Smart Or Just Obedient
By redredrose
@redredrose (1105)
United States
February 20, 2013 9:46am CST
I once heard from someone that dogs aren't really smart but just obedient. Well i think dogs have to be smart to be obedient. I mean if they weren't smart they wouldn't even know to sit lay down speak whatever when you told them too. So really it's a bit of both don't you think? I have 2 dogs a shi-tzu and a german shepard mix and when i tell the Shepard mix to give kisses she licks my face. When i ask what the dogs want if they want to eat they go to where we keep their food or if they want to go outside they go to the back door. Once my grman shepard mix scratched on ym bedroom door when it was closed all the way and when i opened it and asked what do you want she went to the back door to go out side . Now that's like a child knocking on the door to say mommy can i go outside so she is smart that dog yes. When i show the dogs the little plastic sandwich bag i use yo pick their stuff when walking them around the block(we have to do this because if the police come around and see us not doing it when dog is pooping we will be fined $250) they go crazy for a walk and go to the front door. So dogs are smart and can be smart. They can also be obedient as well. Tho i think they need to be smart to be obedient because if they weren't smart they wouldn't know to do what we tell them so it's really both don't you think?
4 people like this
15 responses
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
20 Feb 13
Yes dogs are smart. I look at them as children to be honest. The more you work with them when they are puppies, it's like grooming their brains to think.
I had a German Shepard (Bless her soul, lost her last summer) that was training to watch the children when they were playing outside. So if I'm in the garden the dog would start barking if one of the kids left the yard area. She was wonderful and in my eyes can never be replaced. I always felt better having that second set of eyes when was working outside.
1 person likes this
@redredrose (1105)
• United States
20 Feb 13
Kpro my German Shepard mix watches me every time someone comes to the house she has never seen before or thinks might do me harm. Like one time the gas man came over and had to go into the basement to see the meter and turn the gas back on and my shepard mix followed him every where he went even out to his truck. She kept looking at me then him and never left his side and when he came near me or talked to me she barked at him. So i say good watch dog and very smart.
1 person likes this
@redredrose (1105)
• United States
20 Feb 13
Kpro that was one smart dog then if she knew the color red and dogs don't see those kinds of colors. Also yes i think the dog was reading me and looking for any fear in me about the gas guy. Tho when people come over that are my friend my dogs bark at first but then once the person has been here awhile the dog stops and goes to them for petting and licking their face like they know the person is ok and not someone to hurt me. I think this is very smart of dogs.
1 person likes this
@blackrusty (3519)
• Mexico
20 Feb 13
thank you for this it is so true dogs are smart if you train them at a early age I have a 8 month old puppy that would never get to do her thing outside no matter how much walking we have done she would always use my kitchen floor well over the last week or so i have just been opening my door to let her out even if she is just going out to play she is slowly learning this is where she has to go to use the bathroom and yes when i walk her on the street i too take a plastic bag as it is the right thing to do
@redredrose (1105)
• United States
20 Feb 13
it is the right thing to do to pick up after your dog when walking them but i admit i don't always do it. Sometimes i just don't feel like or i forget to bring the bag to pick it up with me. Tho i'm better about picking up after them now tho.
1 person likes this
@blackrusty (3519)
• Mexico
20 Feb 13
i too do forget at times and i feel bad when i do but i am sure i would be forgiven
1 person likes this
@marriedman111399 (1207)
• United States
20 Feb 13
I think both. My 1 dog knows when its time to eat and goes where his food is. He also knows when he needs to go outside and I dont think that is being obedient. I think obedient is when you tell your dog to sit or stay and they do it. Know I do have to tell my dogs its time to go outside before I go to bed and thats being obedient. I have smart dogs and obedient dogs
@urbandekay (18278)
•
20 Feb 13
My oldest dog is smart for a Border Collie and these are the smartest breed. When my mum fell over and couldn't get up she came and found me and barked at me till I came and found my mum. If she has no water, she goes and stands by the toilet and then looks at me to tell me
all the best, urban
1 person likes this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
20 Feb 13
They are smart all right. I had a border collie cross and she was highly intelligent. She would sing along with me to a special doggy song, shut doors, and various other tricks. I taught her when to poo and when to wee, we had special words for each activity.
