How Smart is the Australian Cattle Dog?

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022

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Australian Cattle Dog Intelligence

How Smart is the Australian Cattle Dog?

The Australian Cattle Dog is a dog breed that is known to be:

  • Aggressive
  • Alert
  • Energetic
  • Intelligent
  • Loyal
  • Protective
  • Responsive

But, how smart is the Australian Cattle Dog really?

The Australian Cattle Dog is the 10th smartest dog when it comes to obedience and working intelligence.

Accordingly, compared to other dogs, the Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

Australian Cattle Dogs tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.

These facts on Australian Cattle Dog intelligence are from the published work on dog intelligence and behavior by the renowned Prof. Stanley Coren. Coren is a Canadian Psychology Professor and Dog Researcher.

In the 1990s, Prof. Coren did extensive scientific research where he `measured` what is called the Working or Obedience Intelligence of more than 130 different dog breeds.

Note that the working/obedience intelligence of a dog is one of the three intelligence components that constitute a dog`s total intelligence

. But it is the only intelligence component that can be measured and compared among dog breeds.

Later on, we will further explain what the working/obedience intelligence means, and what the other two parts of a dog`s intelligence are.

For his research on measuring and ranking the intelligence of dog breeds, Prof. Coren consulted with:

  • Over two hundred dog obedience judges
  • Over sixty veterinarians, and
  • Fourteen guard dog experts

From his research data, Prof. Coren ranked dog breeds according to their obedience intelligence from the smartest to the least smart.

According to the study, the smartest dog breed is the Border Collie. Border Collies are so smart that they can understand any new command that you are trying to teach them after repeating the command to them five times or fewer.

The least smart dog breed is the Afghan Hound. The Afghan Hound is one of the dog breeds with the lowest degree of Working/Obedience intelligence. It will take 80 to 100 repetitions or more for an Afghan Hound to learn a new command.

As mentioned earlier, the Australian Cattle Dog is the 10th smartest dog breed.

Furthermore, Coren placed dog breeds into one of six intelligence categories:

  1. Brightest Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions
  2. Excellent Working Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 5 To 15 Repetitions
  3. Above Average Working Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 15 To 25 Repetitions
  4. Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions
  5. Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 40 To 80 Repetitions!
  6. Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 80 To 100 Repetitions Or More!

The Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

However, note that obedience intelligence is one of the many things that make a good dog. The fact that a dog breed has a low obedience intelligence DOES NOT MEAN the dog breed with not excel at other things.

Intelligence is just one of the many things that make dogs the excellent human companions that they are.

See the intelligence ranking of a few selected dog breeds in the table below: (note, although 133 dog breeds were studied, there are 79 positions because some breeds tied for the same position)

Click here to see the intelligence rank of all 133 dog breeds.

Breed Intelligence Rank
How Smart is the Doberman Pinscher? Ranked 5th out of 79
How Smart is the Papillon? Ranked 8th out of 79
How Smart is the Australian Cattle Dog? Ranked 10th out of 79
How Smart is the Flat-Coated Retriever? Ranked 18th out of 79
How Smart is the Bernese Mountain Dog? Ranked 22nd out of 79
How Smart is the Manchester Terrier? Ranked 32nd out of 79
How Smart is the Cairn Terrier? Ranked 35th out of 79
How Smart is the Irish Setter? Ranked 35th out of 79
How Smart is the Bichon Frise? Ranked 45th out of 79
How Smart is the Great Dane? Ranked 48th out of 79
How Smart is the Ibizan Hound? Ranked 53rd out of 79
How Smart is the Welsh Terrier? Ranked 53rd out of 79
How Smart is the Pug? Ranked 57th out of 79
How Smart is the Chihuahua? Ranked 67th out of 79
How Smart is the Basenji? Ranked 78th out of 79
Australian Cattle Dog Smartness

Australian Cattle Dog Intelligence. A Second Opinion

We reviewed another research study to find out more about the intelligence of the Australian Cattle Dog. This other study is The Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) study.

This study was done by research veterinarians from the University of Pennsylvania.

