This is my version of Dog IQ test, based on my experience. I have practiced and published this test since 2000 and finalized this copy in 2006 when I submitted it to several dogs publications. This unique and complete material will provide a true reflection on testing and it is offered for educational, no-commercial use, an is not to be sold or commercially reproduced in any form.
Your dog will score one of 5 marks in each question: A, B, C D or F.
The final result will depend on how many As, Bs, Cs & Ds he has scored.
A total of 36 marks will reflect on the dog's memory, alertness, mental sequential process, adaptability, sensory perception, physical and emotional intelligence.
The reporting math is explained at the end.
Perform this test in no fewer than 5 sessions. Make sure the dog is relaxed, happy and is not tired. Do not use part on the test as a representative IQ result.
Perform all 36 exercises.
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1- Using a sliding door, preferably a garden wire, walk with your dog through the opening or otherwise make
sure he knew there is an opening before the test. let the dos stay on one side while you go the other side.
Standing on opposite side of the fence facing the dog, separated by the fence. Let the dog sniff a piece of
meat in your hand, and let him see you place it on the ground across the fence, 2 feet away from his reach.
Step back a couple of feet so that the dog would know he couldn't reach the food through the fence.
Stand a few feet away from the open area where the dog would need to walk around and through to get to you
on the other side of the fence.
a- the dog immediately runs along the fence and around it to get to the other side
b- jumps at the fence and pushes it for a few seconds, then walks around it to the other side
c- kept on using his paws to push at the fence, barks, runs a few feet along the fence repeatedly, then he finally figures it.
d- kept on trying for longer than 2 minutes or gave up.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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2- Test your dog's spatial aptitude. Standing if front of a mirror, place your dog's favourite treat in your pocket without letting him notice it. Direct the dog's attention to
his reflection in the mirror while you move behind him, allowing him to see you in the mirror. Take the treat out of your pocket and hold it so he would see that in the
mirror.
a- the dog turns around immediately to grab it.
b- sniffs the mirror first, then turns around.
c- repeatedly sniffs the mirror.
d- after doing "c" he starts to lick the mirror.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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3- Use a children movie or any commercial on TV where a dog is barking. Play that segment while attracting the dog's attention to the screen before you play it.
a- he stands up with excitement and barks.
b- watches with his ears up but shows no further interest.
c- stares blankly at the screen without movement.
d- runs to the door and growls thinking that someone is at the door.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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4- Hold and show him his favourite toy. While he is watching you, throw the toy across the room behind his back.
a- he immediately turns around and gets it.
b- looks around, searches around, then finds it.
c- stares at your hand expecting the toy to be still in front of him.
d- After acting as described under "c", he moves half way across the room, gives up and sits down.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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5- take 3 bite size pieces of meat. give him one. hold the other 2 one in each hand and throw them both in front of him allowing him to see the action.
a- he follows the fall of the pieces and spots them immediately and eats them.
b- he spots one and searches a little and then finds the second.
c- he finds one and stares at your hands
d- looks around and back to your hands
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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6- in exercise 5 above, drop one piece of meat on the ground in front of him. After he eats it, have a clean napkin crumpled up in one hand and one more piece of meat in
the other hand.
Let him see and smell both hands in front of him. With the hand holding the crumbled paper of napkin, throw that paper across the room.
a- he remains in front of you waiting for the other hand with the meat.
b- he runs toward the napkin, sniffs and comes back.
c- he starts bite the napkin looking for the meat
d- he eats the napkin and sits down where he found it, not returning to you immediately.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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7- In a quiet room while your dog is attentive, suddenly look at him and ask in commanding voice: who is there?
a- he immediately perks up his ears, looks around and jumps towards the window or door or around the room looking for something or trying to satisfy your command even if he
doesn't understand the words:
b- perk up his ears and listens looking at you
c- looks at you for a second, sighs and relaxes ignoring you.
