Goliath: Are Great Danes a "smart" dog?

Key factors in a dogs intelligence ranking are "understanding of new commands" and "obey first command. The highest category rated dogs had an "understanding of new commands" within 5 or fewer repetitions and "obeyed first command" 95 percent of the time or better. While the lowest ranking of dogs took 80 to 100 repetitions before they appeared to develop an "understanding of new commands" and "obeyed first command" 25 percent of the time or less.

Factors which were not taken into account in determining intelligence, and which could have some influence on levels, were a dogs stubborn nature, and willingness to please their trainer.

Brightest Dogs

Understanding of New Commands: Fewer than 5 repetitions.
Obey First Command: 95% of the time or better^.

Excellent Working Dogs

Understanding of New Commands: 5 to 15 repetitions.
Obey First Command: 85% of the time or better.

Above Average Working Dogs

Understanding of New Commands: 15 to 25 repetitions.
Obey First Command: 70% of the time or better.

Average Working/Obedience Intelligence

Understanding of New Commands: 25 to 40 repetitions.
Obey First Command: 50% of the time or better.

Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence

Understanding of New Commands: 40 to 80 repetitions.
Obey First Command: 30% of the time or better.

^{Now as you can see, the Great Dane ranks number 48 on this list compiled by Stanley Coren.}

^{I can assure you, after having three Great Danes, that I would agree and not argue that they were somehow cheated and that they, in fact, deserve a higher ranking.}

^{They are wonderful dogs. Fantastic companions. But top dog in intelligence? Number 48 on the list tells me no. :)}

5 comments:

UnknownOctober 29, 2015 at 3:19 AM
Seems legit.
They aren't particularly bright poor things - a friend of a friend's great dane was playing fetch with it's owners near a 100ft cliff overlooking the sea. The ball was caught by the wind and blew over the edge. The dog jumped off the cliff to fetch the ball, landing in the sea below. Unfortunately they couldn't rescue him (although the owner wanted to jump in after him, he was held back by his friends as the sea was smashing up against the cliffs dangerously) - the poor thing drowned...

Loyal and bold but not bright :(
DanielFebruary 1, 2017 at 1:45 AM
As a dog lover i found this article useful thanks for sharing this article this will definitely help also check Top Ten Most Intelligent Dogs in the World this will help
DebboJanuary 30, 2019 at 7:24 AM
I feel my Great Dane is pretty darn smart. She learned to sit, shake, shake with other paw, bow and speak when she was about 8 to 10 weeks old and it didn't take more than 10 repetitions! I wonder how the writers of the article came up with this list.
layaJuly 5, 2019 at 3:13 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
T'AllegraJuly 8, 2019 at 5:33 PM
This makes me feel better - I thought it was just ours. She’s very sweet, loyaland affectionate (overly at times), but she and a rock will never be confused for a Nobel laureate...

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Are Great Danes a "smart" dog?