In the study, the researchers asked owners of different dog breeds, including owners of the Australian Cattle Dog to describe how trainable their dogs are.

195 Australian Cattle Dog owners were asked to describe

how easy it was to train their Australian Cattle Dog in the CBARQ research survey.

We analyzed what these Australian Cattle Dog owners said about the trainability of their Australian Cattle Dogs and compared that to what other owners said about other dog breeds (125 other breeds).

Dogs that are easy to train are always very eager to listen to their owner. These dogs are not stubborn. These dogs obey simple commands, and they learn very quickly.

Also, dogs that are easy to train tend to do well at fetching objects when asked to. Furthermore, this category of dogs also responds positively to correction and ignores distraction.

According to the results from the CBARQ research, Australian Cattle Dogs are very much easy to train.

In fact, the Australian Cattle Dog ranks 7th out of 124 dog breeds for easiness to train.

Based on our further analysis of the CBARQ research data, we found that the Australian Cattle Dog has a trainability score of 91.8 %.

Other dog breeds that are very much easy to train just like the Australian Cattle Dog are listed in the table below:

Trainability Rank Breed Trainability Score
4 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever 95.3 %
5 Irish Water Spaniel 95.0 %
6 Portuguese Water Dog 91.9 %
7 Australian Cattle Dog 91.8 %
8 Rottweiler 91.1 %
9 Australian Shepherd 91.0 %
10 Australian Kelpie 91.0 %

According to the CBARQ research data, the dog breeds that are most easy to train are the:

  1. Belgian Tervuren
  2. Belgian Malinois
  3. Border Collie
  4. Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
  5. Irish Water Spaniel

According to the CBARQ research data, the dog breeds that are most difficult to train are the:

  1. Dingo
  2. Treeing Walker Coonhound
  3. Basenji
  4. Afghan Hound
  5. Pekingese

See our complete ranking of dog breeds from the ones that are easiest to train to the ones that are most difficult to train.

However, it is important to note that trainability does not always equal intelligence.

This is because a dog can be smart and stubborn at the same time. A smart but stubborn dog will be hard to train.

Visit this page to see the complete temperament profile (trainability, aggression, shyness, prey drive, etc) of the Australian Cattle Dog according to the result of the CBARQ research study.

The Three Parts of the Intelligence of the Australian Cattle Dog

As mentioned earlier, Prof. Coren ranked dogs based on what is called the `Working/Obedience` Intelligence.

The `Working/Obedience` Intelligence is one of the three parts of a dog`s overall intelligence.

All the three parts that make up a dog`s overall intelligence are:

  1. Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard or hunt dogs will have a high `guarding` or `hunting` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding or hunting.

  2. You can tell what type of instinctive intelligence a dog breed will have based on the dog group the dog belongs.

    The Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the Herding Dogs group.

    Dogs in the Herding Dogs group, like the Australian Cattle Dog, were bred for moving livestock, including sheep, cattle, and even reindeer.

    Herding dogs work closely with their human shepherds, and their natural intelligence and responsiveness make them highly trainable.

    Herding dogs have high levels of energy, which needs to be channeled properly to prevent destructive behavior.

    Herding breeds are protective of their people and property and make excellent watchdogs. Their intelligence, agility, and activity level make them well suited to dog sports.

  3. Adaptive Intelligence: This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not specific to a dog breed. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence (and therefore its overall intelligence) by investing time to train your dog.

  4. Working/Obedience Intelligence: This intelligence type is the subject of this article. This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed. Furthermore, the working/obedience intelligence of one dog breed can be compared to that of another dog breed to see which dog is smarter

The natural breed-specific working/obedience intelligence is a heavy chunk of a dog`s overall intelligence.

According to Prof. Coren, 51 percent of a dog`s intelligence comes from its genes while 49 percent of a dog`s intelligence comes from the dog`s environmental circumstances. Environmental circumstances include how much training you give to a dog.

In short, it will be much easier to train a naturally smart dog.

However, we should mention that a dog breed should not be judged based on its intelligence alone.

There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get.

The most important factor to consider is how compatible a dog breed`s overall temperament is with your lifestyle.

