Intelligence a matter of good, deep breeding
When they quit the home they don't take half your stuffOctober 20, 2004 Edition 1
James Clarke
A reader, Denise, has asked me for a list that I carried in this column years ago about dogs' IQ. She says dogs are sometimes smarter than humans and if one stood for parliament where she lived she would vote for it.
Personally, I think it would depend on the breed. For instance, things that might excite a fox terrier would leave a bloodhound totally unmoved.
For years I believed the most intelligent dog was the Bouvier de Flandres.
The Belgian Army trained them to parachute behind enemy lines "to act as messengers".
I think the Belgians (who, as far as I recall, have never won a war) expected the bouviers to spy on enemy positions and run back and indicate where they were?
If so they should surely have used pointers.
But then pointers are a German breed so, I suppose, they couldn't really trust them to point in the right direction.
Denise is, I think, referring to a study by Stanley Coren, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia (which, as any bouvier will tell you, is in Canada) who trains dogs as a hobby. Fifteen years ago he compiled a list of 101 dog breeds in order of intelligence.
The most intelligent dog was the border collie.
I remember at the time Cathy Garner of Rivonia saying she was not in the least surprised because her English-speaking collie understands at least 30 words. She told me of tests which showed the border collie, in some respects, is as bright as a six-year-old child.
Roger Wellstead who owned a golden retriever says he witnessed his dog thinking.
Roger told his bull terrier to take its bone outside.
The bull terrier did not seem to understand.
In the end the retriever got up, walked over to the bone, and took it outside.
Even some Mensans are not as sharp as that.
In fact the IQ listing shows that the golden retriever is the fourth most intelligent dog and the bull terrier is 90th. The "Staffie" is 72nd.
Despite their poor rating, bull terriers are no idiots. Marion Whitehead, of Noordwyk, Midrand, told me that her dog, when at training school, quickly learned to "fetch" but, after demonstrating that it had grasped the lesson, sensibly refused to do it again.
Professor Coren's top 10 dogs were (from the brightest) border collie, poodle, German shepherd, golden retriever, doberman pinscher, Shetland, Labrador, Rottweiler, Australian cattle dog and Pembroke collie. It is interesting that they are all working dogs - including the poodle.
The little terriers - Malteses etc - are placed around the middle of the table. The boxer comes 69th and the dachshund 71st.
The Scottie is 88th, and the bulldog trundles in at 99th.
Just for the record, the bottom 11 in descending order are: bull terrier, chihuahua, bull mastiff, basset hound, beagle, pekinese, bloodhound, chowchow, bulldog, basenji - and dumbest of all is the Densa mascot, the Afghan.
What is pathetic is that dogs look upon us as god-like geniuses.
Anne Tyler pointed out how they watch us come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - "chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!"
Ex-South African, Karel (Kas), Stoep Talk's bureau chief in California, has sent me reasons why men should have two dogs rather than two wives:
He says: "The later you are, the more excited dogs are to see you - and they like to go hunting and fishing.
"They like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
"Their parents never visit and they don't wake you up at night to ask, 'If I die would you get another dog?'
"And if they leave you they don't take half your stuff."
Fax: 011-465-4564
Write to: Box 876 Lonehill, 2062
e-mail: jcl@onwe.co.za
