Doberman intelligence

[jazzies mum]

I know there are a lot of members who have had quite a few other breeds of dogs and loved them all. It is a fact that a Doberman is different in quite significant ways, one being intelligence, but what is it about their intelligence that sets them so far apart?

I've had cattle dog breeds before who are both extremely intelligent and high energy with the potential to be trouble if you don't give them enough mental and physical stimulation. That sounds familiar doesn't it? In fact it is as different to a Doberman as chalk and cheese!

So why is a Dobermans intelligence so different? The main difference I can find is that a Doberman is an independent thinker which means that in the early stages of training he/she will question you at every step. A cattle dog is very clever, but will follow your orders without question, right from the start just because you say so and it pleases you.

When you have earned your Dobermans respect and trust he/she will do anything for you because you have proved that you can be relied on and the bond is there. But there is still that ability to think independently and make good choices based on what you have taught them. This is the difference I think, they can do well in situations they have not specifically been trained for because they can think it out, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT DIRECTING THEM!

This is only my opinion and formed from just having Jazz who is a Doberman mix, but from my reading she is fairly typical in behaviour to many Dobes.

I'd be interested to hear how others who have experience with other breeds would describe the difference in intelligence, or type of thinking is probably a better description.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

I know you are asking people who have owned different breeds, and I have only had Dobermans besides our dogs we had when growing up.

One thing I say about Dobermans is they learn quickly, picking up a new trick or command quite fast; however they tend to, soon after, throw in their own twist, which of course messes things up a bit for us humans. It's almost like they're thinking: You had me do this a few times already. Why are you asking me to do it again? Maybe I'll do it a bit differently this time.

On the topic of doing just about anything we ask in their faithfulness: I'm reminded of one evening years ago with my first Doberman named Magnum. I had trained him pretty thoroughly and was really just getting started. My situation was such that I could only afford as transportation (besides a bicycle of course) a motorcycle. Insurance on a car was too expensive for a young, unmarried male. At this time, I was quite into obedience training and AKC trials. I needed to get Magnum to training at different parks and locations in order to diversify and desensitize him. I also belonged to the Baltimore Doberman Pinscher Club.

One evening, I wanted to take Magnum to a meeting of the club. Did I mention that my method of conveyance was a motorcycle? Yep, he and I made the motorcycle ride of some 15-20 miles each way in the dark (some of it on I-95) to the meeting. See, I had fashioned a dog crate to ride behind me where the passenger seat used to be. The crate was too small for a Dobe, but I needed it to be as small as possible. He fit in there snugly, and would jump in after I mounted the bike and gave him the word to load up.

Well, there I am at the meeting location. After the meeting, the ladies of the club, who had heard that we arrived by motorcycle wanted to see this setup in person. They joined Magnum and me out in the parking lot after the meeting. I commenced showing them our load-up maneuver. I mounted the bike, then told Magnum to jump in. He didn't comply. Embarrassed, I repeated my command. This time he complied. After he was in there and I shut the crate door, one of the ladies noted there was something in there with him. It dawned on me that in this (remember, very small) crate, I had left my leather jacket and full-face helmet!! This is why Magnum disobeyed my first command to jump in; yet, upon my insisting, he did the job! It's beyond me how he fit in there with the jacket and helmet!!

What a GOOD DOBERMAN. Once in a lifetime.

 

[crypticintent]

Before Ezri I had a Labrador (my first dog as an adult). Growing up we had Lab, pure bred cur, lab and sheltie.

I will state Ezri is the most ok ntelligent dog I've ever had but this post makes me want to think about it. Zeta (my old lab) was a very smart girl after all.

I think the largest difference is that Ezri is not only intelligent, but calculating. She watches and learns, even out of training.

We have a bottom freezer and she knows where the ice is. She knows thehandle must come up before pulling but she hasn't figured that out yet but works on it.

My father accidently let her see where ice is in their house (it's a door ice/water). Big mistake, too easy for Ezri to get ice on demand.

When she meets new dogs, it's not an aloofness, she wants to play. However she watches, slowly, methodically. She's looking for two things: Ensure dog is not a threat to momma and daddy, then what is the weakdpot for said dog. Once those two have been established, play can commence.

She knows every window and exit in the house, and checks every one of them before bedtime. Again, calculating.

It's a large difference watching a dog reason in their head then have a plan. Amazing little girl.

 

[Ravenbird]

Yesterday I noted this behavior in Asha (15 weeks old today!): We were playing with tracking, and since it was her first time, it was slow and easy and she did fine. But then my housemate and her dog Reckless did it. Reckless has her NW1 (NACSW) and is going to trial for her NW2 title in January. Reckless hasn't done tracking, but did very well on the same short track we laid for Asha. Then since we were in the business, we did some vehicle hides for Reckless, this is scent containers we put in fenders, wheels, outer mirrors etc. I just stood back & held Asha on a leash while watching Reckless do her thing. Asha was spellbound. She watched like a hawk, and was perfectly still. She didn't pull, jump, play-bow or in any way offer to get excited or want to join in, she just watched her dog-friend going 90 miles an hour (this kind of nose work has speed factored in) round and round our 3 vehicles, jumping up, crawling under, and then obviously getting praised and treated on occasion for this weirdness. I've never seen a puppy stare and study so intensely in my life! Asha observes a lot, but this was really amazing.

 

[Kaiser2016]

Have had no other dog to compare to, but totally agree that they observe others to learn. I also think that although dogs are said to live in the moment, these Dobermans make mental lists of things to steal - We had this problem with Kaiser as a teen during his counter surfing stage. Of all the counters, he knew what he would swipe the first chance he got and it would happen within less than a minute of accidentally leaving him by himself.

 

[Ddski5]

Great thread.

Working on my termite wall. No time to post but I will add- not only intelligent but always, always on alert.

 

[jazzies mum]

I mounted the bike, then told Magnum to jump in. He didn't comply. Embarrassed, I repeated my command. This time he complied. After he was in there and I shut the crate door, one of the ladies noted there was something in there with him. It dawned on me that in this (remember, very small) crate, I had left my leather jacket and full-face helmet!!

Love this! And I bet along with that first refusal was a very intent look that tried to communicate with his human that there was something in his crate! Sometimes you can feel their frustration when we just don't get it!

@crypticintent I think calculating is a really good way of describing the different way of thinking they have. It sure makes for some interesting moments when they are a pup, , but as an adult it really works for us. My other dogs were very intelligent and quick to learn, even brought new elements into games on their own, but I never saw them thinking about how to open the kibble storage box......and Jazz has put a LOT of thought into that! (It has clips! ) She does, however, go and give it a bash with the paw of death if she feels she is still hungry after her meal to tell me she needs more!

And I have seen her observing and thinking hard about something. Almost see the wheels turning in there. Some one was playing an African tongue drum at the markets one day and she spent about 10 minutes watching this with her head tilting side to side, looking at the drum then looking the girl playing it in the eyes.

This morning we went for out walk and took the chuckit kit along so we did play session/training and walk all together to beat the heat! As we were coming home it was really starting to get hot but Jazz still asked for another throw. I gave her a small one and she got the ball, came back but didn't drop it. I could have asked her to drop it and she would have but she was letting me know she just wanted that ball but was too hot to chase it any more. She carried it home herself. Dear old Freckles would have kept fetching that ball until she dropped from exhaustion.