Study names Belgian Shepherd Malinois and Border Collie as the smartest dog breeds in the world
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Research has revealed which breed of dog is the smartest and two of Australia’s most beloved dog breeds scored surprisingly low.
The Border Collie has long been considered the most intelligent dog in the world, but a recent study from the University of Helsinki in Finland discovered that it is actually the Belgian Malinois.
More than 1,000 dogs from 13 different breeds were put through rigorous intelligence tests with the Labrador in ninth place and the Golden Retriever in last place.
The Belgian Malinois (pictured) has been found to be the most intelligent dog breed in the world after a recent study.
More than 1,000 dogs from 13 different breeds were put through rigorous intelligence tests with the Labrador (pictured) in ninth place and the Golden Retriever in last place.
Study author Dr. Katriina Tiira said The Telegraph one breed stood out among the rest throughout the test.
“The Belgian Malinois excelled on many of the cognitive tasks, performing very well on most tests,” he said.
Belgian Malinois are popular choices for those looking for a canine that makes a good sniffer, guard, or police dog, but has also proven to be independent, good at solving problems, quick to respond, and good at reading humans.
The border collies demonstrated their intelligence and performed outstandingly in the tests, but the Belgian Malinois bested them in the position.
Saara Junttila, study author and a PhD researcher in canine cognition at the University of Helsinki, said most of the breeds studied had their own strengths and weaknesses.
“For example, the Labrador Retriever was very good at reading human gestures, but not so good at solving spatial problems,” he said.
“Some breeds, such as the Shetland Sheepdog, scored fairly evenly in almost all tests, meaning they didn’t score too high or too low in any one test.”
One of the dogs’ tasks in which they were presented with two food bowls, one full and one empty, to see if they could identify which one was empty yielded no results as there was no difference in behavior between each breed.
Border collies (pictured) demonstrated their intelligence and performed outstandingly in the study’s intelligence tests, but were bested in the ranking by the Belgian Malinois.
However, three tasks that measured a specific aspect of the dog’s cognition were more revealing, including one in which subjects had to navigate around a V-shaped fence.
Another presented the animals with an “unsolvable task” — food placed in a box that couldn’t be opened — to see how quickly they would seek help from a human, determining how independent they were.
The third measured how well the dogs could read humans, rating how they responded to five gestures: constant pointing, brief pointing, foot pointing, pointing while looking in another direction, and following a gaze.
Of a potential 39 points, Hovawarts (left), was a close third behind the Border Collie with 25 points, and the Spanish Water Dog (right) was one point behind with 24
The Belgian malinois prevailed in both the human gestures and the V-shaped hurdle tasks, scoring 35 points out of 39, beating the second-place border collie, who scored 26 points.
Hovawarts, which are an old German working breed descended from Newfoundlands and Leonbergers, came a close third with 25 points, and the Spanish Water Dog was one point behind with 24.
The beloved Labrador and Golden Retriever scored well on the gesture test, but fell behind on the other two tasks, coming in ninth and 13th place respectively.
The study comes after UK-based online vet Ben the Vet took the internet by storm when he listed the five dog breeds he would consider keeping as pets in a viral TikTok. shorten.
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Ben said he prefers mixed-breeds, as they are less prone to disease and genetic problems.
Also in his top five were the Labrador Retriever, the Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla, the Border Terrier and the Greyhound.
Starting at five and working backwards, he listed the greyhound at number five.
“They may not look very cuddly, but they are very friendly and there are many of them who need a home after their careers are over,” Ben said.
He added that they often suffer from bad teeth, so Greyhound owners should “put in the effort to brush their teeth early on.”
The study comes after UK-based online vet Ben the Vet (pictured) rocked the internet when he listed the five dog breeds he would consider keeping as pets
Ben said he prefers mixed-breeds, as they are less prone to disease and genetic problems.
“They’ll be happy to walk, but they’d like the chance to run, so make sure you give them that chance,” the animal doctor said.
Border terriers were Ben’s fourth choice and would be his first choice if he had a small dog due to their loyalty, ‘robust’ health and affectionate nature.
“In my experience, they’re pretty affectionate little dogs, and compared to other terriers, they maybe form a little strong bonds with people,” she said.
Starting at the bottom, Ben put the greyhounds at number five and said: “They may not look very cute, but they are very friendly and there are many of them that need homes.”
Border terriers were Ben’s fourth choice and would be his first choice if he had a small dog due to their loyalty, ‘robust’ health and affectionate nature.
Ben advised people to speak to the breeder about any possible health conditions in the line, as Border Terriers are prone to dislocated kneecaps where the kneecap dislocates or comes out of place.
For his ‘really lovely temperament’, Ben said the wire-haired Hungarian Vizsla is his third choice.
“This is a bit of a niche choice because there aren’t many of them, but the ones I’ve met have lovely temperaments,” he said, adding that they can often suffer from hip dysplasia.
For their ‘really lovely temperament’, Ben called the Wirehaired Hungarian Vizsla his third choice, while he called ‘loyal’, ‘fun’ and ‘friendly’ Labradors his second.
“They need lots and lots of exercise and stimulation, so I’d only get one if I had the time to take them out for two long walks a day.”
Ben said the Labrador’s ‘cuddly’, ‘loyal’, ‘fun’ and ‘kind’ personalities earn them second place on his list.
“They’re subdued in their appearance, they’re not overdone by any means, overdone is bad for your health so that’s a good thing, however I’m a bit conflicted with them because unfortunately they have a few different issues,” he said.
Ultimately, Ben’s best dog choice is the mixed breed, but he said, “the downside is the unpredictability of adult size, temperament and activity levels you get with a pedigreed dog.”
“They are also very prone to gaining weight, so I would be extremely careful to keep them in shape.”
Ultimately, Ben’s best dog choice is the mixed breed.
‘When I say mongrel I mean all sorts of licorice mixed breeds where you can’t tell what they are. The downside is the unpredictability in terms of adult size, temperament and activity levels that you get with a pedigreed dog,” the vet said.
“But what you get is diverse genetics that, by virtue of being less inbred, are less prone to diseases that have a hereditary component, and for me as a veterinarian, that’s very important.”
Ben clarified that he’s “definitely not telling everyone to go out and get these five breeds of dogs,” but in his experience as a vet he believes they are the “healthiest possible five.”
‘These aren’t the only five I’d consider either. Remember that this is just my opinion and you have every right to disagree.