She knew the difference between her toys and would bring the one we asked for, my grandchild was doing that at about 2 years old - I reckon that her intelligence was equal to his at that time!
Now I have a pack of dogs and they are not trained but they all outsmart me when they want to have their own way.
1 person likes this
@greenthumb018 (595)
• Philippines
20 Feb 13
I think dogs are smart. Especially the trained dogs. There are news wherein dogs saved their Masters from fire or accidents. No one told them to do that. They just did. And they have to be smart to follow instructions. My dog is different though. She's not the very obedient type. She's not eating on her own even if she's two years old. But when I'm giving her human food, she eats it. I changed the brand of my dog food a couple of times but still she won't eat alone. That's my only problem with her. Other than that, she's ok. She sits when told to, does not ruin any furniture, dances and just pee or poop in one place.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
26 Feb 13
Definitely smart. My little Benji, a Maltese X cheeky dog, wuffs at me when he wants something. He stands in front of the fridge for an ice cube or the container with the dog crunchies or the back door to go out. It's not a bark, more like a grunt. If something is going on out the back he will bark once...hurry up mum!
Definitely smart!
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 13
They are not smart in the way a human is, in other words, you could not ask them to bark to testify if someone was breaking in a neighbor's house or ask their opinion about them. But they have an animal intelligence that God gave them, an instinct to be pleasing to people and to love them unconditionally. They think the plastic bags is a signal for them to go for a walk, it is not that they think, "those plastic bags are used to fill up with our p**p," They probably think in dog terms, as the stuff in the things are to help mark their territory.
And of course that also comes with obedience because that instinct was put in them to protect people and do what their owners tell them. That is why abandoned dogs always whine when they see people. They want an owner whom they can love and whom they can be obedient for.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
21 Feb 13
Th obedience comes from the pack instinct, i think. In other words, they are wired to defer to the alpha dog, and in a human household, the owner is the alpha. But yes, I think dogs are very smart.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
21 Feb 13
yes i do. they say dogs want to please us and its really all on how you raise them just like with us. i found my dogs ive had learns a lot from loving teaching. my little girl here will actually tippy toe around the cement and rocks in our yard when it rains to keep from getting her feet muddy. cause she knows i will wash them if she gets muddy. she hates baths and i think she can read my mind
cause if i even think about it she hides
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
22 Feb 13
Although I believe that there are a lot of people that will disagree with me on this one, I have to say that I think that dogs are one of the most intelligent animals if you take out human beings and dolphins. The reason that I believe that this is the case is because of the fact that dogs can be trained to do a lot of highly specialized things. In addition to that, I also feel like dogs would not be able to retain those things that we'd taught them if it wasn't for their intelligence.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
20 Feb 13
We have the same opinion on dogs. Our dog isn't one of those high breeds, he is just a mongrel. But he sure is smart to knock on our gate when somebody forgot to call him in. He even taps me when he wants to eat and also I have taught him to shake hands. I think that somehow this dogs could really understand us coz they seem to learn to do things when instructed.
@Pegasus72 (1898)
•
14 Mar 13
I agree just like people some are smart and some are just bad to the bone. Some can be trained while others never learn, but I also think that the family that takes a dog in has a lot to do with the way a dog acts.
@miryanag (346)
• Bulgaria
24 Feb 13
Thank you for the interesting topic. I really think that when I use the word smarth i reffer to the dog capacity to learn when i use the word obedient i reffer to his willingness to learn.So to have a good dog it must be smart and obedient.
@marguicha (223107)
• Chile
20 Feb 13
I think that just like human beings, there are intelligent dogs and stupid ones. I imagine that even dumb dogs can be trained up to a certain point, but only intelligent ones will decide what to do without recieving orders. I had a wonderful dog once and she knew exactly what to do in every occation. While she had some attitudes of an obedient dog, she also had initiative when in front of new situations. I still miss her
