Comments on: 10 Least Intelligent Dogs

By: Maika

Maika — Mon, 03 May 2010 03:12:29 +0000

i only able to say this list are in general.
where your personal experience with your dog may not be the case.
People might say my dog is smart or stupid. However, intelligence between dogs of same breed might differ from each other.

By: kaylee kay

kaylee kay — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:05:11 +0000

This peice of writing is absoulutely ridicoulous. Beagles are in no way unintelligent and untrainable. if they are then why are they used in many movies and also they are sniffer dogs. many dogs are unique and just because a dog is stubborn does not mean it is dumb. beagles can sometimes be stubborn and so can many other dogs but this does not mean that that whole breed of dog is sudennly unintelligent. The stupid and unitelligent author of this article should get their facts right and call this article “hardest dogs to train” but even if they did they can not put these wonderful dogs on the list. Like Deb said the last thing i would call a stubborn dog is dumb, just too smart so it knows it has better things to do than listen to its owner.
Beagles are beautiful and loving and also vey intelligent dogs so this article can shove it up its butt.

By: Deb Paquette

Deb Paquette — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:11:35 +0000

I think perhaps if this article had been entitled “Most difficult to train” or something not having to do with intelligence, it would have been less misleading. I bred Basenjis and own 5, and the last thing I would call them is “dumb”. More like “too smart for their own good”. They are creative problem-solvers, curious, receptive animals. Again, like the comment about the Rotties above, these dogs were bred to be silent, independent hunters. Yes, they’re stubborn and hard to train, but dumb? I don’t think so! As a teacher, I know the hardest kids to teach are sometimes the smartest ones! They already feel they know more than I.

By: Jean Clarkson

Jean Clarkson — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:45:32 +0000

I agree with Mike, terrible writing and how am I to know these breeds have been researched well over various sources. And one question still remains in my mind, why would a perfectly good veterinarian go on this website and post comments. Or may that be a poser?

By: Mike Clarke

Mike Clarke — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:13:21 +0000

Your post is without question a terrible piece of writing. Just because a breed is hard to train, does not make them “stupid”. It is people like you that make people shy away from great dog breeds. Having owned German Shepards, Labs, Dobermans and Rotts, I would not trade my 2 Basenjis for any of them. They are the most INTELLIGENT animals I have ever had the pleasure of being around. Furthermore, Basenjis do not bark, they yodel. If you are going to bash a certain breed, ensure you can atleast talk about them INTELLIGENTLY please.

By: Ali Rae

Ali Rae — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:49:39 +0000

I never heard of Beagles being dumb. I heard that they’re stubborn and have a hard time not following their nose. My dog is half beagle half shepherd and was very easy to train and is extremely smart. The only thing we could never get her to do was walk on a leash without us being walked.

By: Oliver Kiss

Oliver Kiss — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:13:04 +0000

I constantly read how the Chow Chow is one of the most stupid dogs, but being a recent puppy owner, I have to disagree. I received my pup when she was 8 weeks old, and she was already house broken! I’ve heard horror stories about different breeds doing peepee caca in the house many times a day!

I brought her to a friend’s house 3 times, and the third time we took a nice 30 minute walk around the neighborhood, one that she’s never walked around in until this day. We let her off the leash a couple of houses from my friend’s house, and she jogged over and turned right onto the front porch! What’s a smart pooch!

I don’t disagree that she’s independent, even down right stubborn, but that and being stupid are entirely 2 different things.

By: CharlesS

CharlesS — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:30:08 +0000

Actually, this post is in the least intelligent category.

If you are really serious (are you???), then what are your metrics? Or perhaps it is just a joke.

Often a breed will be bread to be ‘independent’ – or more dominant. I’m thinking of a Rottweiler. Such a dog might be difficult to train due to it not being as likely to seek human affirmations like another breed. Is a cat less intelligent than a dog? Does a dog know how to out smart a mouse, or a bird? Is stealth a type of intelligence?

Among human ‘breeds’ or races it has been speculated there are differences in intelligence. Again, what is the metric? When an individual from race A is tested on criteria familiar to race B he fails. Likewise, B fails A. This has been proven again and again.

By: GCS

GCS — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:29:12 +0000

These are great lists with useful anecdotal info. I’m a small animal veterinarian and agree with the descriptions here. My personal honorable mentions for this list are the Irish Setter followed closely by the Gordon Setter. They are very affectionate lovable dogs suitable for families with children, but they are excitable and easily distracted from a task at hand when being trained. They are very trainable however, with some extra time and work. I think of Irish Setters having a brain with a good fast CPU but not nearly enough RAM.

The ‘Smartest Dogs” list is great too. Others to consider there are the Bernese Mountain Dog, and especially the Flat-Coated Retriever, which I would describe as similar in personality to a Labrador but a bit more attentive and bright. Perhaps they are harder to train than a Lab, but this is just a reflection of their independence and intelligence.

I really feel that the strongest offerings in dog intelligence show up in the strange combinations of mixed breeds we know as mutts and mongrels. It is a simple matter of hybrid vigor, where the out-crossing of distinct gene pools within a species strengthens the phenotype. It is the same with corn, dogs (but not corndogs), humans, and any other species that undergoes sexual reproduction. Many health problems specific to purebred dogs are, quite simply, an extension of the inbreeding that so rapidly across time, sculpted each breed, distinctly from the others.

GCS