Coren's serious book places an emphasis on real data rather than wishful thinking or ESP. Dogs have been bred for different duties and appearances; some are more companionable or friendly than others. Dogs bred for obedience rate much higher in trainability by dog trainers and contest judges.

Coren discusses several ways to approach the study of intelligence, and recognizes several types of canine intelligence. Instinctive intelligence is tapped when special abilities like tracking or retrieving are bred for. Adaptive or general intelligence will make a dog more trainable and less likely to follow instinctual urges. His canine IQ test tries to measure adaptive intelligence and is discussed below. He compares dogs with 18-22 month old babies in linguistic intelligence, the ability to understand and obey verbal and nonverbal commands. (Psychologists recognize gestures as language components.) Cohen surveyed trainers and judges to study working or obedience intelligence.

Breeds that scored well in both problem solving aspects and learning and memory areas included (alphabetically) Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Norwegian Elkhounds, Poodles (standard, miniature and toy), Pulis and Shetland Sheepdogs.

Learning and memory specialists include Beagles, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdogs, Belgian Tervurens, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Border Collies, Bouviers des Flandres, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and Welsh Corgis.

Problem solving specialists included 1.) Terriers: Australian, Cairn, Smooth and Wire-Haired Fox, Kerry Blue, and West Highland White. 2.) Working dogs: Malamutes, Siberian Huskies and Samoyeds. 3.) Others: Basenjis, Chihuahuas, Schipperkes and Schnauzers.

For working intelligence, the dog trainers' survey rated 79* breeds with the abbreviated summary below:

Group    New Commands       Practice required
10       Understand         >5 times Not needed
26       5-15 times         Improves performance
39       15-25 times        Greatly improves
54       25-40 times        Lose without practice
69       40-80 times        Must practice
79*      often 100+         Repeat practice often

And now the envelope:

The Mensa level of trainable canines are #2 Poodle and #1 Border Collie! Rounding out the top ten trainable breeds are German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Doberman Pinscher, Shetland Sheepdog, Labrador Retriever, Papillon, Rotweiler and Australian Cattle Dog.

The Densa level for trainable canines finds #70 Shih Tzu, #71 Basset Hound, #72 Mastiff and Beagle*, #73 Pekingese, #74 Bloodhound, #75 Borzoi, #76 Chow Chow, #77 Bulldog, #78 Basenji, and #79 Afghan Hound.

Other favorites include #16 Collie, #18 Cocker Spaniel, #29 Airedale, #44 Black and Tan Coonhound, #48 Boxer and Great Dane*, #49 Dachshund, #51 Wire Haired Fox Terrier. #65 St. Bernard and #67 Chihuahua.

Breeders and trainers don't use the term "personality," preferring temperament to describe how dogs interact with people. Clarence Pfaffenberger developed several tests to determine what dogs might make suitable guide dogs for the blind in the 1940's. He saw that his tests didn't predict what he called "temperament." He began breeding dogs for the temperament for being guide dogs and raised the passing rate from 8 to 90% by the end of the 1950's. Spaniels have a gentle temperament that has made them favorites in Europe and Britain since the 1600's.

Coren's Obedience Personality test for 7 month old pups shows inborn temperament. If administered later, it will reflect the dog's learning. Any dog's temperament can improve with training, but an early start is important. The first 7 weeks of life, pups need contact with litter mates or other friendly dogs. Then they need lots of interaction and exposure to people, preferably those the dog will live with. Grooming while talking to the dog, enforcing dominance, and training to regularly do specific things on command can improve temperament. Excitable dogs learn better in a calm environment. Bright dogs can be pests if they assume they are going out every time you pick up your coat!

Obey 1st Command     Delay              Handler Distance
95+% of time         A few seconds      Far
85+%                 Maybe              If complex or far
70+%                 Often a lag        Poor if far
50+%                 Noticeably slower  Close
30+%                 Seem distracted    Close
>25%                 Some ignore        On leash