http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4283328/Pedigree-dogs-are-becoming-stupid-as-we-breed-them-for-looks-not-brains.html

Cross posted from another forum, couldnt see that it has been posted here already but apologies if it has.

:lol: Not sure about that...

It's not just pedigree dogs that are being kept as pets and therefore required to be docile... that's any dog!

Personally, as dogs are used less and less for their original purpose, IF this research has any truth in it, it's probably a good thing.

A dog with less desire to work is going to be happier not working than a dog with a strong desire to work.

I think it's kinder on the dog (if it is to be left during the day, not trained to do anything or work) to be bred without that desire to work so that it's not completely bored!

I personally have pedigrees (one with a rather questionable pedigree admittedly) and I am always kept on my toes trying to find things for the youngest to do and learn as she's very smart. (The older one is senile so I can teach him the same thing each day and he thinks it's new everytime!)

Somebody forgot to tell Brude pedigrees are supposed to be stupid then :rolleyes:

We chose him from the litter as he was trying to calculate how to escape from the pen, instead of mindlessly digging the concrete like you'd expect of a five week old pup

He's not looked back since :rolleyes:

Owning a dog who can think for himself is a challenge, and in between the times when I'd have happily strangled him, he's been a massive joy :D

The problem with training our pedigree miniature poodle was that she kept trying to train us!
She is not stupid!

I experienced the same jfish :lol:

The Doberman- 5th most intelligent breed...
Ailsa the Dobermutt -stands in the gun turret (bay window) surveilling potential threats and barks if she can hear someone breathing 3 streets away... Pedigree as long as your arm and all the brainpower of a pudding. We love her though.

Actually, give her a job to do and she stops acting like an idiot when we walk her - she went shopping with us in York yesterday and carried a tennis ball all the while. As well as making herself look useful, it was a great crowd pleaser and encouraged people to apprach and say hello rather than giving us a wide berth in case the 'devil dog' attacked them... She got plenty of pats and fuss plus a couple of dog biscuits,a sausage roll, a lick of an ice cream and a cadbury's flake - so maybe she's not as daft as she sometimes acts!