The Intelligence of Dogs

This article is about a book of this title. For the general topic, see Dog intelligence.
The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions
AuthorStanley Coren
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience & Nature
Publication date
  • 10 May 1994
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages336

The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions is a 1994 book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of canine psychology at the University of British Columbia.[1] The book explains Coren's theories about the differences in intelligence between various breeds of dogs.[2][3][4] Coren published a second edition in 2006.[5]

Coren defines three aspects of dog intelligence in the book: instinctive intelligence, adaptive intelligence, and working and obedience intelligence.[6] Instinctive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to perform the tasks it was bred for, such as herding, pointing, fetching, guarding, or supplying companionship.[6] Adaptive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to solve problems on its own.[6] Working and obedience intelligence refers to a dog's ability to learn from humans.[6]

  1. ^ Coren, Stanley (1995). The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide To The Thoughts, Emotions, And Inner Lives Of Our Canine Companions. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-37452-4.
  2. ^ Boxer, Sarah (1994-06-05). "My Dog's Smarter Than Your Dog". New York Times.
  3. ^ Wade, Nicholas (1994-07-03). "METHOD AND MADNESS; What Dogs Think". New York Times.
  4. ^ Croke, Vicki (1994-04-21). "Growling at the dog list". Tribune New Service (published in the Boston Globe).
  5. ^ Showing all editions for 'The intelligence of dogs : a guide to the thoughts, emotions, and inner lives or our canine companions'. WorldCat. OCLC 30700778.
  6. ^ a b c d Stanley Coren (July 15, 2009). "Canine Intelligence—Breed Does Matter". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2011-08-16.