Belgian Malinois and Border Collies in a Global Intelligence Study

Although the Border Collie is often praised for its superb working ability, new research shifts attention to another canid breed. Scientists have identified Belgian Malinois as potentially the brightest among dogs, based on tests conducted with more than 1,000 dogs spanning 13 breeds.

Malinois dogs are celebrated for their keen sense of smell, protective instincts, and discipline. They are also recognized for independence, rapid problem solving, and a quick grasp of human needs. In addition, they stand out for their capacity to interpret people and respond appropriately.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland assembled the most comprehensive dataset to date on canine cognition across breeds. In the study, 1,000 dogs from 13 breeds participated in a battery of ten tasks, consisting of seven cognitive challenges and three behavioral assessments. A team of experts then evaluated the results using the test battery known as smartDOG.

“Each breed showed its own blend of strengths and weaknesses,” explained Saara Junttila, a doctoral researcher in canine cognition at the University of Helsinki, in an interview with The Telegraph.

Belgian Malinois — reddit

In one notable comparison, Labrador Retrievers excelled at reading human movements but faced difficulties with certain spatial problems, highlighting that different breeds can shine in different areas.

Some breeds, such as the Shetland Sheepdog, demonstrated relatively even performance across most tests, indicating no single standout strength or weakness.

“The Belgian Malinois showed outstanding performance across a range of cognitive tasks and achieved high scores on most assessments,” noted Katriina Tiira, owner and CEO of smartDOG.

“Border Collies also performed well across many trials,” Tiira added.

The researchers identified a key test as the best overall indicator of general intelligence: a logical reasoning task in which a dog could see two bowls of food, with one empty. The aim was to determine whether the dog could infer that the food lay in the other, covered bowl. The data, however, did not show consistent differences among breeds for this test, suggesting that general spatial problem solving may be similar across breeds studied.

The team then explored three tasks, each isolating a different aspect of cognition, revealing how much breeds vary in their cognitive profiles.

Average activity level scores (FitBark) by breed — Nature

A V-detour task required a dog to navigate around a transparent V-shaped fence to obtain a visible food reward, offering a measure of problem-solving ability. The researchers also evaluated the dogs’ ability to interpret human gestures by tracking responses to five cues: continuous pointing, brief pointing, pointing with the paw, pointing while looking away, and following gaze.

Independence and help-seeking behavior were examined through an unsolvable task where access to food was blocked. This helped gauge whether a dog tends to seek human assistance or tackles the problem alone.

“Understanding human gestures reflects social cognition,” Junttila stated. “Dogs that excel at this task tend to be highly effective at reading people.” The unsolvable task further highlighted social dimensions; some breeds preferred seeking human help, while others preferred solving issues independently. Both approaches have practical value in different situations.

Malinois, the top performer

Results show the Belgian Malinois leading in both human-guided movements and the V-turn task, and ranking as the fifth most independent breed overall.

In the overall intelligence score, the Malinois secured first place with 35 points out of a possible 39.

Border Collies followed close behind in second place with 26 points. Hovawart earned bronze with 25 points, just ahead of the Spanish Water Dog.

Belgian Malinois — pet observers

Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, often praised for emotional sensitivity, scored high on gesture interpretation but lower on the other two tasks, ranking 13th and 9th respectively.

The research team emphasizes that classifying each individual trait and overall intelligence into a single ranking may be less useful than understanding which breeds excel at specific skills.

Reference work: Nature Scientific Reports, 2022. [Nature Scientific Reports 2022 Attribution]

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Notes on study methodology and data handling were conducted with a robust dataset and careful peer review to ensure reliability across breeds and tasks.