I didn't realise that so many people based intelligence on trainability and/or trick-trainability. I find it interesting how people's opinions differ on the matter. They say that wolves are many times smarter than dogs but incredibly difficult to train or trick-train. I guess that could possibly be because wolves are not generaly a domesticated animal whereas dogs are. Personally I think they should make more of these "intelligence tests" on how well the dog figures things out on it's own, without human aid or guidance, rather than obedience. It would make for a much more interesting study. I do remember one study they did something like this (the dog had to do something with blocks in order to get treats from a machine), and the border collie did come in first, though I don't think that had to do with the dog's trainability, nor eagerness to please -- though I do find it sad that the afghan really DID come in last.

I do have an interesting article kicking around about an afghan breeder that shows her dogs in obedience and they actually do very well. She was tired of people thinking they are dumb. I'll see if I can find that, it's an interesting read.