Dog Community

German Shepherd: Most trainable/smartest dog?

Posted : 9/11/2009 6:22:50 PM

I am blown away by the intelligence of my purebred GSD T-Bone. He learns so amazingly fast. I've had many smart dogs, but he trumps what I thought the ability to learn for a 9 week old pup could be. He's SO focused on what I want. When we walk, he heels perfectly and looks up at me, always paying attention. When I stop, he sits or lays down. He sits on command, stays well, shakes hands, and learned "tell me about it!" today. We were playing and he barked, I tagged a word to it, and he got it in a few tries. I've been doing it with him all day, it's not a fluke. He also likes to play a game with his kennel door. He touches it with his nose, it swings back, and he pushes it back, etc. He always makes sure to touch his nose to the same spot (where the handle is, but on the back side) and is dilligent he hits the same spot. LOL, I told you all about slamming his dishes, etc. Are all GSDs this crafty, and are they the smartest breed? I know they're so veristile, but this pretty much proves it for me.

glenmar

Posted : 9/11/2009 7:12:41 PM

Well, yeah, they ARE the smartest! So says the woman who shares hearth and home with SIX!

mrv

Posted : 9/12/2009 6:10:46 AM

Well they do share that with their belgian cousins. Actually I think it is the fact herding dogs were bred for generation after generation to work as a team with a human is what does it. I am absolutely convinced it has to do with genetic hard wiring in the dogs that makes us easier for them to understand than those dogs who were bred to work independently.

Truley

Posted : 9/12/2009 8:16:15 AM

Haha...why yes they are.

Now, start studying to stay ahead Big Smile

And be very very careful with your words, in fact, don't be surprised if he learns to spell.

I like tell me all about it. Our favorite mistake with Kord was "last one", we started saying this when we were going to throw a toy outside for the last time before he needed to settle down or go in. Imagine our surprise when after a bit and after saying, he started trotting to the back porch to "put your toy away" in it's box all by himself.

He is cute!

Laurelin_429

Posted : 9/12/2009 11:07:27 AM

Shepherds are really smart. Mine sure was though I think my paps rank right up there with him in the brains category. Border collies are usually ranked as the most intelligent on lists followed by poodles. Of course all this depends on how you rank 'intelligence' and if intelligence = trainability which will always be debated.

BlackLabbie

Posted : 9/12/2009 11:21:33 AM

They are very smart and trainable dogs. But, many independant breeds are super smart, too (ex. a husky knowing where thin ice is, and not walking on it).

Have you seen any top 10 list of smart dog breeds? Usually the Border Collie is #1. GSDs, Dobermans, Labs, Goldens, Paps, Rotties, and Poodles are usually somewhere on those lists, too. I guess those lists are only based on trainability though....?

tiffy

Posted : 9/12/2009 6:57:13 PM

I am biased, but corgis are incedibly smart. I always have to be 1 step ahead of Toots.

Laurelin_429

Posted : 9/15/2009 11:16:04 PM

BlackLabbie
They are very smart and trainable dogs. But, many independant breeds are super smart, too (ex. a husky knowing where thin ice is, and not walking on it).

Have you seen any top 10 list of smart dog breeds? Usually the Border Collie is #1. GSDs, Dobermans, Labs, Goldens, Paps, Rotties, and Poodles are usually somewhere on those lists, too. I guess those lists are only based on trainability though....?

I've only had breeds on the top 10 list- (GSD, Lab, shelties, and paps). I'd rank paps as smarter than all the others except my GSD. Then I'd have to rank them evenly, I think. But they're ranked #9 out of those whereas shelties are #6 I believe. I had quite a few shelties and quite a few paps and imo there is no comparison. Paps are scary smart and much smarter than my shelties were. Trainability was pretty equal but my paps get into soooo much trouble it's unreal sometimes. That's part of the reason I don't completely trust those tests. My next foray into dogs that are way too smart for their own good will be a border collie lol.

Liesje

Posted : 9/16/2009 7:11:26 AM

Depends on what we mean by "smart". My GSDs are "smart" in the sense that they want to work for/with me and pick up on things very quickly (as in, it's never taken me longer than 5 minutes or so to teach a brand new skill/trick). Most have drive for toys and other common methods of reward, so it's easy to motivate them and keep them focused. They are versatile as far as size, coat, and structure so there are no physical limitations or difficulties.

My GSDs are smart in the sense that they are far more biddible, easy to motivate, and respond to me, whereas Coke I would call far more "street smart" even though he only knows maybe half a dozen tricks/commands, is low drive, and more independent than the GSDs.