Named the top 3 smartest dog breeds

The top three most intelligent dog breeds include the Border Collie, Poodle and German Shepherd. Such a rating, consisting of more than 130 breeds, was compiled in the 90s by the Canadian dog handler Stanley Coren, and it remains relevant to this day. This was recalled in an interview with the publication “Sport Express” animal engineer Anastasia Kalinina and zoopsychologist Daria Noikina.

“The mental abilities of four-legged animals are measured by the speed of perception and assimilation of new information, the ability to adapt to circumstances and use the acquired knowledge in practice,” said Daria Noikina. According to her, the concept of “smart dog” includes learning, attentiveness, the ability to quickly establish cause-and-effect relationships, etc.

The top-ranking Border Collies are distinguished from other breeds by their ability to work independently over long distances – their unique herding style is called “gathering”. That is why dogs of this breed are good in intellectual disciplines – agility, freestyle, nosework, frisbee, obedience.

“They are also used in the search and rescue service,” Anastasia Kalinina added. “More recently, in Turkey, a border collie from Russia excelled in the aftermath of an earthquake.”

Poodles, which are more familiar to us, and German Shepherds, traditionally valued by Russian dog breeders, take second and third places in the ranking, experts added. So, once poodles were used to search for truffles, they performed in circuses, which indicates good trainability. “In the old days, the poodle was even used for hunting waterfowl, offering it and as a companion dog,” recalled Daria Noikina. As for German Shepherds, their ability to learn has been proven by service in the security, police and military forces. Now there are “working” and “exhibition” areas of breeding work for this breed.