Let’s find out how smart they really are!
The Labradoodle is a cross between a Poodle and a Labrador Retriever. As you would expect, this combination makes Labradoodles playful, affectionate, absolutely adorable, and extremely friendly. But are Labradoodles smart?
The Labrador Retriever and Poodle breeds lend a ton of great traits to the Labradoodle. One of the most well-known attributes is the Poodle and Labrador Retrievers intelligence. When it comes to ranking intelligence, both parent breeds rank in the top 10 in the world out of pureblood dog breeds.
Research on mixed breeds has never been done, so we don’t have a report about the Labradoodle specifically. However, we have a lot of research on the intelligence of the Labrador Retriever and Poodle breeds. Let’s take a closer look at what makes this crossbreed one of the most intelligent.
Dog’s Intelligence
Stanley Coren is a name well known to those talking about and researching different breeds intelligence. The fact is he is the go-to guy for all things dog smarts. Stanley is a Ph.D. and canine psychologist. He is the one that tested and compiled the list of smartest dog breeds. Coren even published a book, “The Intelligence of Dogs.”
Not all dog breeds have been included in his list, including the Labradoodle. However, both the parent breeds, the Labrador Retriever and Poodle, did make Stanley’s list. So we have some facts to work with, then answering the question, Are Labradoodles smart?
Intelligence Criteria
Stanley had to have help when it came to evaluating and ranking the individual dog breeds based on his very carefully thought out criteria. So he recruited 199 obedience trial judges to attack this daunting but exciting task.
The first criteria was how many repetitions were necessary for a dog breed to learn a new command. The fewer repetitions meant a more intelligent breed.
Then came the success rate in which a breed will obey a known command on the first attempt. A higher success rate meant a more intelligent and obedient dog breed.
The trials also include three aspects of the breed to be scored. Which are; Instinctive Intelligence -perform the tasks bred to do, Adaptive Intelligence – the ability to solve problems on its own and Working and Obedience Intelligence – the ability to learn from humans.
Not all dog breeds made Coren’s intelligent dogs list. He only included purebreds, and out of those breeds, he only included those that received at least 100 evaluations. Labradoodles were not included in the trials because they are not a purebred dog. However, we can guess at their smarts based on the Labrador Retriever and Poodles ranking.
Poodle and Labrador Retriever Performance
The Poodle and Labrador Retriever both performed exceptionally well in Stanley’s dog intelligence trials. They are both ranked in the top ten smartest dog breeds.
The Poodle ranked at number 2. While the Labrador Retriever came in 7th. This distinction means they are incredibly smart. For comparison, some of the other dogs in the top ten are Doberman Pincher, Border Collie, Rottweiler, Golden Retriever, and the German Shepherd.
Being in the top seven of the dog trials means both the Poodle and the Labrador Retriever can master new commands with less than five repetitions! If you have 30 minutes, you could potentially teach these two breeds a new trick with an insane ability to learn new commands on the first try. The percentage breaks down to a ninety-five percentage rate of accurately learning a new trick or command. They are super smart dogs.
How do Labrador Retrievers and Poodles compare to average dogs? There is nothing wrong with being average. Dog breeds with average intelligence can learn a command in around twenty-five to forty repetitions. The Labrador Retriever and Poodle are five times faster at learning a new command or trick.
An average intelligent dog breed will obey a command they have already learned on the first try with a fifty percent or sometimes a little better success rate. Comparatively, this means the Poodle and Labrador Retriever much more obedient than the breeds of average intelligence.
Regardless of the list, some of the most popular dog breeds are in the average intelligence group. Some of the average intelligence breeds are Australian Shepherd, Great Dane, Siberian Husky, and Boston Terrier. All fantastic breeds, but it will take you a little longer to train them.
Adaptive Intelligence
So, are Labradoodles smart? Remember the three aspects of the dog breed trials? Let’s take a look at Adaptive Intelligence.
Do Labradoodles learn from previous experiences and mistakes? Are they master problem solvers? These are the type of questions that pertain to adaptive intelligence in dogs.
Adaptive intelligence can vary a lot among individual dogs of the same dog breed. However, Labradoodles tend to excel in adaptive intelligence, generally.
When it comes to Instinctive intelligence; the performance of the tasks the Labradoodle was bred to do. They would rank very high.
Their adaptive intelligence, the ability to solve problems, is not only impressive, but it is fantastic to watch them solve problems. You know, like how to get the cookies off the table and not get caught.
The Labradoodles working and obedience intelligence – the ability to learn from humans, is off the charts.
Their willingness and eagerness to learn is one of the reasons they make great family dogs. They are also incredibly gentle; this makes them great companions for kids. The great thing about Labradoodles is when you add up all their traits; you end up with an almost perfect dog. They have a low shedding coat and little dander, which makes them great options for people that suffer from pet allergy. A couple of the best things about them is their ability to listen and learn. These two abilities make them one of the best service dog breeds. If they could pick a dream job, it might just be to grow up and be a service dog.
We think you can probably deduce the answer to that burning question, Are Labradoodles smart? Labradoodles are exceptionally smart. We can’t say for sure where they would fall in Stanly’s dog trials, but we feel confident in saying they would place right around the top with their parent breeds.
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