d- looks at you with confusion, looks down and ignores you.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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8- Think about your dog in general, and in all honesty, which of these famous cartoon characters is most like your dog:
a- across between the cartoon scoopy and the dog Lassie of the TV show of the 50s & 60s
b- underdog
c- goofy
d- scooby doo
f- he is a nice and sometimes a smart dog, but when it comes to this exercise, he is dumber than George Bush
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9- If your dog was a famous recent president:
a- Kennedy
b- Clinton or Obama
c- Carter
d- Nixon
f- he is as dumb or dumber than George Bush
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10- When you take your dog for a car ride, he:
a- jumps to the front seat, sits and poke his head out the window.
b- sits and tries to put his head in your lap
c- lies down in the back seat.
d- he tries to get out by chewing on the door
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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11- Taking your dog for a walk:
a- he keeps pace with you with minimal stopping to sniff around
b- he is more distracted by the surroundings and has to be pulled by the leach more often
c- you keep on managing him with constant leash control
d- it's a game of tug-of-war and he resists, trying to break loose.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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12- After feeding the dog and giving him a treat, and he is not hungry, let him see you leave the house and say something to him in a pleasant voice while he is away from
the door, and shut the door behind you. Have someone in the background behind, ignoring him and not distracting him, or cameral-record it. Wait for no longer than a minute and knock on the door:
a- he is already there, could feel or smell your presence, and immediately he bounds on the door and tries to open it with his paw, tail wagging.
b- barks, comes to the door
c- stays curled up on his area, thumps his tails when you reenter
d- no response for minutes, you reenter to find him playing with a toy.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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13- give him something salty to eat and empty his water container:
a- he approaches you and beckon you over towards his drinking bowl or tray.
b- sits by his bowl and whimpers until you have noticed him
c- finds you and whines
c- leaves the bowl and looks for water elsewhere
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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14- Dogs have an unexplainable time sense, call it an accurate internal clock. They know when you get home from work, when your kids comes home from school. How accurate is your dog's clock? My first Dane used to leave home at 2.55 pm exactly to be by the school gate at 3. My Danes now know exactly what time I get home and the three of them would get up a couple of minutes before I arrive and wait by the door. How does your dog measure?
a- extremely
b- within 15 minutes
c- reasonably accurate
d- the clock is dead.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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15- Toss a piece of meat for the dog to chase and eat. Then crumple up a piece of paper into a ball and toss it.
a- he pats it with his paw to examine it before bringing it to you.
b- grabs it in his mouth immediately and brings it to you
c- ignores it
d- eats it
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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16- at night, turn off all lights in the house. While you are in one room and the dog is in another, call him:
a- he comes to you immediately
b- it takes a few seconds
c- whimpers until you go to him
d- barks and crashes into furniture.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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17- In a park, play Frisbee with your dog. Toss the toy as far as you can.
a- he sprints immediately and catches it or touches it in the air before it hits the ground.
b- chases it with a few seconds delay
c- runs a little then is distracted and changes course or lies down
d- chases the toy and keeps on running past it.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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18- while your dog is lying down, let someone scream in another room or just outside near him.
a- he barks
b- growl while lying
c- whimpers and rushes towards you in fear
d- ignores it and continues to sleep
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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19- show your dog a toy and command him to sit in front of you. Throw the toy to drop above your head behind you, while your hand motion continues as if you threw it behind him. .
a- he retrieves it from behind your back.
b- starts in the direction you pretended to throw it, then realizes the error.
c- stays seated, waiting for you throw it.
d- runs in the wrong direction and brings back any other toy.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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20- Play fetch with him for just a few minutes. Stop when comes back with the ball in his mouth the last throw.
a- he drops in front of you and picks it up again a few times, wagging his tail
b- walks around you with the ball in his mouth, tail wagging
c- whimpers and nudges your hand
d- sits down and ignores you.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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21- Play tug-of-war with your dog using a rope. After a minute, suddenly let go. How long did it take the dog to drop the rope and realizes that the game is over?
a- 3 - 7 seconds
b- about 30 seconds
c- over a minute
d- over 2 minutes - or he kept the rope in his mouth as he sat down or walked away.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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22- when you teach your dog a new trick, on average, how long does it take?
