Do Beagles have low IQ

16 Signs of low intelligence

I dont know about you, but I enjoy spending time with people whore smarter than me. To do this, I have to actively scan my social circle for low-intelligence people and limit my association with them.

So I thought an article that lists the major signs of low intelligence would be a nice idea. Note that when I mean low intelligence, Im not talking about people with learning or intellectual disabilities that are diagnosed in childhood.

Also, Im not talking about low IQ scores. I dont care much for IQ scores. Never taken one, and never will.

These signs of low intelligence youre about to go through are present in healthy, normally functioning adults. Lets get started.

1. Lacking curiosity

The hallmark of low intelligence, lack of curiosity keeps people stuck at their present level of knowledge. They know just enough to get by in the world. They dont ask questions and seem to be satisfied with where they are intellectually.

2. Lacking intellectual humility

Intellectual humility means accepting you dont know what you dont know. Curiosity and intellectual humility are the engines of intellectual growth. The tendency in people is to believe they know everything. Yet, the more you know, the more you realize how little you know.

3. Closed-mindedness

Being closed to new ideas, opinions and information keeps low-intelligence people stuck where they are. Closed-minded people have a tendency to confirm their pre-existing beliefs. Hence, they cannot learn new things.

4. Not interested in learning

Low intelligence people mostly see learning as a waste of time. They dont even have the intelligence to see how learning can benefit them. They stop learning when they graduate. High-intelligence people, on the other hand, accept that learning is a lifelong process.

5. Not seeking novelty

Low intelligence people seem to have an aversion to novelty in general. Youll see that they not only avoid exposing themselves to new ideas, but to anything new- new art, new music, etc. On the contrary, novelty is very stimulating to high intelligence people. They seek novelty to keep expanding their mind and to see things in a fresh light.

6. Avoid thinking

Low-intelligence people avoid thinking when they can. They always need to be told exactly what to do and wont use their own minds. They thrive in formal education structures requiring rote learning but lack street-smartness. Put them in a novel situation where theyre required to think on their feet and watch them crumble.

7. Diminished ability to reflect on things

The ability to reflect on things is one of the greatest cognitive skills of humans. It helps us understand the causality behind events. Keen observation plus the ability to reflect have been the drivers of human progress.

8. Lacking critical thinking

Critical thinking is difficult because it goes against how the mind works. The mind assimilates information as beliefs and then goes about confirming those beliefs. Testing the validity of those beliefs takes up significant mental energy. Yet, its the only way to get closer to the truth.

9. Not changing their minds often

The rate at which people change their opinions indicates the rate at which theyre learning new things. While intelligent people change their position on things from month to month or week to week, low-intelligence people hold on to the things they learned years ago.

Having too strong an opinion on anything is generally a sign that a person is only looking at part of the entire story.

10. Black and white thinking

Low intelligence people are masters of black-and-white thinking. They only seem to think in terms of opposites, ignoring the grey areas in between. Reality is often too complex to be interpreted in opposites.

11. Lacking creativity

As they lack novelty-seeking, low intelligence people also lack creativity. Creativity doesnt emerge out of a vacuum. The most creative people constantly expose themselves to other creative people in their fields. This way, creativity feeds on itself and produces beautiful things in the world.

12. Lacking cognitive flexibility

Changing ones mind often is a sign of open-mindedness. Its opinion-flexibility i.e. not being rigid in ones opinions. Similarly, cognitive flexibility means not being rigid in ones ways of thinking. Cognitive flexibility is the ultimate goal of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. The ones who develop it can significantly improve their mental health.

13. Short-term thinking

Low intelligence people are consistently unable to overcome their desire for instant gratification. They frequently turn a blind eye to the long-term consequences of their present behaviors.

14. Poor decision-making

We all make poor decisions from time to time. But low intelligence people consistently fail to weigh the pros and cons of their decisions.

15. Unrealistic thinkers

The more in alignment a persons mind is with reality, the smarter they are. Being out of touch with reality is a sure sign of low intelligence.

16. Poor interpersonal skills

Being able to deal effectively with people is also a sign of high intelligence. Low intelligence people lack key social skills such as:

• Having a win-win mentality
• Being empathetic
• Good communication skills
• Having emotional intelligence
• Ability to deal with criticism
• Ability to understand sarcasm
• Ability to see things from anothers perspective

I dont care what anyone says: I believe my beagle is the most intelligent dog period. Is that the case? Of course not. But just like any pet owner who actually knows the answer, I remain blissfully clear that my pet is the most intelligent anomaly. At the same time, I had to ask: Where does beagle intelligence fall when compared to other breeds.

Where Do Beagles Rank On Intelligence?

