Smart Dog Breeds: Only Half Of The Equation

Every owner will tell you that their beloved pet is the smartest pooch in the world, but more often than not, this could not be further from the actual truth. Certainly, all breeds do have the ability to learn if training is tailored to their breed characteristics, but some breeds do in fact have a leg up on their competition.

Smart dog breeds are often chosen to perform very important work in society: for example Labrador Retrievers are often trained to assist the blind and hearing impaired, and German Shepherds are often the top breed when it comes to police work. This is not to say that other breeds could not certainly be trained for these roles also, but a lot has to be said for breed characteristics that are unique to each breed that greatly enhance their appeal when it comes to performing daily tasks alongside humans.

Lets delve a little deeper into the above two examples of smart breeds; those being the Labrador Retriever and the German Shepherd. Both are two of the most smartest breeds on the planet and both play a very important role in human society. I myself rely on a Black Labrador to act as my eyes, and Lars does a bang up job if I may say so myself.

So why exactly are Labrador Retrievers the most popular breed to be trained to help the blind? The easy answer is that they are the easiest to train to perform the tasks necessary, but this is only the case because of certain breed characteristics. The Labrador Retriever is recognized as a stellar candidate for service work, and has won the hearts of millions of people in years past and will continue in the years to come, largely because of their amazing temperament: The Labrador Retriever is one of the most easiest going breeds on the planet, patient and gentle, loyal and playful. They can be happy in an array of roles, ranging from couch potato to bomb detector, and will go out of their way to seek your approval. When compared to the German Shepherd, Labradors do not possess the type of breed characteristics that would serve them well in a policing role, but as the eyes for a blind person, you would have a hard time finding a professional in the field to pick another breed over them.

As for German Shepherds, they possess breed characteristics that make them perfect policemen! First of all, they can be very intimidating breeds to look at because of their physical size and body structure, and they have the natural tendency to protect their territory/owner, another breed trait that is very handy. They are easy to train, are very loyal, courageous, fearless and can be fierce adversaries if they need to be. Now although the German Shepherd is very smart, he does not possess the breed characteristics that would best suit him in a guiding role, but when it comes to police work, the German Shepherd is right at home.

Unfortunately, in many cases certain breed stigmas overshadow the intelligence level of certain breeds. For example, many smaller breeds are viewed by many as yappy little buggers who have no reason for living accept to annoy the snot out of humans, but in many cases some of the smarter breeds are some of the smallest. Frank the pug had a lot of TV time in the Men in Black movies, but you would never see a pug guiding a blind person down the street, ever.

If you are looking for a smart dog breed for a family pet, please change your line of thinking and focus more on the breed characteristics that best suit your family dynamic. All breeds are relatively smart, but it is their individual traits that usually determine what sort of home environment they thrive in and what type of home environment that may not be as appropriate.