some dogs who do not learn very quickly may have other talents. An example is breeds that are not particularly interested in pleasing their owners, such as Siberian Huskies. Huskies are often fascinated with the myriad possibilities for escaping from yards, catching small animals, and figuring out on their own numerous and often ingenious ways of doing both.^{[citation needed]} Intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... The Siberian Husky (Russian: , Sibirskiy Haski) is a medium-size, dense-coat working dog breed that originated in eastern Siberia. ...

Assistance dogs, are also required to be obedient at all times. This means they must learn a tremendous number of commands, understand how to act in a large variety of situations, and recognize threats to their human companion, some of which they might never before have encountered. An assistance dog is a dog trained to help a person with a disability. ...

Many owners of livestock guardian breeds believe that breeds like the Great Pyrenees or the Kuvasz are not easily trained because their stubborn nature prevents them from seeing the point of such commands as “sit” or “down”. Hounds may also suffer from this type of ranking as well as several other ranks in the bottom tier of "The Intelligence of Dogs" list (such as Beagles, Bloodhounds, and Basset Hounds).^{[citation needed]} These dogs are bred to have more of a "pack" mentality with other dogs and less reliance on a master's direct commands. While they may not have the same kind of intelligence as a Border Collie, they were not bred to learn and obey commands quickly, but to think for themselves while trailing game. Kazakh shepherd, his and his dogs primary job is to guard the sheep from predators Livestock Guarding Dogs (LGDs) is the name used by biologists for dogs bred to guard livestock such as sheep. ... Pyrenean Mountain Dog Categories: Stub | Dog breeds ... The Kuvasz (pronounced KOO-vahss; in Hungarian language the plural is Kuvaszok, pronounced KOO-vah-sock) is a dog breed of ancient Hungarian origin. ... Categories: Dog stubs | Dog types ... This article is about the dog breed. ... For other uses, see Bloodhound (disambiguation). ... The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. ...

Testing and research

Certain intelligence tests involve the dog's ability to recognize and respond to a large vocabulary of commands. Other tests involve their desire or ability to respond to different situations. Just as with humans, there is a wide variety of interpretations as to what makes a dog "intelligent". The vocabulary of a person is defined either as the set of all words that are understood by that person or the set of all words likely to be used by that person when constructing new sentences. ...

Various studies have attempted to confirm the intelligence of dogs in a rigorous manner. A recent example is animal psychologist Juliane Kaminski's paper in Science that demonstrated that Rico, a Border Collie, could learn over 200 words.^[1] Rico could remember the names of several items for up to four weeks after its last exposure (Kaminski eliminated the Clever Hans effect using strict protocols). Rico was also able to interpret phrases such as "fetch the sock" in terms of its component words (rather than considering its utterance to be a single word). Rico could also give the sock to a specified person. Comparative psychology, taken in its most usual, broad, sense, refers in to the study of the behaviour and mental life of animals other than human beings. ... Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the worlds most prestigious scientific journals. ... Rico (born: December 1994) is a Border Collie dog who made the news after being studied by animal psychologist Juliane Kaminski from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig after his owners reported that he understood more than 200 simple words. ... The Border Collie is a breed of herding dog that originated in the border country of England and Scotland. ... For other uses, see Word (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Grimms Fairy Tales. ...

In his 1996 book Good Natured, ethologist Frans de Waal discusses an experiment on guilt and reprimands conducted on a female Siberian husky. The dog had the habit of shredding newspapers, and when her owner returned home to find the shredded papers and scold her she would act guilty. However, when the owner himself shredded the papers without the dog's knowledge, the dog "acted just as 'guilty' as when she herself had created the mess." De Waal concludes that the "guilt" displayed by dogs is not true guilt but rather the anticipation of the behavior of an angry superior in a given situation.^[2] Frans B.M. de Waal, PhD (b. ... The Siberian Husky (Russian: , Sibirskiy Haski) is a medium-size, dense-coat working dog breed that originated in eastern Siberia. ...

A recent study surveying dog owners concluded that dogs can feel complex emotions like jealousy, getting in between their owners and other sources of attention.^{[citation needed]}

Psychologist Kathy Coon ranked dog breeds by intelligence in her book The Dog Intelligence Test based on a standardized intelligence test for dogs.

Stanley Coren ranked dog breeds by intelligence in his book The Intelligence of Dogs based on surveys done on dog trainers, the article for which contains a summary of the rankings obtained. Stanley Coren is a psychology professor and researcher who has become best known for a series of books regarding the intelligence of dogs. ... The Intelligence of Dogs is a book by Stanley Coren. ... A dog trainer is a person involved in the training of dogs. ...

See also

• The Intelligence of Dogs (Book by Stanley Coren)
• Dog training
• Intelligence (trait)

The Intelligence of Dogs is a book by Stanley Coren. ... Dog training is the process of teaching a dog (Canis lupus familiaris) to perform certain behaviors under various circumstances and in certain roles on command. ... Intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ...

References

• Cunliffe, Juliette (2004). The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds. Parragon Publishing. ISBN 0-7525-8276-3. 
• Fogle, Bruce (2000). The New Encyclopedia of the Dog. Doring Kindersley (DK). ISBN 0-7894-6130-7. 

1. ^ Kaminski,et al., Juliane (2004). Word Learning in a Domestic Dog: Evidence for "Fast Mapping", 1682 - 1683. DOI: 10.1126/science.1097859. 
2. ^ de Waal, Frans (1996). Good Natured. Harvard University Press, 107–108. ISBN 0-674-35660-8. 

Parragon is a publishing company based in Bath, UK with offices in Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India and the USA. Parragon mainly sells books to non-traditional book outlets, such as supermarkets, as opposed to book retailers. ... Frans B.M. de Waal, PhD (b. ... The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

External links

• Brightest Dogs