Beagles intelligence is ranked lower than average, as are most hounds and terriers. They tend to take between 80 and 100 repetitions to learn a command. They do not always obey, only in 25% of cases. For older breeds like hounds and terriers, they were bred to hunt and run prey down for humans while other breeds such as collies and retrievers were bred to follow commands.

Fortunately, there has been some detailed research done as to the basis of dog intelligence to back it up.

Dr. Stanley Coren, a psychology professor and neuropsychological researcher highly acclaimed for his research and understanding of canine behavior and the human-canine bond.

In 1994, he published his book The Intelligence of Dogs, which became his most famous piece of research. Republished in 2006, the book ranks over 100 different dog breeds according to their intelligence.

The Three Types Of Canine Intelligence

• Instinctive Intelligence: abilities that the dog possesses instinctively, such as sheep herding, guarding or company, among others.
• Adaptive Intelligence: skills that dogs have to solve problems.
• Work Intelligence and Obedience: the ability to learn from a human being.

In addition, that 51% of a dogs intelligence stems from its genes while 49% is based on environmental circumstances. Together, they evaluate the animals problem-solving capabilities, obedience, memory, social training and powers of observation.

This variance tends to align with the types of dog breeders set out to create. For example, working, herding, guarding, hunting, and sporting dogs all require different levels of intelligence and training.

How Do Beagle Intelligence Compare to Human Intelligence?

According to research by animal psychologists, beagle intelligence is as strong as an average two-year-old child. Amazing, right?

Studies show that beagles can learn: where is a valuable object, the shortest routes in an environment, how to handle simple devices, and the meaning of words and their symbols.

Professor Coren believes centuries of selective breeding and living alongside humans have helped to hone the intelligence of dogs.

They have also compiled a list of the most intelligent and least intelligent breeds using information from obedience classes. Border collies and retrievers were rated among the most intelligent while hounds and terriers were the least bright.

Its no secret that purebred dogs have very different skills depending on what they were bred to do. For instance, herding breeds like Border Collies, Australian Shepherds and Corgis are universally considered to be extremely intelligent. Due to the nature of their work, they are excellent at both making independent decisions and taking instructions from humans.

While most dogs understand simple commands such as sit, fetch and stay, a border collie tested by Professor Coren showed a knowledge of 200 spoken words. The collie was able to recognize the names of items it was asked to fetch and correctly retrieve them.

The dog was also quick to learn the names for new items and after being taught a new word, brought back the correct item 70% of the time. Other dogs have shown similar abilities, although often with fewer words but with gestures instead.

Highest Degree To Lowest Degree Of Intelligence Groups

Brightest Dogs: Master commands with less than 5 repetitions and generally obey 95%+ of the time, the first order. Example: Border Collie, German Shepherd.

Excellent Working Dogs: Comprehend new commands in 5 and 15 repetitions, usually obey 80% of the time. Example: Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Cocker Spaniel.

Above-Average Working Dogs: Understand new orders between 15 and 25 repetitions. They usually respond in 70% of cases. Example: Dalmatian, Gordon Setter.

Average Working/Obedience Intelligence: Interpret new commands in 25 and 40 repetitions, usually obey 50% of the time. Example: Siberian Husky, Jack Russell Terrier.

Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence: These dogs need between 40 and 80 repetitions to understand an order. They respond 30% of the time. Example: Scottish Terrier, Great Pyrenees.

Lowest Degree Of Working/Obedience Intelligence: They learn new orders between 80 and 100 repetitions. They do not always obey, only in 25% of cases. Example: Beagle, Bloodhound.

Why Are Many Hound Breeds Ranked Lower?

Pretty much all scenthounds are governed by their noses, says Dr. Nicholas Dodman; BVMS, Dipl. ACVB, professor emeritus of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

Theyre hard to train because they dont really look up, they look down. Beagles arent as interested in listening or pleasing anybody, as much as theyre just interested in tracking with their noses. The sighthounds want to chase anything that moves. For every dog breed theres a purpose, and the mixed breeds are just a combination of the purebreds.

I can see how it might be easy to superficially judge a dog who is kind of slow and not paying a lot of attention to what you say and really not that interested in performing tricks, but it doesnt mean that theyre not smart, and in some ways, being very independent could be more intelligent than being obedient.

Scenthounds like Basset Hounds, Beagles and Bloodhounds can sniff out almost anything. Sighthounds can spot their prey making the slightest movement and swiftly chase it down.

A Border Collie is far more trainable than a Bloodhound, but a Bloodhound is far superior at tracking scents than a Border Collie.

Conclusion

Beagle intelligence is magnified with dedicated training and appropriate care, resulting in a well-behaved, more obedient beagle.