How Smart is the Australian Cattle Dog?

The Intelligence of Australian Cattle Dog Compared to Other Dog Breeds

See how smart the Australian Cattle Dog is compared to some other dog breeds.

To see how smart the Australian Cattle Dog is compared to all other dog breeds, see this ranking of dog breeds based on intelligence.

Is the Australian Cattle Dog Smarter Than the Australian Terrier?

The Intelligence of Australian Cattle Dog versus the Intelligence of Australian Terrier

The Australian Cattle Dog is smarter than the Australian Terrier.

This is because the Australian Cattle Dog ranks 10th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Australian Terrier is 34th out of 79 in the ranking of the intelligence of 133 dog breeds (133 and not 79 because some breeds tied for intelligence in the same spot).

Because of its intelligence rank of 10th, the Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

This means that Australian Cattle Dogs tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.

On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 34th, the Australian Terrier belongs to the `Above Average Working Dogs` category.

This means that Australian Terriers tend to learn new commands after 15 to 25 repetitions.

Australian Cattle Dog Australian Terrier
Intelligence Rank 10th out of 133 dog breeds 34th out of 133 dog breeds
Learning Ability Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions Tend To Learn New Commands After 15 To 25 Repetitions

Learn more about how smart Australian Terriers are here.

Is the Australian Cattle Dog Smarter Than the Old English Sheepdog?

The Intelligence of Australian Cattle Dog versus the Intelligence of Old English Sheepdog

The Australian Cattle Dog is smarter than the Old English Sheepdog.

This is because the Australian Cattle Dog ranks 10th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Old English Sheepdog is 63rd out of 79 in the ranking of the intelligence of 133 dog breeds (133 and not 79 because some breeds tied for intelligence in the same spot).

Because of its intelligence rank of 10th, the Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

This means that Australian Cattle Dogs tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.

On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 63rd, the Old English Sheepdog belongs to the `Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.

This means that Old English Sheepdogs tend to learn new commands after 40 to 80 repetitions!.

Australian Cattle Dog Old English Sheepdog
Intelligence Rank 10th out of 133 dog breeds 63rd out of 133 dog breeds
Learning Ability Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions Tend To Learn New Commands After 40 To 80 Repetitions!

Learn more about how smart Old English Sheepdogs are here.

Is the Australian Cattle Dog Smarter Than the Rhodesian Ridgeback?

The Intelligence of Australian Cattle Dog versus the Intelligence of Rhodesian Ridgeback

The Australian Cattle Dog is smarter than the Rhodesian Ridgeback.

This is because the Australian Cattle Dog ranks 10th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Rhodesian Ridgeback is 52nd out of 79 in the ranking of the intelligence of 133 dog breeds (133 and not 79 because some breeds tied for intelligence in the same spot).

Because of its intelligence rank of 10th, the Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

This means that Australian Cattle Dogs tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.

On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 52nd, the Rhodesian Ridgeback belongs to the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.

This means that Rhodesian Ridgebacks tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.

Australian Cattle Dog Rhodesian Ridgeback
Intelligence Rank 10th out of 133 dog breeds 52nd out of 133 dog breeds
Learning Ability Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions

Learn more about how smart Rhodesian Ridgebacks are here.

Is the Australian Cattle Dog Smarter Than the Curly-Coated Retriever?

The Intelligence of Australian Cattle Dog versus the Intelligence of Curly-Coated Retriever

The Australian Cattle Dog is smarter than the Curly-Coated Retriever.

This is because the Australian Cattle Dog ranks 10th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Curly-Coated Retriever is 41st out of 79 in the ranking of the intelligence of 133 dog breeds (133 and not 79 because some breeds tied for intelligence in the same spot).

Because of its intelligence rank of 10th, the Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

This means that Australian Cattle Dogs tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.

On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 41st, the Curly-Coated Retriever belongs to the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.

This means that Curly-Coated Retrievers tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.

Australian Cattle Dog Curly-Coated Retriever
Intelligence Rank 10th out of 133 dog breeds 41st out of 133 dog breeds
Learning Ability Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions

Learn more about how smart Curly-Coated Retrievers are here.

