Healthy Dogs

How Smart Is Your Dog?

Can You Teach a Dumb Dog New Tricks? continued...

The beagle and bulldog are among the dog breeds on the bottom of Coren's list. These dogs had to hear commands 80 to 100 times or more before they obeyed them 25% or less of the time. They include:

1. Shih Tzu
2. Bassett hound
3. Mastiff/Beagle (tied)
4. Pekingnese
5. Bloodhound
6. Borzoi
7. Chow Chow
8. Bulldog
9. Basenji
10. Afghan hound (least obedient)

Redenbach doesn't like categorizing dogs as smart or dumb; she says that's too simplistic. Like Yin, she says positive and consistent training will make a good dog.

"The number of intelligent dogs I have met has been on the increase over the years because the better trainer I become, the smarter I see they are," Redenbach says.