They each have their own unique skills and excel in their own ways.

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links on this site. The commissions do not impact the price you pay for those products, nor do they influence which product(s) we may or may not recommend on this site. After all we just want your beagle to be happy and healthy.

How Smart are Beagles? Test your Beagles Intelligence

My neighbor, who just adopted a beagle, messaged me that she thinks her dog is too dumb for anything. To which I replied, Is he too dumb or too smart to train? If you own a beagle, then you already know how affectionate and innocent they are. But what about their intelligence? How smart are beagles when compared to other dog breeds?

According to the research, beagles are as smart as a two years old child. Beagles are smart enough to learn more than 150 words, understand gestures, process simple mathematical calculations, and can figure out to use simple devices.

Beagles are an intelligent breed of dogs with very specialized skillsets. In this article, I have described the intelligence of beagles while also explaining why beagles are listed in the bottom ten in the Dogs Intelligent List and how you can test your beagles intelligence.

How smart are beagles?

Well, beagles are really intelligent dogs with a specific skill set. They are known to be one of the best scent hounds in the world. I took this to our Instagram Community of beagle owners and asked them to list all the smart things their beagles do. Here are a few things that beagles around the world can do:

Aleksy from Polland says: Last month, my beagle somehow figured out how to open our refrigerator. We had to order child-lock for our refrigerator. My dog is super smart when it comes to food.

Walter from the USA says: My 2-year-old pal knows and understands my entire routine. When I come home from the office, I go to the toilet and wash my hands and feet and then greet my dog. So now, when I come home, my beagle stops greeting me at the door. Instead, she would stand at the door of my toilet. How cunningly smart is she?

Elias from Germany says: I dont know how, but my beagle lures my family members and me away from their food by doing something that she is not supposed to, and then she would run and grab the food before we can.

Olivia from the USA says: I think my beagle is quite smart; he follows all the commands, behaves properly, and even understands a few signs. Over the top, he is a snuggle monster.

Lucus from the UK says: My beagle is smart enough to fool me when it comes to food. lol

Annika from India says: I dont know if Minnie, my 4-year-old beagle, is smart or not, but she can tell when I am feeling low and cuddle me.

As per my little survey conducted with 74 beagle owners, 81% of beagle owners think that Beagles are Smart and intelligent, whereas 13% of them feel that they are not that smart. And 6% were not quite sure and said that their beagles were average.

Beagles Intelligence Rank

Dr. Stanley Coren, a psychology professor and neuropsychological researcher, in his book The Intelligence of Dogs, ranked over 100 different breeds of dogs based on their intelligence. The beagles were ranked in the bottom 10 of that list.

According to the research, beagles take around 80 to 100 repetitions to learn a command. On average, they obey only 25% of total commands.

So does that mean they are dumb and not smart? No, not at all. Beagles are quite intelligent. Its just that their intelligence doesnt fit with the standardized research criteria used by Dr. Coren to make a list.

Why do Beagles Rank so Low in Dog Intelligence?

There are three types of Canine Intelligence:

Instinctive Intelligence: skills that the dog is inherited by its breed and has it instinctively.

Adaptive Intelligence: how well the dog can adapt and learn from the environment to solve a problem.

Working and Obedience: how well the dog can follow commands taught by humans.

Two primary criteria that Coren used for his research:

1. Number of repetitions:The first criterion is the number of repetitions a dog of a specific breed took to learn and follow a new command.
2. Success Rate: The second criteria is the success rate at which a dog obeys a known command.

According to Corens criteria: Fewer the Repetition and Higher the Success Rate = Smarter and more Intelligent the Dog Breed.

Corens standardized criteria to measure a breeds intelligence has focused more on the Working and Obedience part. Different dog breeds have different motivators. And its unjust to measure a dog breeds intelligence based on working and obedience; theres so much more.

Even though beagles are very affectionate and loyal, they are Scenthounds, and they like to follow their noses. They are a curious and independent breed. Moreover, they are independent thinkers, and their lives dont revolve around following your commands. They are smart enough not to follow your commands all the time.

This doesnt mean that beagles hate humans; mine is a cuddle monster and wants to be around me all the time. Beagles are pack animals and prefer the company.

Why are Beagles Smart?

Even Coren agrees that the other two types of intelligence are as important. Lets have a look at:

Instinctive Intelligence of Beagles

Instinctive Intelligence is the ability or skill which is specialized by the breed. Its the skill or ability that they inherited from their race. Its intuitive and doesnt need to be taught. For example, Belgian shepherd is great at managing livestock (sheep mostly). Their breed is capable of managing and keeping together an entire herd of sheep without any human training. They were born with this skillset.

