Influence of environmental factors and breed on the adaptive intelligence of dogs

摘要

The present study was aimed at evaluating the adaptive intelligence of different breeds, as well as multibreed hybrids of dogs, taking into account their sex, age, and maintenance. In total, 174 dogs were studied, including 81 bitches and 93 male dogs, above twelve-months-of-age. Among the studied dogs, 93 were hybrids and 81 were pedigree dogs, including 10 breeds: Rottweiler, German Shepherd, boxer, dachshund, spaniels (English cocker spaniel, springer spaniel), Labrador, pointers (Irish Setter, English Setter, Scottish Setter, wirehaired pointer, shorthaired pointer), border collie, pinscher, and schnauzers (miniature, giant). Three age groups were distinguished: I - below 3-years-of-age, II - 3.5-8-years-of-age, III - above 8-years-of-age. All dogs were divided with reference to the maintenance system: maintained in a pen (pen), in a block of flats (flat) and around the house (house). Experimental dogs were also divided into three performance groups: herding, hunting, and guarding. The experiment consisted of the Intelligence Quotient test (IQ) (Coren, 1994). On account of the fact that particular dogs within particular breeds achieved both the worst and the best scores it was affirmed that Coren's test cannot be a determinant of the intelligence level for a given breed. Developing a ranking of the most and least intelligent breeds only on the basis of Coren's IQ test is overly simplistic, which seems to discriminate against some dog breeds. An attempt to create an IQ ranking for dogs requires taking into account such factors as the position in a pack (family) and performance. The intelligence of diverse breeds such as hunting or herding dogs should not be compared, because they have consolidated different mental features during the domestication and breeding selection. Therefore, making such a ranking may be more reasonable within particular performance groups.