LOL! THIS is sure to get some comments!

Greyhounds are very smart--they know if we don't think they are, we won't ask them to do anything. We lost our last grey a year ago. I really miss that big lump. Your girl is beautiful.

Desert Captain: Is Millie a retired racier?

We had two of them and learned that we had to teach them "how" to be dogs. One of them had never walked in grass!

Their lives from birth to retirement is very different than a regular dog.

They are one of the best companion dogs you could ever ask for. I miss ours and we talk about them at least daily.

Having had 2 Dalmatians I recognize that 'smile' :B
Two of the smartest dogs I've every been around. The deaf one was tops at figuring things out.

My black & tan hound was sharp as a tack.....just too laid back to care.

We love our 70# Princess, Millie but that Greyhound is without a doubt the dumbest dog I ever encountered. She does not have a clue about anything but then she doesn't do anything. Doesn't play, chew or bark (but she does understand more about retirement than anyone in Arizona). Mostly she just lays around waiting for another belly rub. :B Here is a shot Millie on her throne:



Our last pooch was a Dalmation and he was hands down the smarts animal I ever saw. We had 11 great years and I still miss him every day. :(
Here is a shot of Bogey. Dalmations snarl like this when they are very happy or embarrassed like when you catch them getting into trouble. His tail was aging a mile a minute when I took this shot:

Now we're sharing another result from that survey of 122 veterinary professionals. We aren't going to say "dumbest" because all dogs have their own kind of genius, right? But we will say that in the opinion of the surveyed veterinary professionals surveyed veterinary professionals, the breeds named here aren't necessarily known for their cleverness even if they are known for having many wonderful characteristics.

Our criteria may be different :B. I don't see many Irish Setters any more, but I'd have to agree. Sweet, lovable but agreed, not the brightest bulb.

I don't think Chi are dumb, just extremely hard headed.

Very amusing.

We also had an Irish Setter (she passed exactly 10 days before my wife. I dearly miss them both). We were convinced that the little walnut sized lump on top of her head was her brain. Sweet, but not the brightest bulb on the tree.

Steeljag wrote:
Maybe a list of least intelligent dog owners would be better.

Unfortunately Steeljag that wouldn't be possible. I don't think the forum's big enough to handle that long of list. :B

That article makes no sense. It's like saying blonds are dumb, brunettes are smart, and redheads all have tempers! Come on, doesn't it depend on the individual dog? :S We have 4---a Blue Heeler/Rott cross, a Blue Heeler/Jack Russell/Chihuahua Mix, and 2 long haired Chihuahuas. The Blue/Rott is the dumbest of the lot. Seriously! The Jack Mix is definitely the smartest as well as the alpha-dog of the batch. One of the Chihuahuas is the most laid-back little gal you would ever want to know. The other one, although a sweetie, can be a little stink pot! She's the most stubborn little pup I have ever known! And, she's the daughter of the laid back one. But, dumb or smart, gotta love them fir-babies! :)

rvjames wrote:
Irish Setter is suprising!

Doesn't surprise me. An Irish Setter was the first dog we had when newly married.

He was a dumb as a box of rocks!

But we loved him and still miss his antics.

I guess we "upgraded" as we now have a Chihuahua mix!

I think intelligence in pet dogs is way over-rated. A very long time ago I heard Patricia McConnell say in reference to pet dogs "dumb is good." And I think she's right. In general a not-so-brilliant dog is much easier to live with than a smarter one.

But the author seems to be the one lacking in intelligence. She seems to have profoundly confused being independent, stubborn or active with being dumb. None of those things equates to dumb (often quite the contrary). They do make dogs more challenging to train, and so clueless owners often think they equal dumb.

(Please note I don't own and have never owned any of the breeds on that list, so I don't think I'm being biased here. It's just a really horrible article. Sorry, Walter.)