how smart is your dog

Every dog ​​owner has said on more than one conversation how smart is your pet, but little is actually known how smart can become our partner.

And is that everyone knows that dogs are very intelligent animals. But how do we measure intelligence in our dog? Dogs can learn, think and solve problems, just look like a dog learns to tell if something happens, open a drawer where there is something interesting or order food.

But these own qualities not speak only of dogs and cats, for example, can do so. The difference is is that the dog comes when called and can teach you things like sit and shake hands, for example. And it is clear that even the slowest off and distracted dog can obey more easily than a cat.

And the ability to obey and learn is what is part of our concept of intelligence. However, the ability to obey and learn is not the only measure of intelligence. We must not forget that dogs are pack animals because they are born with the instinct of having to integrate a pack and in domestic dogs, our family and society. Puppies and learn how to behave with other group members. Adult dogs train their puppies by correction when not behave as expected (growling, barking high, etc.) and reward for correct behavior (playing with them, feeding them, cleaning them).

This makes the ability to learn basic obedience and possibly complex behavior is innate in all dogs, unlike cats, whose wild ancestors are solitary animals, so their "genes" is no concept of taking orders .

But beyond that, humans have engaged us for centuries to select and promote canine instincts. So we created breeds recognized by their ability to hunt, fight or defend. Other breeds have been selected for their fast learning capabilities, such as "Border Collies" and "Golden Retrievers", which usually makes them easier to train.

Depending on what you want them to teach, pet owners should just be more patient with some breeds than others. Accordingly, there are three types of dog intelligence:

- The instinctive intelligence is the result of heredity and since it is inscribed in the genes, little can be done to change it.

- Adaptive learning or intelligence: the ability to relate cause and effect, and the ability to solve problems.

- Functional or obedience intelligence is the ability to obey orders.

Different breeds of dogs have a different level of the 3 types of intelligence and can work with a dog to reach its full potential. Also, if you educate a dog from puppy properly can increase your functional and obedience intelligence. And we should not underestimate them! Because in addition it is known that some can count to five, understand more than 150 words and even try to deceive humans to their advantage.These are the findings of the psychologist and expert in canine research Stanley Coren, University of British Columbia, who has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that man's best friend has the capacity to solve complex problems and is more like men and other large primates than previously thought.

According to several behavioral measures, dog mental abilities are close to those of a child from two to two and half years. Data from 208 dogs in the United States and Canada showed that functional or obedience intelligence, border collie is the smartest, followed by the poodle and, thirdly, the German Shepherd. The list of the smartest dogs complete with the golden retriever, doberman, shetland shepherd and labrador.However, a functional intelligence average dog can learn about 165 words, including signals, the smartest, 250.

As if this were not enough, our four-legged friends also know numbers because they can "count" four or five and are able to detect errors as 1 + 1 = 1 or 1 + 1 = 3.

Finally, during play, dogs are capable of trying to deceive, thoughtful manner, both other dogs and humans to achieve a reward.

So, are nearly as successful deceiving humans as humans deceive dogs.