Whippets performed just average in the obedience and working intelligence trials. Whippets, though, are both recognized and popular dogs. That said, only breeds with at least 100 responses qualified. With all the dog breeds that participated in the trials, not all of them made the final cut for the list of the smartest dogs. What’s more, only purebreds recognized by either the AKC or CKC were part of Coren’s trials. As such, only purebred dogs were considered for the trials. However, it’s worth noting that not all breeds participated in the trial. Dogs that respond well to obedience commands scored higher in Coren’s intelligence trials.

The success rate that a dog breed obeys a known command on the first try.

The breeds that needed fewer repetitions were considered more intelligent.

The number of repetitions needed for a dog breed to learn a new command.

With his dog intelligence criteria, the judges evaluated and ranked as many dog breeds based on the following criteria: Though in his trials, Coren had the help of 199 obedience trial judges from North America to help in his mission of ranking dog breeds. This dimension of dog intelligence is largely credited to pHD and canine psychologist, Stanley Coren. In a nutshell, this measures the dog’s ability to learn commands and their ability to obey those commands. The list of smartest dog breeds we have today is based on one aspect of dog intelligence: obedience and working intelligence.

How to take whippets without a cracker