How to Tell You Have a Smart Dog

If you ever decide to get a dog, it will probably be one that is pretty smart. It is likely to surprise you in regard to how much it knows. You will have an easier time judging its intelligence by paying attention to its habits as well as the signals it provides. You will learn how to tell you have a smart dog.

It communicates to you its needs. Once I get out of bed each morning, I walk through the living room to open the blinds for two of the windows on my way to letting our dog Thatcher out of the basement in order for her to go outside. If she is anxious and in a hurry to go out, she will whimper or bark in order to get me to quickly let her out. If she ever wants to be let out while she is already in the kitchen with us, she will walk over to the back door and stand there until we let her out.

Your dog pays attention to your tone of voice and the look you have in your eyes. If you speak very firmly because it has ignored your command, it will suddenly comply as it knows you will become mad if it continues to disobey you. If your dog comes over to you while you are eating, you can get it to go away by frowning at it or firmly saying, "You know better."

If it can count and keep track of the time, it is smart. Thatcher can count the days that pass after I take out the trash on a particular night. On Saturdays I take the trash in the house out to the dumpsters by the gate. On Tuesdays I take the trash to the dumpsters then I take the dumpsters to the curb. Soon after we let her out by 10:00 PM on Tuesdays and Saturdays, she comes back to the back porch waiting for me to take the bags out of the trash cans by the door and prepare to take out the trash. Once I place the bags by the stairs, she walks off the porch.

You might be surprised how your dog knows what is going on and recognizes your habits. Once I take the trash bags to the stairs, Thatcher will exit the porch. She will come back within a few minutes to watch me put new bags inside the cans. Once I open the front door to take out the trash, she is likely to come to the gate immediately or within a minute. She is especially likely to come to the gate on Tuesdays as she is excited to watch and hear me roll the dumpsters to the curb.

You have learned how to measure the depth of your dog's intelligence.