Least/Most Likely to Bite & Smartest Breeds

[aly]

I got this book at PetSmart called 277 Secrets Your Dog Wants You to Know by Paulette Cooper and Paul Noble. It has a lot of interesting things in it. I just thought I'd post a couple interesting parts of it. These are not my opinions so don't get mad at me I dont even necessarily agree with the studies because they don't seem extensive and I also don't like putting labels on breeds because each is an individual.

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Dogs Least and Most Likely to Bite

In a study on biting and nonbiting dogs, you may have expected German shepherds and chow chows to be among the biters. But collies? Yes, and even more surprising, the pit bull didn't bite. But since there was only one pit bull in the study, it doesn't mean much.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, reported that the dogs least likely to bite were golden retrievers, Chihuahuas, poodles, and Scottish terriers. This study, conducted in Denver, Colorado, for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, also found that biters tended to be male and unneutered, and more likely to live in homes with children.


The 10 Smartest Dog Breeds
Dr. Stanley Coren named the Border collie, poodle, German shepherd, golden retriever, Doberman pinscher, Shetland sheep dog, Labrador retriever, papillon, rottweiler, and Australian cattle dog as the top ten breeds in obedience and working intelligence.

This caused a great howl to go up from those whose dogs landed at the tail of the list. Ownsers of borzois, chow chows, bulldogs, basenjis, and Afghan hounds insisted that their dogs weren't dumb at all; they were just too smart to do Coren's stupid tests.

On Charlie Rose's television show, Dr. Coren told how he handles offended dog owners, recalling what he told an Afghan owner: "You have beautiful dogs...They are quite spectacular..." He found this mollified people because, "We prize beauty and aesthetics in our culture as much as we do intelligence."

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Aly, that was really interesting, and some surprises. I would think Schnauzers would fall into the most barkers.
Jackie

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[ilovehounds]

I think that the Schnauzers would have competition with the shelties in the barking department

I can't believe that Chihuahuas was in the least likley to bite list ????

I think everybreed should be put in the smartest dog list because it depends on the individual dog I have seen smart shelties and I have seen pretty non-smart shelties. (my parents have had 6 shelties over the years and not all of them would be considered smart). I have also seen some pretty smart chow chows.
I don't really care what the tests say, I think every dog is smart in their own way.

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~~ My House Is Not A Home Without A Hound ~~

[*LabLoverKEB*]

I think the dog that bites the least is the Labrdor, and the Golden Retriever!

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***Sadie May and LabLover***

[*BaSim*]

If you want to test how smart your dog is i know a great test. I saw this test on Good Dog U a great show that used to be on animal planet and im not sure if it is any more because i ahvnt seen it in a while.
but what you do is get a bath towel and place it over your dogs head. Tell them to come on and say stuff to modivate them to get out of the towel. Now if your dog get out of the towel from 5 seconds or lower is is above average if it gets out in 6-10 it is average and from 10 and higher seconds.. sorry but your dog is below average. Simba got out of the towel in 2 seconds.

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*.KayAnn.*&Simba*RuFf*

[Rottie]

Interesting. But, like you said, I don't think it is very accurate. Thanks for posting though

[Angels3]

Tibetan Spaniels are very unlikely to bite because they were bred in the monasteries of Tibet where the buddhist belief is that no harm should be done to anything in nature. Well, that's not exactly scientific! But tibbies are not biters.
I saw a TV program about a lovely big breed of dog called the Italian Spinone...& it said they are never known to bite people.
Yes, shetland sheepdogs are very intelligent...we own 2 of them.

[I Love My Aussie]

I had heard on ANIMAL PLANET that Collies are one of the most-likely breeds to bite, but its instinct. Collies, as wel as other herding dogs, are bred to nip and bite, so it comes natural. I think the whole biting thing all depends on the dog, not the breed. And, I kind of understand the hound thing, its not that they're not smart, but they have a mind of their own. My great aunt use to breed Afghan hounds and she a couple of really smart ones, but they all had a mind of their own.

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*Whoever said you couldn't buy love forgot about dogs.*

[TollSettFK]

I have heard of this rare dog breed(500 in the world!) called the klee Kai(I think that is how you spell it!) that is really smart!

[Pam]

I was glad to see that poodles received high marks for intelligence and not being biters. That has been my experience after having 5, although I am sure there are exceptions to every rule.

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[Malaika]

Hi -
I have a Golden Retriever and I am sure she is smart, but not very intelegant- and she wouldn´t pass that test at all. I always rub her with a towel after our daily walks (it rains alot in Germany) and whatever I put over her head she leaves it there. She would walk around like that- even if she can´t see her way. I know doesn´t sound pretty smart !!
But she was used to keep the towel like that and not shake before she is towel dried.
Malaika & Talua

[Sadie's Mom]

Hi everyone! I have been away for a couple of weeks so I missed alot of talk. I would have to put collies and Pekinese both in the biters category - mostly because I have been bitten by both. When I was four I was bitten by the Pekinese and required plastic surgery and when I was in my late twenties/early thirties I was bitten by a collie - both went for the face. You would think that I would be afraid of dogs but I'm not. I would say that most dogs are intelligent - some just don't like to boast about their intelligence and therefore seem less intelligent than their counterparts! I have a Wheaton terrier (Sadie) and she is sweet and gentle and I doubt if she would bite anyone; she also doesn't bark (only on rare occasions) and she is quite intelligent!!

[bugmom]

BaSim - Does the dog get bonus points if she shreds the towel too?! Bug can get the towel off and have it in pieces within thirty seconds. The first 5 secs are spent ripping it off her head then its run through the house and destroy that vicious thing that attacked her head....i tried once to rescue the towel, now i just laugh cuz it really is funny. After the towel is subdued enough and has learned its lesson she will throw it at my feet and do the puppy play crouch (you know the one with the butt in the air) and want to play tug of was with what remains of the towel.
sometimes, she just a little too smart for me

[Rottie]

I'm sure we all agree that the dog least likely to bite is the dog that is well trained, well socialized, and greatly loved.

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-Rottie

[AdoreMyDogs]

When I used to jog with my lab, Beener and Graham there was this house that I ran by a couple of times and had to quit because this nasty little dashound (sp?) charged at me baring teeth, growling and bit my dog's legs. I kicked it hard enough to get it off my dogs but not hard enough to hurt it (but let me tell you, I sure wanted to at the time) and the owners did nothing about it. It charged at everyone who walked by and the owners did nothing to keep it in a yard, and did not keep it leashed. They would do yard work and let this little jerk of a dog out into the front yard and just casually call it's name if it started attacking anyone walking by. Of course the dog did not listen to it's owners because the owners put absolutely no effort into correcting it. So that's the only real dog bite I have had. It did not go after me as much as my dogs, but it went after me when I kicked it. If only I used the force I wanted to use it would have NEVER gone after me again!!!