Nearly a thousand dogs have participated in tests to determine which breed is the smartest of all. There is one that stands out very prominently.
The varieties of dogs are very diverse, and there are some that stand out especially for their intelligence. Many wonder which dog breed is the smartest of them all, a question that has never been entirely clear since different experts and owners have always defended different options.
A recent study published in the scientific journal Nature attempts to shed light on this issue and establishes what is supposedly the most intelligent breed. Nearly a thousand dogs between 1 and 8 years old, whose owners volunteered, participated in the study. Among all of them, they were divided into the following 13 groups by the authors of the research:
- Border Collie
- English Cocker Spaniel
- Golden Retriever
- Hovawart
- Australian Kelpie
- Labrador Retriever
- German Shepherd
- Belgian Malinois Shepherd
- Australian Shepherd
- Spanish Water Dog
- Finnish Lapphund
- Sheltie
- Mixed Breed Dogs
All of them underwent a series of tests, which included evaluations in aspects such as exploring their environment, how they behave with a person they do not yet know, the way and time they dedicate to solving problems, perseverance to satisfactorily complete a task, initiative to overcome problems without human orders, and their memory.
The smartest dog breed
Taking all of the above into account, the group that obtained the best results was that of the Belgian Malinois Shepherds, with 35 out of 39 possible points. This breed is often used by police forces and security forces in general, and even by the military, so it makes sense that they are able to perform the series of tests in which they participated with very good grades.
According to this recent study, the Belgian Malinois Shepherd is the smartest breed.
Furthermore, the authors of the study explain that it is normal for some dogs to excel in specific aspects but not in others. In addition, it is also very important to consider the purposes for which they have been historically bred in order to understand this. In the case of Border Collies, which many have always considered to be the smartest, they came in second in these tests with 26 points and excelled very notably in logical reasoning and memory exercises: they are capable of recognizing more than a thousand different words, something unthinkable in other canine varieties.
The podium is closed with 25 points by the Hovawarts, which are large dogs originating from southwest Germany, usually employed as guardians. The Spanish Water Dog came very close with 24 points, which although did not stand out above the others in any specific test, achieved very competent overall results.
I'm a big fan of short stories about people – I'm a pro at tech and smartphones, serial literature, and writing in my spare time.