a- very quickly, a couple of days or so
b- a couple of weeks
c- a couple of months
d- it takes ages
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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23- while having the dog's attention facing you, reach behind your back and using a spoon, tap lightly against a counter or the wall without letting him notice you did.
a- he immediately perks his ears up behind you trying to find the sound source
b- hears it and wonders around in search for it
c- moves to another room or area
d- walks away with no care
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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24- While your dog is watching you, leave the room and put on a scary mask. Wait a few minutes and return to the dog's area.
a- he barks but realizes it's you.
b- barks until you take off the mask
c- no response at all
d- appears scared and backs away with tail down
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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25- While your dog is watching, find a safe clear area and pretend to have fainted, flop down still.
a- barks loudly and rushes over you, nudging you with his nose.
b- whimpers a little
c- watches you for a second and walks away
d- grabs a toy or your shoes to play with
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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26- place his favourite treat in his bowl. After he starts eating, interrupt by placing a folded newspaper or a magazine over the bowl and take him to another room. Spend a couple of minutes distracting him such as rubbing his neck then let him return to his treat.
a- immediately pushes away the newspaper and gets to his food.
b- sniffs around the bowl and whines a little then pushes the newspaper away.
c- stops near the covered up food, barks at the bowl and bites at the magazine.
d- in case "c" he stops, stares at the magazine and gives up.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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27- Separate the dog from the stairs by setting up a short baby gate or other barrier at the bottom of the staircase. Stand on the stairs holding his favourite treat. Let him know that by sniffing it, then go to the top of the stairs.
a- barks excitedly and leaps skillfully over the barrier
b- sniffs the barrier and paws at it trying to knock it down
c- tries to squeeze between the gate and the wall
d- whimpers in frustration and gives up
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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28- Stand in front of your dog, and using the same tone and hand gesture or signal you would use to order him to sit, instead of saying "sit", say another word, "chicken" or
"orange."
a- he sits instantly
b- seemed confused, but sits within 20 seconds
c- walks away
d- wags his tail and grabs a toy to play with you
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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29- while your dog is in another room, squeak his squeaky toy, and before he sees you, quickly hide it. When he comes in:
a- sniffs around and finds it within 15 seconds
b- sniffs around but it takes him a minute to find it
c- hovers in the doorway confused
d- comes in with a toy in his mouth
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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30- Record your voice calling his name. Play it in another room (e.g. a bedroom) while you are with him in the livingroom:.
a- he looks at you with courage, looks towards the room, rushes there and back to you.
b- he rushes there instantly and remains there for over 10 seconds
c- he rushes there, barks, keeps on looking around for near a minute.
d- no response, head down,. grabs a toy or a treat.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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31- While walking the dog on your daily routine route, before turning toward home, surprise him by taking a right turn instead of left or left instead of right.
a- looks up at you curiously, tries to pull in the right direction, barks as if he is warning you
b- tries to pull in the right direction momentarily
c- stops with confusion for a second then continues
d- doesn't seem to mind or to have noticed
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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32- Use a clear plastic cylinder about 1 foot long and wide enough for the dog to safely put
his head into it. Secure it to the ground and place his favourite treat, e.g. a piece of
cooked chicken meat inside, near the middle, of course visible from outside since you
are using clear plastic. The dog is about 10 feet away watching you, held by an
assistant and you had allowed him to sniff the treat and to see you place it in inside the tube.
a- he runs, and immediately detours with his head into the cylinder and gets it.
b- he sniffs, pushes at plastic top with his nose, then detours and gets it within 5 seconds
c- he uses he paws several times trying to get it for over 20 seconds
d- he tried for over a minute and looked at you, whining or parking and gave up or just
kept on trying to get it throw the plastic top - and it took him over a minute before he tried with his head or paw to get the treat though the opening..
