Scientists from the University of Helsinki, the University of Turku and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences compared the intelligence of more than a thousand dogs belonging to 13 breeds. Research published in the journal scientific reports.
The dogs’ intelligence was assessed using the smartDOG cognitive tests. The tests included assessments of spatial problem solving, logical reasoning, impulse control, and the ability to read human gestures and respond appropriately. One of the tasks was to note the circumstances under which a dog would seek help from his caregiver for an unsolvable problem.
The researchers limited their analysis to dogs aged 1 to 8 years because cognition may not be fully developed in young dogs and older dogs may experience cognitive decline. The dogs were tested between March 2016 and February 2022. There were at least 40 animals for each breed.
Scientists have found significant differences in social cognition, persistence, behavior control, and spatial problem solving between individual dog breeds, but no breed-to-breed differences were found regarding short-term memory or logical reasoning. But Belgian Shepherd Malinois, Border Collies, and Hovawarts turned out to be the best.
Some breed differences are not easily explained by breed function alone. For example, the Golden Retriever differed significantly from the Labrador in behavior and gesture recognition during an unsolvable task, although both belonged to the Retriever group. The researchers stress that it is important to examine behavioral differences between individual breeds, rather than relying solely on classification of breed groups.