Only #3 in IQ.
Why a police dog?
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The full narration of the video.
The star of the police dog world, the German Shepherd, ranks only third for brains. Ahead of it: the sheep-herding Border Collie, and the curly-coated Poodle. Which is odd: if those two are smarter, why do they so rarely wear a police vest?
To find out, we first need to see how that ranking was made. It comes from a psychology professor who studies dogs. He asked obedience-trial judges to score more than a hundred breeds. The judges looked at just two things: how many tries a dog needs to learn a new command, and whether it obeys the first time it's asked.
It's like a dictation test at school: the teacher reads once, and whoever remembers fastest and writes it right goes to the top. The top tier learns a new command in under five tries, and obeys at least ninety-five times out of a hundred. Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd: all three are in that tier.
So the Shepherd isn't a weak student. It's number three in the top class. Then why doesn't the class topper, the Border Collie, join the police? Collies are born to herd. See something running, and they want to circle it and bring it back.
On a pasture, that's a gift. In a train station or a crowd, everything is moving. Poodles were bred to fetch game from the water. Smart, yes, but rare on a police force. So acing the dictation isn't enough to make a police dog.
Picking a police dog is more like picking a school team: grades matter, but so do build, nerve and temper. Shepherds are big and strong, and stay calm around loud noises and crowds. They can follow a scent trail, and they'll step up to protect their handler. More than a century ago, the breed was shaped, generation by generation, to do any job you gave it.
So it's not first in dictation. It's the one that's solid in every subject. The professor splits dog smarts into three kinds: the work they're born to do, figuring things out on their own, and learning commands from people. The ranking only measures the third, called working and obedience intelligence. That's the dictation test.
It's based on judges' scores, not a test of each dog, so treat it as a rough guide. In China, police teams also use the home-bred Kunming Dog. One of its coat types is called black-back, too. Third place only means it lost a dictation test. Police work tests every subject.
How many tries did it take your dog to learn sit?
The top three
on the IQ list
The most common police dog, the German Shepherd, ranks only third on the dog IQ list.
Ahead of it are the sheep-herding Border Collie and the curly-coated Poodle. Yet those two rarely wear a police vest.
The list is
really a spelling test
The list comes from Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor. He asked about 200 dog obedience judges to rate more than 100 breeds.
The top group learns a new command in fewer than 5 repeats and obeys at least 95 times out of 100. The Border Collie, Poodle and German Shepherd are all in this group.
The German Shepherd is not a weak student. It is third in the top class.
Top speller,
not always on the team
Police pick dogs the way a school picks a sports team: good grades, plus body, nerve and temper.
It can also follow a scent trail. Over 100 years ago, Max von Stephanitz in Germany bred it, generation after generation, to do any job.
It is not first at spelling. It is good at every subject.
The list measures
one kind of smart
Coren splits dog intelligence into three kinds:
The third kind is called working and obedience intelligence. That is the spelling test. The scores came from judges’ experience, not from testing each dog, so treat them as a rough guide.
China has
another “Heibei”
In China people call the German Shepherd “Heibei”, meaning “black back”. China also bred its own police dog, the Kunming Wolfdog, recognised in 1988. It comes in three coats, and one of them is also called “black back”.
So in China, “Heibei” can mean a German Shepherd or a black-backed Kunming dog.
means it lost a spelling test
How many tries did your dog need to learn “sit”?
Quick check
The German Shepherd ranks third in dog IQ but is the most common police dog. Why?
The IQ list is like a spelling test, and police pick dogs like a sports team: third at spelling, good at every subject.
