Every Dog Has His Day

I Stumbled Upon The Top 10 Smartest Dog Breeds page at petmedsonline.com.

We rescued our dog from the shelter when he was a very young puppy. We named him Buddy Homer. He had been found in a rural area with his mother, a Beagle. Nobody was sure where his 5 brothers or sisters were. Just Buddy and his Mom. It's obvious that Buddy's father is a black Labrador.

The vet told us not to waste money on obedience training for him. We'd never win against a Beagle/Lab mixed breed. "It will only be a frustrating experience for you," he warned. "But the mix is great for families. You couldn't ask for a friendlier dog," he quickly added, like that would make up for the fact that he'd just told me that our newest family member wouldn't ever sit or stay.

Buddy has proven himself many times to be of above average intelligence. As a puppy, he used to slide the lever on his crate to open the door and let himself out. The first time we boarded him at the kennel, he lifted the latch and roamed the aisle driving all the other guests crazy. "You should have told us that he's a very smart dog," the proprietor chastised when we went to pick him up.

Other times, I'm positive his membership in Canine Mensa is going to be revoked. He has a neurotic fear of vacuums. He won't walk past the vacuum if it's parked in the hall. It doesn't have to be plugged in or running... the entire appliance scares him. He used to hide bones under the couch cushions and in the magazine rack, not in the yard. And that footwear fascination is pretty old now.

Labrador Retriever is listed as the 7^th-smartest breed of dog. I scrolled down to see where Beagle fit in. Beagle isn't in the top 10.

There's a link that will take me to the 10 least-intelligent breeds...and there it is. Coming in at #9 is the Beagle. Well, at least he wasn't sired by a Bloodhound (#6).

Maybe we should've gone with Homer for his first name, after all.

Tags: [Pets] [Obedience Training]
[Dog Breeds/Breeding] [Canine Psychotherapy]
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