The Poodle is one of the world’s very popular dogs. Elegant and charm are their trademarks, as well as the fanciful haircut owners often give this breed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The haircut and elegance sometimes make people assume that the Poodle is an airhead that relies only on physical appearance to attract potential owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This stereotype has been further enforced through derogatory jokes. The unfortunate thing about this stereotype is that it isn’t true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are Poodles Smart?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Poodle is one of the smartest dog breeds in the world, and many rankings often include it on the list.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The canine psychologist Stanley Coren listed it in second place after his examinations following a specific set of criteria.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Be rest assured that owning a Poodle means inviting a canine genius to your household. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, you’d need more details on the Poodle’s intelligence and IQ<\/strong>, not only a paragraph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you’re wondering: “why are poodles so smart?” this article is here to provide answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Overview Of Canine Intelligence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stanley Coren is often credited with developing the concept of dog intelligence, stating that dogs have the mental intelligence of a 2-year-old human child. [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He (and others agree) further classified dog intelligence<\/strong> into three broad categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

• Adaptive intelligence<\/strong> (how does the dog learn from its environment and solve problems?)<\/li>
• Instinctive intelligence<\/strong> (what was the dog bred to do?)<\/li>
• Working and obedience<\/strong> (how fast does it learn and obey commands?)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

  “dogs have been known to learn hundred of words, do arithmetic, and guess what people and other dogs are thinking.”<\/p>AKC<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

  Surely we can agree with the American Kennel Club when it asserts that dogs are smarter than we give them credit for. [2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  With the above in mind, how did psychologists like Stanley Coren measure the Poodle’s IQ to know that the Poodle is the 2nd most intelligent dog breed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  The simple answer is that they focused on the measurable form of intelligence, which is work and obedience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  How Was The Poodle’s Intelligence Measured? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

  Stanley Coren conducted his research with the help of 199 obedience trial judges from the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  He created a set of criteria based on work and obedience intelligence because that is the only form of intelligence that promises concrete results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  All dogs were bred to do something, so one can’t tell which has more instinctive intelligence than the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  They also know how to interact with their environments, making it hard to determine which dog would do better at adaptive intelligence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Plus, people own dogs today mainly as household pets. They would want to know how their pooches would fare in training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Coren’s criteria were used by the judges to test dogs all over the country. These dog breeds were only the purebred ones recognized in North America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Popular breeds like the Goldendoodle, the Maltipoo<\/a>, and the Japanese Chin weren’t included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Coren’s Dog Intelligence Criteria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

  Here are the criteria the canine intelligence tests were based on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The number of times a command would be repeated<\/strong> before a dog learns it. Dogs that required a lesser number of times were considered more intelligent. <\/li>
  2. The success rate<\/strong> at which a dog understands and obeys a command on the first attempt. Dog breeds with higher chances of succeeding were placed top of the list.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

     The dogs that qualified for Coren’s intelligence test and made the ranking were those that could receive at least 100 responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     How Did The Poodle Perform?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

     The words of Coren best describe the Poodle’s success in the test:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     “Border collies are number one; poodles are second, followed by German shepherds. Fourth on the list is golden retrievers; fifth, Dobermans; sixth, Shetland sheepdogs; and finally, Labrador retrievers.”<\/p>Stanley Coren<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

     This means that the only dog breed considered more intelligent than the Poodle is the Border Collie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The Poodle surpassed popular dog breeds like the Labrador Retriever<\/a> and the Golden Retriever<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     For this reason, the Poodle is always ranked number 2 on any list of intelligent dog breeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     So, what does this entail on street level? Your Poodle can learn a new command and you wouldn’t have to repeat it more than five times.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The Poodle also had a 95% success rate on understanding and obeying known commands at the first attempt, making this breed one of the easiest to train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Training this breed is even easier than America’s top dog \u2014 Labrador Retriever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     How Smart Are Poodles Compared To An Average Intelligent Dog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

     <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

     The high success of the Poodle in Coren’s test is enough to conclude that the Poodle is intelligent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     When you then compare it to the average dog, you’d quickly realize that the Poodle is a genius. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     For starters, while the Poodle learns a new command after at least 5 repetitions, the average dog requires at least 25 to 40 repetitions. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Also, compared to the Poodle’s 95% success rate of understanding and obeying commands at the first attempt, the average dog has a 50% success rate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The average dog can also learn 165 words while the top dogs can learn 250 words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Of course, there’s nothing wrong with an average dog, and it doesn’t mean they are dumb either. Some of these dogs are simply stubborn and independent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     On other forms of intelligence, they are good. Some of these dogs are the Siberian Husky, the Greyhound, the Dachshund, and the Great Dane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Dig Deeper:<\/strong>
     25 Dumbest Dog Breeds & Why They\u2019re Actually Smart<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

     What About Other Forms Of Dog Intelligence?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

     We’ve established that the Poodle is a highly intelligent breed under the work and obedience category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     But what about other forms of intelligence? Apart from work and obedience, how smart is the Poodle in other categories? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     It turns out they do quite fine in other intelligence categories too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The Poodle’s Instinctive Intelligence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

     <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

     All purebred dog breeds have some degree of instinctive intelligence as they were all bred for specific reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The Poodle is not an exception. Having said that, Poodles were initially bred and categorized for different roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     There are three types of Poodles<\/strong>: The Standard, Miniature, and Toy Poodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     • Standard Poodle<\/strong> was bred mainly to retrieve waterfowl.<\/li>
     • Miniature Poodle<\/strong> was bred to sniff truffles.<\/li>
     • Toy Poodle<\/strong> was bred for companionship. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

       Working dogs are usually considered to have higher instinctive intelligence than those bred to be solely companions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Hence, the Standard and Miniature Poodles are the ones with more instinctive intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       They aren’t separate breeds, though, so altogether the Poodle is good to go in this category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

       The Poodle’s Adaptive Intelligence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

       Adaptive intelligence usually varies between members as it concerns the individual dog’s reaction to the environment and its ability to solve problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       That said, almost all Poodles have shown to be intelligent in this category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

       As many pet parents can attest, Poodles are capable of learning from past experiences and making decisions based on those experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

       If a Poodle were to accidentally step into burning coal, best believe it would avoid that area the following day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

       The Poodle’s adaptive intelligence, combined with obedience and work, makes it act almost human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Over time, we have seen hilarious social media posts on Poodles displaying their high level of intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Some Poodles have been seen on viral posts tapping on a computer keyboard, checking out words on a piece of paper, and even getting into the driver’s seat of your car (don’t let your Poodle drive, though).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Can Poodles Talk?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

       A lot of us have most likely watched talking animals in animated movies and would want to experience that with our pet dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Can it be possible that highly intelligent dogs learn to communicate in human language?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       For now, nothing indicates that intelligent dogs can speak “human”. However, research has been leaning towards making this a possibility. [3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       It may never be possible for a Poodle to talk in words that we would understand, but with the aid of some tools, who knows?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Not too long ago, a Poodle Sheepdog mix named Bunny got more than 7 million TikTok<\/a> subscribers interested by her ability to press buttons together to construct loose sentences. [4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       She successfully asked about her dad, and could even communicate pain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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