Whereas beagles are born to hunt. They are a hunting breed. In the past, beagles and humans use to hunt side by side. Beagles special skill is their nose. Beagles have one of the most robust sense of smell among other dog breeds.

As you can see, humans have 5 million scent receptors in the nose, whereas Beagles have 220 million scent receptors. According to Pet Central, beagles are ranked in the top three for dog breeds with the best sense of smell.

With such a strong sense of smell, it gets hard for beagles not to get distracted, and thats the reason they are known to be hard to train. Their strong sense of smell makes them wonderfull trackers, skilled hunters, and health inspection dogs.

Adaptive Intelligence of Beagles

Adaptive intelligence is the ability of the dog to adapt and learn from the environment to solve the problem. Beagles can adopt the situation, process it, and solve a problem. They are also highly capable of learning from their previous mistakes. Beagles are fantastic at communicating with not just humans but with cats too.

I hand made a metal crate for my beagle, and the lock system of the crate was not that complicated. When my beagle was ten months old, he figured out how to open the latch of his crate and get out. I had to buy a complicated latch because of this.

Well, my neighbor has a cat and now a beagle too. And she thinks that beagle and cat are communicating in some sign language. I am not sure of that, lol.

There are tons of such stories where beagles learn from their mistakes and adapt to solve the problem.

Test your Beagles Intelligence

Just like humans, every beagle has different intelligence. And this test can help you find out how intelligent your beagle is, depending on how much he scores. This test is not a very accurate way to test a dogs intelligence. It is possible that your beagle could fail in this test and yet be the smartest dog.

You can either watch this video or continue reading the article:

Rules:

• Rule number one is do not talk about Fight Club, haha.
• Note down the points that your dog scores in all the tests.

The Towel Test

Things you need: Stop Watch, towel, and a Beagle.

Step 1: Give your pet a towel and let him get familiar with it.

Step 2: Toss that towel over your pets head in a way that it covers him completely

Step 3: Start the Timer

Step 4: Note down how long does it take for your dog to get out of it.

Find out the score:

• Less than 30 Seconds: 30 Points
• 30 to 120 seconds: 20 Points
• Tries but cannot get out of it within 120 seconds: 10 points (and help your pal and take off the towel)
• Lays down without even trying: 0 Points

Uncover the Treat Test

Things you need: Towel, treat, and a stopwatch.

Step 1: Show your dog his favorite treat.

Step 2: When you get his attention, put the treat on the floor and put a towel over it.

Step 3: Start the timer and see how long does he takes to get the treat.

Find out the Score:

• Less than 30 Seconds: 30 Points
• 30 to 120 seconds: 20 Points
• Tries and gives up or fails within 60 seconds: 10 points
• Gives up under 10 seconds or doesnt try at all : 0 Points

The Reach The treat Test

Things you need: A couch, treat and a stopwatch

Step 1: Get the attention of your pet and show him the treat.

Step 2: Put the treat under the couch at a distance at which he cannot reach the treat with his muzzle but can get it with his paws (put the treat under the sofa when your pet is watching).

Step 3: Start the timer and observe how he gets the treat.

Find the score:

• Gets the treat with his paws within 2 minutes: 40 Points
• Gets the treat with his paws within 3 minutes: 30 Points
• Tries to get the treat with his paws but fails within 3 minutes: 20 Points
• Only uses his muzzle: 10 Points
• Give up or doesnt try: 0 Points

Find the Cup with Treat Test

Things you will need: 3 cups, and treat.

Step 1: Put the treat under the upside-down cup when your dog is looking.

Step 2: Let him reach the cup and give him the treat.

Step 3: Get two more cups, and when your pet is looking hide treat under one of the three cups.

Step 4: Slowly jumble the cups and see if your dog remembers the cup with the treat.

Find the scores:

• Reaches out the right cup on the first try: 20 Points
• Finds it in 2nd try: 10 Points
• Fails to do so: 0 Points

Perform all the tests and add up the score:

• 120 Points: Your Dog is the Stephen Hawkings of the dog world.
• 110 to 120 Points: Genius
• 80 to 100 Points: Quite Intelligent
• 40 to 70 Points: Average, which is great for a dog.
• 10 to 30 points: The I will do better in the next test kind.
• 0 Points: Too lazy to do anything.

My thoughts:

People think that if the dog is easy to train, it makes them smart. This is not at all a case. There is so much more to look after. One thing you should look for in a dog is companionship, and I dont know what better breed than beagles for friendship and loyalty. Beagles are complicated but intelligent dogs who are free-minded and has a carefree nature. Moreover, they are affectionate, smart, playful, cuddle monsters that you wont be able to live without if you get one.