The breed is considered highly intelligent and easy to train. Aussies are known for being especially eager to please their owners. True to their herding instincts, Aussies are very protective of their families and territory and will let you know if strangers approach, but they are not considered aggressive.
According to The Intelligence of Dogs, which ranks 131 dog breeds in terms of their relative intelligence, the border collie is the smartest dog breed known to man.
Are Australian Shepherds as smart as border collies?
If you saw them together, you would likely think they were the same dog, and you wouldn't exactly be wrong. Being related to each other, Australian Shepherds and Border Collies look similar and are both very intelligent, trainable, playful, social, and high-energy pets.
Testing my Australian Shepherd's Intelligence - Dog IQ Test
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How intelligent are Australian Shepherds?
The breed is considered highly intelligent and easy to train. Aussies are known for being especially eager to please their owners. True to their herding instincts, Aussies are very protective of their families and territory and will let you know if strangers approach, but they are not considered aggressive.
1. Border Collie: A workaholic, this breed is the world's premier sheep herder, prized for its intelligence, extraordinary instinct, and working ability. 2. Poodle: Exceptionally smart and active.
This, researchers say, shows that dogs have an episodic-like memory. ... Coren lists the top 10 smartest dog breeds (in terms of working and obedience intelligence) in Psychology Today as:
Keep in mind the average Australian Shepherd tends to bark a lot, making it a little more challenging to get him to stop barking unless you give him the 'speak' command or there is a situation in which he needs to bark to alert you.
While Australian Shepherds are known for being strong working dogs, they can be cuddly and affectionate, too. Your Aussie will bond to his family and be protective of and loyal to them.
In the 1800s, the Basques began migrating to Australia to keep sheep. Their Pyrenean Shepherds crossbred with other working dogs, including Collies and Border Collies, creating the modern version of the Australian Shepherd.
According to several behavioral measures, Coren says dogs' mental abilities are close to a human child age 2 to 2.5 years. The intelligence of various types of dogs does differ and the dog's breed determines some of these differences, Coren says.
Domestic dogs can perceive images on television similarly to the way we do, and they are intelligent enough to recognize onscreen images of animals as they would in real life—even animals they've never seen before—and to recognize TV dog sounds, like barking.
“[Dogs] can't communicate with humans in the same way [that] they communicate with other dogs, so they try and get your attention by nudging you or bumping into you,” Rice told The Dodo. “When a dog bumps or nudges you with their nose, it is usually because they want your attention or they want something from you.”
Though this data might seem to suggest that dogs are twice as intelligent as cats, a direct correlation between larger brain size and increased intelligence has not been conclusively proven. Regardless, dogs' higher neuron count is often viewed as a gauge of their superior intelligence.
Oxytocin is released for both you and your dog when you pet them, play with them, or look at each other. Studies have shown that dogs tend to lock eyes to show affection, so it's safe to say your dog feels the love when you're looking longingly at each other.
There's something Aussies are known the world over for, and that's their easy-going, friendly attitude. Of course food, events, art and history are all vital parts of the Australian culture, but what really distinguishes an Aussie is his or her laid-back outlook on life.
