unintelligent dogs

Trey's not all there either.  Insanely good with commands, just no common sense whatsoever.  He's a sweet guy, though. 

I've had lots of people tell me that cocker spaniels are dumb. I like the breed and have always been interested in owning one, but every time I meet someone who has one or used to have one, they tell me how dumb they are/were. I had a spaniel mix (Boykin, not Cocker) that was really hard to train, but I could never decide if he was really dumb or really smart, if that makes any sense.

My cocker wasn't dumb, she was laid back though. She new lots of tricks and was so good. She has been at Rainbow bridge for years now. She had the sweetest heart.  

The less intelligent the dog...IMO the easier they are to live with. You don't have to outthink them...and they spend little time plotting hostile takeovers and escape routes...lmao.
 
If you think about it the more intelligent the dog the more "work" it takes to keep them occupied mentally...
 
I also find different types of intelligence. There's rote learning...cunning...survival smarts...conniving behavior, etc etc. Some dogs may lack in one area and excel in another.

people that actually HUNT with sight hounds, not lure coursin, say they wouldnt give you a wooden nickel for a dog that has a drop of saluki blood in it.

Those folks should talk to the Bedouin whose survival as a people for a long time depended on the hunting skills of the Saluki. 

i have to agree with you Janet_rose. didnt say i agreed with them [] the link i posted is for an article on this debate and says pretty much the same thing you just said. they're a dog designed for a specific region. actually i think Salukies ARE grey hounds. the foundation for the breed anyway.... but they grey has been refinded to live and hunt a certain way and in a sepperate area than a saluki. thats like comparing border collies to english shepherds....
personally i think all sight hounds are amazing, but i've never lived with one. maybe one day i will. i would love to rescue a grey hound.. but only after my kids are a little older and we dont have a cat.... well... i dunno. it would still depend on that dog's personality too i suppose.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

The less intelligent the dog...IMO the easier they are to live with. You don't have to outthink them...and they spend little time plotting hostile takeovers and escape routes...lmao.

So true!
Take for example, when I put up a temporary fence enclosure at my cottage. Mochi (dumb) will stand inside and whine if I leave the yard to walk up the road. At the most, he'll stomp in frustration or take a few angry chomps at the fence. He'll usually get tired of that and go lay down. He has never escaped. He's been accidentally let out a few times, but he doesn't do anything or go anywhere! He just lays down in his spot.

Now Kena (smart) doesn't need a reason for escape, he'll do it just because. He'll knock the fence down at its weakest point in a second. He'll squeeze under it in less than a second. Sometimes, he's gotten out and we haven't been able to figure out how he did it. He is always closely supervised on a cable tie-out. When he gets gets out, he makes a game of it. It's terrifying. He comes within reach, but jumps back as you go to grab his collar. He's improved a lot lately with OB classes, and will actually come when called, but I'm still terrified of him getting loose. Whether he comes or not depends on what he feels like doing. He knows he's free.

The less intelligent the dog...IMO the easier they are to live with.

 
Yep! I mentioned this to my family recently. Dumb dogs make good house pets, imo. A friend of mine has a lab mix and this dog is just not smart at all. He's the best dog though. Very sweet, loves people, very loyal, etc. He just doesn't think through problems - or anything for that matter. He's just a big lug I love him though
 
 

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

The less intelligent the dog...IMO the easier they are to live with. You don't have to outthink them...and they spend little time plotting hostile takeovers and escape routes...lmao.
 
If you think about it the more intelligent the dog the more "work" it takes to keep them occupied mentally...
 

LOL that is sooo true! 

We had a Basset Hound named Jenny (since gone to the bridge) who was the dumbest dog I've ever known.  Despite nonstop trying, she never did get completely housebroken in her 14 years with us.
She never learned any commands, but instead just wandered around the yard or laid on her bed.  Never had a bit of recall.
But.....she was the cutest, cuddliest, friendliest girl!  In fact I'd say those were her only redeeming quailties. She spent the first two years of her life chained to a tree out in the woods before we rescued her, so I used to like to blame her lack of intelligence on that, but in reality, I think she was just dumb.
I read once about how you could test a dog's intelligence by putting a blanket over their heads.  Supposedly, the quicker they got out from under it, the smarter they are.  I tried that with Jenny.  She never moved. She just went to sleep. LOL  After 20 minutes, I was the one who got bored with the game and took the blanket off her.
Rest in peace Jenny!  We loved you in spite of it all!

