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Join My Protest For Aussie Smarts!

by Dani
(MI)

Let me ask you what three words describe your Aussie? I'm willing to bet intelligent or smart was one of them, because they are Smart! Anytime you Google the breed, it's one of the first things in the article. Sooo why is the Aussie officially ranked number 43 on the 100 smartest breeds list? Was it a typo or what!? Sadly that's where they have them, and the Border Collie is number one? Yes they are two different breeds but they're descriptions are pretty close and they do just about the same jobs, so why are there 42 dogs separating them? I own an Aussie myself and I can tell you I am officially protesting the "rank".

Comments for Join My Protest For Aussie Smarts!

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Protest For Aussie Smarts!
by: Linda

Typo, absolutely Typo, or they must rank themselves at the bottom. everybody i know says scooter (my baby) is the smartest dog they have ever seen.

Aussie Smarts
by: Anonymous

I heard this explained that when the book Intelligence of Dogs was written Aussies were not an AKC recognized breed, so obedience trainers, judges, etc knew very little about them. Also, many get Australian Cattle dogs and Australian Shepherds confused. When I attend obedience, rally and agility trials, Aussies take most of the top spots.

smarts
by: Patti

I have a four month old toy Aussie and have had four border collies in the past. Yes, the border collies were amazingly smart, but this little girl seems just as smart!! Now she is young yet and time will tell but if she continues on the learning curve that she is on, she is going to be the second smartest of the five!! {My first border collie was beyond smart)... and on the plus side, as smart as she is, she doesn't seem to have the paranoid part of her personality that the border collies seemed to have. All in all, I love this little girl and she is a wonder!!

Hear, Hear!
by: Anonymous

My Aussie is incredibly smart. So, I think the breed should be in the top 5 at least. And the poodle is ranked 2nd! Really, Aussies should be up on the top. On the show "Dogs 101", they called Aussies geniuses. I agree with the protest!

smart aussie
by: Patti

I have a seven months old toy Aussie and she is so smart it constantly amazes me! I have owned four Border Collies in the past and she absolutely holds her own with them! In fact, we sometimes joke that it almost seems like she is a Border Collie without a tail!

Working vs instinctive intelligence
by: Anonymous

Wouldn't getting the Australian cattle dog and the Aussie confused have helped the Aussie's rank, since the cattle dog is in the top 10? I think that the real determining factor is that too many Aussies are so hyper to the point of being unable to learn and implement in the first five commands or whatever was tested. Yes, they are very smart, but this test was for working intelligence with people (not herding, which is an instinctive intelligence).

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