Is Jed smart?

Is this dog smart?

Everyone thinks their dog is sooooo  smart, right?

Well,  we think that Jed, the beautiful black Boxador is smart too.  But is he really?

A colleague of mine recently told me about a book called The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions by Stanley Coren. It’s an interesting book for any dog lover.

The book has a list showing the rankings for obedience and working intelligence by breed.  I looked up Labrador – the breed ranks #7 on the list (which is topped by Border Collies). I looked up Boxer – it comes in at # 48. Bottom on the list at rank #79 is the Afghan hound.

Smell the cheese!

The book also contains a canine IQ test. So we decided to find just how smart Jed REALLY is.

There are seven tests and the book recommends giving the tests over two or three sessions.

The first test measures observational learning. Jed scored 5 out of 5 (that’s my dog!).

The second test measures problem solving. Jed scored 2 out of 5. He had to knock a can over to get at a tidbit of cheese.  I don’t know if the fact that the floor was slippery and the can skidded across the surface of the floor so easily had something to do with the results.

The can slip-slided across the floor, making it difficult to turn over.

The next test was also on problem solving and involved throwing a towel or blanket over the dog’s head and shoulders and seeing how long it takes for the dog to free itself.  Jed redeemed himself and got 5 out of 5.

There's cheese under that thar dishcloth!

The last test we did in this first session was also on problem solving. Jed had to get a piece of cheese from under a dishcloth. According to the book, this test was a little bit more difficult for dogs than the previous but Jed aced it and got 5 out of 5.

So how smart is Jed? We have to finish the test to find out (of course, I think he’s brilliant). Stay tuned for the next update!

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