Stupid or clever? Dog training intelligence

[Ruth_F]

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Noticed there were a few posts about training clever Collies and I live with a clever poodle. I also share my home with a rather stupid Harrier and had some very stupid Beagles.

Is your dog clever or not very? Have you tried the blanket test? Put a blanket over your dogs head and see how long it takes them to get it off.

Is it easier to have a clever or not clever dog?

 

[Violet Turner]

Clever as ive only had her a few months and she nearly knows every trick!

 

[JoanneF]

Good thread. We could also add the handler focussed versus independent thinking perspective. If our dogs do as we ask, does that make them compliant or clever - or are these mutually exclusive?

 

[Caro Perry]

Mine is definitely an independent thinker.

You can see his brain ticking over as he eyes up what he wants and then works out how to get it! His basket of toys was out of reach but he worked out that if he jumped on the chair, stepped across to the bureau and then on to the windowsill he could get at it. And he did.

He will do as he's asked on his terms. If I ask him to sit with a treat on view then it's instant. If there isn't a visible treat then all bets are off.

 

[JoanneF]

If there isn't a visible treat then all bets are off.

But that's great - if you know what pushes his buttons, you are 90% there!

 

[arealhuman]

He will do as he's asked on his terms. If I ask him to sit with a treat on view then it's instant. If there isn't a visible treat then all bets are off.

Mine's the same! As for the blanket test, I'll have to try it, but I think he'd just sit there with it over him

 

[Ruth_F]

The hounds are definitely independent thinkers. I grew up with cats and the hounds remind me of them. The poodle is like a different species.

I did the blanket test on one of my beagles years ago, and she fell asleep with the blanket on her head! The poodle pulls it off before its even settled.

As for training, the poodle knows every trick and the hounds wouldnt do anything unless there was a biscuit in it for them.

Does trainability imply cleverness? The hounds refuse to do something unless they are paid in biscuits, in human terms we would say that was clever?

 

[Josie]

Sometimes I think Dennis is really clever and I swear he understands all of my conversations with him! When he see's us getting ready to go out (changing clothes, hair drying, perfume on etc) we have to say to him 'yes you are coming' or ' no sorry you're not coming' and he totally gets it!

Other times though I don't have this same thinking! I can knock on the desk and he thinks it's the door knocking and goes mental!

He tries to get out of the blanket but if it becomes too much effort he'll just stand there! ha

Have you tried with Jimmy yet @arealhuman ?

 

[arealhuman]

No, not had chance yet @Josie, it's on my list

 

[Biker John]

The blanket test would be no use with Folly, she thinks she should be covered fully. So if I put one over her she would just be grateful she didn't have to do her usual to get herself under.

 

[JudyN]

I tried it with a teatowel on Jasper and he stood there wondering what this new game was and what he had to do to get a treat. He tried a gentle 'wuff' and I decided that earnt him one.

I once tried putting a treat under a teatowel on the floor to see if he could work out how to get it. I ended up with a teatowel with a neat hole in the middle

When it comes to understanding what we say, his skills border on telepathic. As he's not overkeen on OH and me going out without him, I've resorted to singing things like 'Are we prepared for the exodus?' so he can't pick up on the intonation or the vocabulary. Give him time though...

But he's never worked out that he is capable of jumping over man-made barriers over 3' high, despite the fact that he could easily clear a fallen tree of going on twice the height. And he once got stuck in the kitchen because I'd left the mop bucket in the doorway

 

[Josie]

Ah so clever but so silly at the same time

 

[Ruth_F]

Ahhh @JudyN the impassable mop bucket We have an impassable vacuum cleaner pipe.
Anyone got dogs who show no interest in toys, or playing fetch? I tried to get all 3 hounds I have owned play fetch and ended up (very gently) throwing a ball at them to see if they would even acknowledge the ball's existence. All 3 looked at me clearly thinking 'what on earth are you doing, stop throwing that stupid thing my way'. I got 1 beagle to chase a tennis ball by smearing some butter on it, but she quit the game the instant all the butter had gone with no residual interest in the ball.
So.. is it dumb hounds not understanding fetch or toys are fun or so clever they realise its a waste of energy?

 

[Josie]

Maybe the hounds are just smart enough to realise it’s just a ball and not a nice tasty squirrel!!

Dennis will go get a ball or a toy if I throw it! Sometimes I have to persuade him he will do it in his eagerness to please!

 

[arealhuman]

Jimmy will occasionally play with a ball and other toys indoors. With his ball, he does come back to me with it, but only to taunt me and not let me have it Did a half blanket test last night - he was on his blanket and I wrapped the other half round him. He just looked at me as if I'm daft (he might be right!).

 

[Josie]

I wonder what intelligence tricks our dogs do to us!?

 

[JoanneF]

Timber has trained me to give him treats when he performs tricks! One of his tricks is to ring a receptionists desk bell. We were showing some friends over Christmas and rewarding him, then the conversation moved on and I forgot the bell was still on the floor. Five minutes later he obviously thought he deserved another reward so totally unprompted he went over and rang it!

 

[Josie]

That’s great! You must keep it by his bed at all times so he can ring you when service is required

 

[JudyN]

Jasper thinks he's allowed anything on the kitchen worktop as long as he has all four feet on the floor (so the first 6" is kept nice and crumb-free). He also knows that bringing me socks, hats, etc. gets a reward, because he used to guard these when he was young.

Some time ago, I walked into the kitchen and saw him with his paws up on the worktop, sniffing out any delicacies. He saw me come in, grabbed the dishcloth, and presented it to me: 'Muuuum, would you like this, Mum?'

Quick thinking, or what? Naturally, I thanked him - 'For me? Why, thank you!' - and exchanged the dishcloth for a treat

 

[Josie]

I did the blanket test on Dennis!

He failed.