We cannot talk about the Border Collie without talking about his intelligence. Dog experts widely agree that the Border Collie is an intelligent workaholic. They are capable of learning a remarkable number of words and commands, and they are happiest when they are put to work every day.
All pet dogs are good at understanding their owners, but only a select few can learn and remember names of objects, according to a recent study.
Six Border Collies were tested by Hungarian researchers on their ability to recall the names of novel toys. Up to 12 new words were taught to the dogs each week during the four-part experiment, after which their memory for the toys was tested for up to two months.
When they started recruiting for the study, which was released on Tuesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the researchers had no particular breed in mind. Finding dogs that were “gifted word learners” or had already demonstrated the capacity to learn the meaning of a variety of objects was the aim.
According to the study’s first author, Shany Dror, “the dogs we found after two years of search for dogs of any breed that had learned the names of their toys happened to be Border Collies.” Dror is the manager of the Genius Dog Challenge and a doctoral student in ethology (the study of animal behavior) at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. However, we tried teaching toy names to other Border Collies in a prior study, and they did not demonstrate this capacity. It turns out that this ability is extremely uncommon, even among Border Collies. ”.
Three male and three female border collies with an average age of three were chosen for the study. 6 years old and already familiar with at least 26 different toys
Dror explained that the process of teaching the dogs the names of new toys was not a formal type of training but rather based on how owners typically interact with their pets. The researchers discovered that dog owners used the same tone and vocabulary when speaking to their dogs as they do when speaking to their young children.
“The owner first displays the toy to the dog and says its name, such as, “Look, this is the elephant,” before beginning to give the toy to the dog or tossing it for the dog to retrieve, always repeating the toy’s name a few times, such as, “Go find the elephant,” Dror said.
Owners received toys that the dogs had never seen for the experiments. The first experiment examined the dogs’ capacity to learn the names of six toys in a week. The toys were dispersed among a variety of new toys, and the dogs were instructed to fetch each of the toys they had grown accustomed to by name.
The dogs were given a week to learn the names of 12 new toys in the second experiment.
The dogs’ memories were tested in two additional experiments at one month and then at two months.
Almost all of the dogs remembered the names of all the toys in the first experiment. In the second experiment, two dogs brought back all 12 of their new toys, while the remaining four canines brought back just 11. Over 86 percent of the trials saw the dogs retrieve the right toy overall.
At two months, they successfully retrieved the right toy in just over 57% of trials.
“The most surprising result was to see that the dogs could still remember their names after two months, during which they had not seen these new toys,” Dror said.
After the study was over, the researchers found that some members of other breeds, such as a German shepherd, a Pekingese, a miniature Australian shepherd, and a few mixed-breed dogs, were also skilled at learning new words.
We assessed the ability to learn object names, which is a very specific skill, Dror said.
However, she added, “all dogs are excellent at comprehending their humans.” They manage to do this by being able to read even our most subtle movements and understanding the context in which we act. They can learn a lot from watching us because they are tuned in to all of our activities. ”.
How Much Exercise Does a Border Collie Need?
Border Collies require a ton of exercise every single day. These dogs won’t quickly tire because they were originally bred to be hard-working herding dogs. For these dogs, a brief walk once or twice a day will not be nearly enough.
Your dog will likely need more frequent runs or jogs, hiking, swimming, fetch games, or lengthy, difficult hikes for his daily exercise. Border Collies also thrive when given additional ways to release their energy, such as dog agility or herding
Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, Border Collies are not hypoallergenic. If you have a dog allergy, being around a Border Collie is almost a surefire way to experience an allergic reaction due to their reasonably thick coats that shed all year long.
Measuring the Border Collie’s Intelligence
Border Collies’ popularity had increased as a result of the list of the smartest dog breeds. Many prospective owners chose to take a closer look at these dogs because they were at the top of the list. But how do we know Border Collies are the smartest breed of canine?
This research has been largely credited to canine psychologist, Stanley Coren. He had the help of 199 obedience trial judges to help with his research. And while his idea was initially met with a lot of criticism, he received a huge response.
The obedience judges evaluated and ranked several hundred dog breeds using Coren’s dog intelligence criteria. Coren was able to complete his list of the most intelligent dog breeds using the judges’ feedback. His criteria for the trials was the following:
For Coren’s study on dog intelligence, hundreds of dogs were initially considered, but not all dog breeds were chosen in the end. Instead, only breeds with at least 100 evaluations were included in the final list, resulting in a total of 138 breeds.
In actuality, not even all dog breeds took part in the competition. The trials were limited to canine breeds recognized by the AKC or the Canadian Kennel Club. In other words, neither rare international dogs nor mixed breed dogs were permitted to be evaluated by the judges.
Border Collies took part because they were accepted by both the AKC and CKC. And due to the Border Collie’s enormous popularity, they had no trouble making the cut for the final list.
How the Border Collie Performed
The best performer was the Border Collie, who came in at number one and earned the title of “smartest dog breed in the world.” Only 9 other dogs even came close to matching Border Collies in terms of quality.
Being in the top 10 for intelligence meant that Border Collies could pick up a new command after only four or five repetitions, so what does it mean to be number one? Depending on the handler, they can quickly pick up a simple command!
Personally, I think the Border Collies’ actual obedience is more impressive. Because of their work ethics, they will comply in order to continue working. As a result, Borders had a 95% or higher success rate in following a known command the first time!
Few dog breeds have an intelligence for work and obedience like the Border Collie. However, nine additional dog breeds fall into the same IQ category. The Dobermann, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Labrador, Poodle, Rottweiler, and other breeds are among these canines.
FAQ
How do Collies rank in intelligence?
1. Border collie. The border collie is the most intelligent dog breed known to man, according to The Intelligence of Dogs, which ranks 131 dog breeds based on their relative intelligence.
Is a rough collie as smart as a Border Collie?
The only similarities between the Border Collie and the Rough Collie at first glance seem to be their coats and similar colors. Both dogs are also extremely trainable and intelligent household pets.
Why is the collie the smartest dog?
- #1 Border Collie. The Border Collie comes in at number one.
- #2 Poodle. Easily trainable, steadfast, and sharp-minded, Poodles flourish in human company.
- #3 German Shepherd. …
- #4 Golden Retriever. …
- #5 Doberman Pinscher. …
- #6 Shetland Sheepdog. …
- #7 Labrador Retriever. …
- #8 Papillon. …