Is the Australian Cattle Dog Smarter Than the Shih Tzu?

The Intelligence of Australian Cattle Dog versus the Intelligence of Shih Tzu

The Australian Cattle Dog is smarter than the Shih Tzu.

This is because the Australian Cattle Dog ranks 10th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Shih Tzu is 70th out of 79 in the ranking of the intelligence of 133 dog breeds (133 and not 79 because some breeds tied for intelligence in the same spot).

Because of its intelligence rank of 10th, the Australian Cattle Dog belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.

This means that Australian Cattle Dogs tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.

On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 70th, the Shih Tzu belongs to the `Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.

This means that Shih Tzus tend to learn new commands after 80 to 100 repetitions or more!.

Australian Cattle Dog Shih Tzu
Intelligence Rank 10th out of 133 dog breeds 70th out of 133 dog breeds
Learning Ability Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions Tend To Learn New Commands After 80 To 100 Repetitions Or More!

Learn more about how smart Shih Tzus are here.

Is the Australian Cattle Dog Smarter than a Cat?

Intelligece of Australian Cattle Dog versus cat

Dogs have more neurons in their brains than cats. In fact, a dog has twice the number of brain neurons of a cat (500 million versus 250 million neurons).

This is according to a research study in which the scientist counted the number of brain neurons in dogs and in cats.

Brain neurons are used for processing information. Hence, it is likely that the Australian Cattle Dog will have a better information processing power than a cat

Thus, if we are to use the number of neurons in an animal`s brain as a measure of intelligence, then the Australian Cattle Dog is definitely way smarter than a cat because the Australian Cattle Dog has twice as many brain neurons as a cat.

However, intelligence is a very complex concept that may not be explained simply by how many neurons an animal`s brain has. Learn more here.

What is the IQ of the Australian Cattle Dog?

The IQ of the Australian Cattle Dog versus human

Before discussing the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of the Australian Cattle Dog, let us first define what Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is. IQ is simply a measure of how mentally advanced a person is relative to that person`s chronological age (the typical age that is calculated from birthday).

For example, a 2-year-old child with the mental capacity of a 4-year-old has an IQ of 200 (that is 4 divided by 2, multiplied by 100).

This is an old but simple definition of IQ.

According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a dog has the mental capacity of a 2-year-old human child.

Let us assume that Australian Cattle Dogs become full-grown and reach mental maturity at one year of age.

Also, let us make the bold assumption that, as Australian Cattle Dogs get older, they do not get significantly smarter than a 2-year-old human child (You Can`t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks).

Thus, a one-year-old Australian Cattle Dog will have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old human child, and a 2-year-old Australian Cattle Dog will still have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old human child, and a 3-year-old Australian Cattle Dog will have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old human child, and so on.

Then, from the way IQ is defined, a one-year-old Australian Cattle Dog, which will have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old child, has an IQ of 200! This is not too surprising because Australian Cattle Dogs mature and age faster than humans.

A one-year-old Australian Cattle Dog is twice as smart as a one-year-old human child.

Also, since a 2-year-old Australian Cattle Dog will have the intelligence of a two-year-old human, then the corresponding IQ of a 2-year-old Australian Cattle Dog is 100. Similarly, a three-year-old Australian Cattle Dog will still have the mental capacity of a two-year-old human, making its IQ 66, and so on.

These may sound odd. But this is because the concept of IQ was designed to test human intelligence and not Australian Cattle Dog intelligence. That is what you get when you use human intelligence as a reference to measure Australian Cattle Dog intelligence.

Conclusion

We hope this article has provided you with all the facts you need to know on Australian Cattle Dog intelligence.

To learn more about the Australian Cattle Dog, check out our article where we reviewed the Australian Cattle Dog breed.

Also, to learn more about the temperament and behavior of the Australian Cattle Dog, check out our article on the temperament profile of the Australian Cattle Dog. This will tell you what Australian Cattle Dogs are really like.

If you do not own the Australian Cattle Dog yet, and you are planning to get one, check out our list of reputable Australian Cattle Dog breeders and article on Australian Cattle Dog price and buying advice.