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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33- Place a dog treat or a favorite toy under one of three buckets placed next to each other. Let the dog know which bucket under which the treat is placed, then turn the dog to face the other direction for a few seconds. Then, let him face it again and let him try to find the treat.
a- he immediately goes to the correct bucket
b- he takes two attempts
c- he looks under the other two buckets first
d- he approaches the buckets and forgets
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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34- With your dog out of the room, rearrange the furniture. When he re-enters the room
a- he goes directly to his favorite spot
b- takes him under 5 seconds to investigate before he finds his spot
c- looks confused and takes about 20 seconds before he figures out what happened
d- he decides on a new area completely
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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35- Arrive home around the same time for at least 3 days. Park at the back, let the dog see you in the back yard through the back door. Move away keeping him behind in the fenced backyard and let him see you go out of the back yard and around toward the front door.
a- from the first attempt, first day, he immediately runs into the house towards the front door.
b- he kept watching you, whining and even calling you (barking) then after you disappeared from his view, he went into the house toward the front door.
c- the 2nd or 3rd day he caught on and immediately runs toward the front door as soon as you exit the car and you start moving towards the front of the house.
d- even after a 2nd or 3rd day, and having brought him a treat when you arrived the day before, he still jumps at the fence and parks and you got into the front door without him
being there waiting behind behind the front door.
f- when it coms to this test, he is dumber than George Bush.
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36- Place two buckets upside down in front of you about a yard apart. Have news paper or a sheet ready. Allowing the dog to watch you from a couple of yards away, let him first sniff a treat, and let him see you place it under one the two buckets. Switch the bucket. Point with your finger to the bucket that has the treat and tell him in a calm voice to get the treat.
a- he watches you with ears up and rushes directly to the bucket you pointed to.
b- he approaches the one in the spot where you had first placed the treat
c- he sniffs both of them and uses his smell power to get to the right one.
d- he is confused and whines a little before he started to sniff both buckets.
f- when it comes to this test, he is dumber than George Bush
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For each "A" award 7 points
B = 5 points
C = 3 points
D = 1 point
F = 0 point
Now you have this total of 35 marks, for example: 20 As, 8 Bs, 4 Cs & 2 Ds.
20X7=147 8X5=40 5X3=15 2X1=2 = 197 points
Total score:
190- 252 Genius
140-189 Exceptionally Smart
110-139 Very Smart
80-109 Smart
40-79 A nice guy
under 40 George Bush
A final comment: My Danes score "genius" consistently. In fact, Columbo and Ra scored perfect 245 mark and Nifi scored high genius "228". Watch the videos I posted of a Great Dane operating a vending machine where he had to push and hold the button for a few seconds to get the item, not just push.
The case when a dog was hit by a car and a Dane watching in his yard, jumped over the fence, grabbed a garbage can from the front yard and placed it in front of the injured dog to stop traffic and then pulled the dog to the side and rushed barking at the kid who was taping it.
The case of the Dane grabbing a piece of a branch, sharpens it with his teeth and uses it to open the front door.
The case of a Dane uses the water fountain and perfectly pushes the tap with his left paw to drink.
The case of one of my pups starting his obedience school halfway through the programme. He was placed with pups who have been in class for 5 weeks. The dogs were ordered to "sit" and "stay" and a piece of food was placed 2 feet away in front of each of them. Everyone left the class watching the dogs through a window at the back. The Dane pup stood up for a second, looked at everyone, and was perplexed or thinking, assessing what's going on. And he got it. He went and ate every piece of food in front of other pups - except his own - and sat down in his place looking like he is the only good pup who did what he was told. When you deal with a Dane, a truely healthy Dane, and you look into his eyes, you'll know what I mean.
As I said, as a child, my Dane used to leave home at 2.55 pm exactly to meet me at 3 outside my school. All these cases and more are not the work of camera trickery and I know they are not unbelievable. Quality bred Danes are extremely smart.
I must advise Dane families here that intelligence is influenced greatly by a healthy brain development. Healthy hormones. And that means an educated special diet. It will not happen when you would just feed the Dane like or other giant - very large dog the way you would feed any other dog, and then maybe give him the one-size fits all over the counter supplements - which can do more harm than good. Examine the health pages, and I welcome any question. All the best with your Dane.
By; Dr. Paul Gouda, C.Chem., Ph.D.
May 2006
Gouda's
K9 IQ test
March 2006
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