HOW SMART IS YOUR DOG ?
Do you think your dog would be doggy dux of the class or is doggy dunce a better term? While it is hard to equate the intelligence of dogs with our own, there are certainly some does who are quicker to learn than others.
Try these fun tests to see how your dog rates. Please don’t take them too seriously ….although I was relieved that my dog Toby passed with flying colours ( phew!)
15-18stars- super smart dog
10-14 stars- smart dog who is obviously interested in learning and pleasing.
5-9stars- Good effort but possibly has other things on the mind like eating or the park!
0-4 stars – maybe not the smartest pooch on the block but im sure he/she is very good at other things like giving you love and having his/her back scratched.
1. PROBLEM SOLVING
This will test whether your dog understands that an object still exists, even though it is out of view.
You need
- Empty soup tin, plastic cup or shoe box
- Treats or a toy
Ask your dog to sit and show him the treat or toy and let him sniff it. With a big action, place the treat on the ground and invert the empty can over it.
Start the watch and encourage your dog to get the treat.
3 stars if the dog knocks the tin over and gets the treat in under five seconds.
2 stars if the dog retrieves the treat within a minute
1 Star if your dog sniffs the tin and moves around it but doesn’t knock it over.
0 if the dog has no interest in the tin and does not attempt to retrieve the treat
2. PROBLEM SOLVING
This test is a little more complex than the first test as it requires an ability to manipulate an object ( the hand towel) to get a desired result ( the treat)
· Treat
· Hand towel
Place the treat on the ground while your dog is watching. Place hand towel over the treat and time how long it takes for the dog to retrieve the treat.
3 stars if the dog retrieves the treat in 15seconds
2 stars if the dog retrieves the treat in 60 seconds
1 star if the dog tries but cant figure out how to manipulate the towel.
0 if the dog has no interest.
3.PROBLEM SOLVING
This also tests your dogs ability to solve a problem by using its paws to manipulate.
You need
· A board and some bricks- you need to create a platform that is low enough to the ground that your dog can not fit its head under but high enough that a paw will fit.
· Or a table that is very low to the ground
· Treats.
Make sure your dog is watching you and allow him to sniff the treat. Make him watch as you place the treat under the platform out of reach of the muzzle. Start the stopwatch and encourage him to get the treat.
3 stars if the dog uses its paws straight away and retrieves the treat in under 30 seconds
2 stars if the dog retrieves the treat in under 2 minutes.
1 star if the dog uses its muzzle only and fails to get the bait or if it uses its paws but has not retrieved the bait after three minutes.
4.LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION
How many words or commands are in your dogs vocabulary? Does your dog respond with the appropriate actions to commands that you give it. For example- if you say ‘outside’, does your dog exit the room and go outside every time?
Common commands include sit, stay, come, drop, heel, outside, liedown., away, fetch etc
3 Stars for more than 20 commands- your dog is skilled at learning and remembering commands. Some credit must be given to you for training your dog so well!
2 Stars for 11-20 commands
1 star for 1-10 commands
5. SHORT TERM MEMORY
You need
- A treat that does not have a strong scent eg plain dog biscuit
- A room.
Have a friend hold your dog on lead in the middle of the room.
Show your dog the biscuit and then place the biscuit in the corner of the room, making sure your dog sees you put it down.
Lead your dog out of the room, walk it in a circle and then immediately bring it back into the room. Slip the lead off the dog and start timing.
3 stars if your dog goes straight to the biscuit
2 stars if the dog sniffs around until it finds the biscuit
1 star if the dog tries to find the biscuit but doesn’t succeed
0 if the dog makes no effort at all
6.LONG TERM MEMORY- this should be done straight after the previous test.
You need
Do exactly the same setup as the last test, however make sure that you place the treat in a different corner to the one before. This time you will take your dog out of the room for 5 minutes.
Return the dog to the centre of the room and start timing as soon as you take off the lead.
3 stars if your dog goes straight to the treat
2 stars if your dog first goes to the corner you previously used and then goes to the correct corner
1 star if your dog randomly finds the treat in under a minute
0 if your dog still hasn’t found the treat in under a minute or if your dog makes no effort at all.