Nuffnang

Friday, October 17, 2008

Beagles...Slow Dogs???

I AM PEEVED! My humans came across an article on the Star last Saturday on "Slow Dogs...Meet the world's 10 least intelligent dogs".

  1. Afghan Hound
  2. Basenji
  3. Bulldog
  4. Chow Chow
  5. Borzoi
  6. Bloodhound
  7. Pekinese
  8. Mastiff and Beagle
  9. Basset Hound
  10. Shi Tzu
Apparently, this list is according to international kennel clubs, after a survey on 80 established breeds. The criteria for intelligence, get ready for this...is "how difficult to train the dog"! Duh! The article states "Snoopy, from the Peanuts comic strip will never recover from this rankinig, for beagles are happy-go-lucky and merry, and enjoy the company of humans and other dogs. Curious and comic, they follow their noses and often end up in mischief and hilarious situations."

If you have seen the video on Sophia, the ultimate beagle escape artist, you would know that beagles not only possess extraordinary agility abilities (beagle owners can attest to that!) but also great intelligence. How else do you think, we, beagles are able to figure out a fail-proof escape route?

Obviously, the training criteria used to define "intelligence" is faulty. We beagles are governed by our nose, which means we are easily distracted by scents. We are also an independent lot, This may make it more challenging to train us, it is by no means an indication of our "low intelligence". In fact, I constantly amaze my fans (i.e neighbours, family and friends) with my clever escapes and tricks for treats, of course. Apart from cleverly providing home entertainment, beagles have important jobs to protect security as sniffer dogs at airports and borders.

If you ask me, it is not us beagles that are slow dogs. The author of the article, while human, may fall into this category coz he/she can't count. There are 11 dogs on the list. Duh!

9 comments:

Scottie the 'Cutie' said...

LOL! I didn't notice that there were 11 dogs in the list as well! My Mom read that article to me too, and it was just weird...who judges things like that?

Did your Mom read the previous article? It was the Saturday before this article...and it talked about the world's 10 most intelligent dogs. *rolls eyes* Sure, there are breeds that pick up things more quickly but my trainer always say that ALL DOGS can be trained...and most of the time if he/she can't understand, it's usually the handler's mistake'! hehe! That should put the writer in his place...*wink*

Scottie

Cocoa the Beagle said...

My mum definitely thinks beagles are way cleverer, and perhaps cunning! Very often I learn a trick faster than Barley but I choose not to perform it because there's no treat! Barley is slower in learning but once he got it, he will do it even there is no treat.

Silly Barley. He should learn that no treat = no trick!

Wags,
Cocoa and Barley

Molly the Airedale said...

Our friend, Dana takes his Beagle to work with him every single day! Only smart dogs can go to work!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Boo Casanova said...

mommy read that and she was like "SHIH TZU IS ON THE BLOODY LIST TOO"? hahahaha. i'm a mixture of pekingese and ST and both are in the list.

i don't do tricks, that's bcoz i'm a dog not a SHOW dog! ha! to hell the article and the survey. for my human, i'm the most intelligent dog in the household.

let send the surveyor some poop!

wet wet licks

Boo

Agatha and Archie said...

Well I didn't notice us on that list either!!! Love A+A

Xsara and Tani said...

I've heard about this infamous list before, yes. Naturally, I totally disagree with this article!
The criteria used by the author is very silly. Beagles are stubborn and the only reason why training them is hard is that they don't have this crazy desire to please their people no matter what. They are not dependent on their handlers - if they work, they want to get "payed" (rewarded). I expect my boss to pay me for the work I do as well - does this mean that I'm slow too?
Some breeds were bred to work with people, like shepherds. Beagles however spent most of their time with other dogs, in the pack. So working one on one with the handler is not as strong in their genes as it is for collies.
This only means that it takes the handler some creativity in training, but I've never seen a slow beagle.
You only need to be able to motivate a beagle. They learn anything they want to and they learn fast.

Amber-Mae said...

Beagles aren't slow dogs or for short, dumb. Beagles are known for their sniffing ability & they love to sniff & nothing but sniffing. They are stubborn at times but are very intelligent. Infact, too intelligent & that's why they are too stubborn or too distracted with other things in their minds or around them. They are out-going & are energetic. Too energetic actually! They love to go explore the world & love to exercise. Beagles are certainly NOT slow dogs. That dood sure got it wrong or he didn't do his homework properly.

Butt wiggles,
Solid Gold Dancer

TWa76 said...

LOL! I can´t say even my younger ADHD beagle to be slow. Amber-mae and Xara have said what I think.
In cleanrun was article from Jane Killion and she used term biddable from these "intellegent" breeds. And I am so proud to own two non-biddable ones.

Kathryn and Ari said...

We saw Sophia's video. And we used to live with a beagle, so we know perfectly well that trainable and intelligent are two VERY different things!!

Thanks for signing my guest book.