Question submitted by the audience in our recent webinar: "The Importance of Exercising Your Dog's Brain for Optimal Physical and Mental Health":
How do dog breeds (and their behavioral predisposition) affect their problem-solving style? I have Standard Poodles and Terriers and their approaches to problems are so different.
Answer by: Karen Overall, MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB
Yes, breeds DO differ and this was one of the things we were looking for. We had some target breeds for the study – the ones the US government and/or other governments use: German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, Border collies, Australian shepherds, Golden retrievers, Belgian malinois. Oddly, they way they were raised seems to have swamped breed. Remember, these tests are not about ‘herding’ or ‘retrieving’. They are about reading signals and solving problems. We have noticed something that we did not expect: that dogs who have their dew claws use them on this test and are more dexterous. It may be an advantage for them.