I think a lot of people say that their dog is smart when they really mean that their dog is low energy and submissive. Like, I know people who say their dog is smart because it always obeys and doesn't chew on stuff, or because it doesn't bark or dig up the yard, or whatever. Really, they just mean that the dog is submissive and doesn't get bored easily.

I totally agree that the dumber the dog, the easier they are to deal with. When I tell people why I want a shikoku, I always say that they're super duper smart and learn so fast and are good at all kinds of things and very willing to work with their owners, so people are like, "Wow, that's the perfect dog," and I'm thinking, yeah right. Most people do not want an intelligent dog, they want a dog that never gets into trouble.

Also, some people don't think that Tojo is smart because he's also quite stubborn and will sometimes ignore a command if he doesn't think there's anything in it for him. They say, "if he's so smart, then why doesn't he always obey your commands?" and I say, "Well, if I commanded you to 'roll-over' you'd probably refuse, and I don't think you'd accept the explaination that it's because you're stupid."

Really, I think a lot of breeds are bred to be less intelligent than the original dog. I think this explains why the ancient breeds are always so intelligent, yet so difficult to deal with. Not that stubbornness is necessarily a sign of intelligence, but it does require some free-thinking.

Oh, and about the afghan hound thing, I was only joking! I've heard so many people say afghan hounds are dumb, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're every bit as smart as other sighthounds.

Oh, and about the afghan hound thing, I was only joking! I've heard so many people say afghan hounds are dumb, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're every bit as smart as other sighthounds.

I have never dealt with an Afghan, but the Basenji is right "down there" on the list not far above the Afghan.  The Basenji is extremely smart - had to be to survive as a hunter in the African bush.

Years ago I had a lhasa that, well, to put it bluntly, was stupid.  He was beautiful, amazing head, finished with 3 majors, and one of the easiest dogs I EVER lived with.  You could put him up on the couch and it never occurred to him to go find something to do...he just sat on the couch.  He loved to show, was very calm and happy, loved people, and never worried.  I don't think he was smart enough to worry!   He knew how to do 4 things:  potty outside, behave on a grooming table, walk on a lead, and stand for the judge's exam.  I tried for mos. to teach him how to sit...it just didn't happen!  After he finished his championship we neutered him and placed him with a family that had a 7 year old girl.  He slept on her bed every night and was a most beloved family member.  His littermates and relatives were all "normal," if you can ever call a lhasa normal???  His niece, my last lhasa, was very smart.  She ruled the roost, earned her CD, did problem solving, and over her lifetime we had layed lots of complex games she invented.  I lost her at Christmas and still miss her....sigh.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

The less intelligent the dog...IMO the easier they are to live with. You don't have to outthink them...and they spend little time plotting hostile takeovers and escape routes...lmao.
 
If you think about it the more intelligent the dog the more "work" it takes to keep them occupied mentally...
 
I also find different types of intelligence. There's rote learning...cunning...survival smarts...conniving behavior, etc etc. Some dogs may lack in one area and excel in another.

I agree with everything you said Gina. As for the hostile takeovers and escape routes, I think terriers excell at those. Very intelligent dogs that are hard to live with. Probably a lot of hounds too, which a lot of people think don't have all 64 crayons in their box.

We always say it's a good thing Mia is pretty....
 
Honestly, she's not unintelligent, but next to a dog like Pofi - a dog you can actually observe reasoning and figuring things out and plotting and planning - she doesn't seem like the brightest bulb.  I mean, Pofi opens doors, gets her to drop the toy he wants by teasing her with another, has an astonishing vocabulary and twice shut a door in her face when she was just standing and yapping at him.  I kid you not - she was on the other side of the doorway facing in and she just stood barking at him and he cocked his head, picked up a paw and slammed the door shut right in front of her - he and I on one side and her on the other in sudden, muted shock. It took her about 1 minute to begin whimpering.  So I opened the door and the whole scene repeated - he completely reasoned it out that she was annoying and on the other side of the door and if he just shut it, there would be a solid wooden door between him and her barking.
 
How's a ditzy strawberry blonde like Mia gonna compete with that??