Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022
Quick Links: Table of Contents
- How Smart is the Labrador Retriever?
- Labrador Retriever Intelligence. A Second Opinion
- The Intelligence of Labrador Retriever Compared to Other Dog Breeds
- Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter than a Cat?
- What is the IQ of the Labrador Retriever?
How Smart is the Labrador Retriever?
The Labrador Retriever is a dog breed that is known to be:
- Affectionate
- Alert
- Cheerful
- Energetic
- Friendly
- Gentle
- Intelligent
- Loving
- Loyal
- Outgoing
- Playful
- Responsive
- Social
But, how smart is the Labrador Retriever really?
The Labrador Retriever is the 7th smartest dog when it comes to obedience and working intelligence.
Accordingly, compared to other dogs, the Labrador Retriever belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.
Labrador Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
These facts on Labrador Retriever 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 Labrador Retriever is the 7th smartest dog breed.
Furthermore, Coren placed dog breeds into one of six intelligence categories:
- Brightest Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions
- Excellent Working Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 5 To 15 Repetitions
- Above Average Working Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 15 To 25 Repetitions
- Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions
- Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 40 To 80 Repetitions!
- Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs: Tend To Learn New Commands After 80 To 100 Repetitions Or More!
The Labrador Retriever 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 Labrador Retriever? | Ranked 7th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Australian Cattle Dog? | Ranked 10th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Belgian Tervuren? | Ranked 14th 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 Giant Schnauzer? | Ranked 28th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Welsh Springer Spaniel? | Ranked 31st out of 79 |
| How Smart is the American Staffordshire Terrier? | Ranked 34th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Fox Terrier? | Ranked 40th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the American Water Spaniel? | Ranked 44th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Norfolk Terrier? | Ranked 56th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Maltese? | Ranked 59th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Japanese Chin? | Ranked 62nd out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Bloodhound? | Ranked 74th out of 79 |
| How Smart is the Borzoi? | Ranked 75th out of 79 |
Labrador Retriever Intelligence. A Second Opinion
We reviewed another research study to find out more about the intelligence of the Labrador Retriever. 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 Labrador Retriever to describe how trainable their dogs are.
764 Labrador Retriever owners were asked to describe
how easy it was to train their Labrador Retriever in the CBARQ research survey.We analyzed what these Labrador Retriever owners said about the trainability of their Labrador Retrievers 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, Labrador Retrievers are quite a bit easy to train.
In fact, the Labrador Retriever ranks 33rd out of 124 dog breeds for easiness to train.
Based on our further analysis of the CBARQ research data, we found that the Labrador Retriever has a trainability score of 78.8 %.
Other dog breeds that are quite a bit easy to train just like the Labrador Retriever are listed in the table below:
| Trainability Rank | Breed | Trainability Score |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Eurasier | 79.2 % |
| 31 | Chesapeake Bay Retriever | 78.9 % |
| 32 | Papillon | 78.8 % |
| 33 | Labrador Retriever | 78.8 % |
| 34 | Weimaraner | 78.8 % |
| 35 | Bernese Mountain Dog | 78.1 % |
| 36 | Chinook | 76.4 % |
According to the CBARQ research data, the dog breeds that are most easy to train are the:
According to the CBARQ research data, the dog breeds that are most difficult to train are the:
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 Labrador Retriever according to the result of the CBARQ research study.
The Three Parts of the Intelligence of the Labrador Retriever
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
You can tell what type of instinctive intelligence a dog breed will have based on the dog group the dog belongs.
The Labrador Retriever belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Labrador Retriever, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game..
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.
The Intelligence of Labrador Retriever Compared to Other Dog Breeds
See how smart the Labrador Retriever is compared to some other dog breeds.
To see how smart the Labrador Retriever is compared to all other dog breeds, see this ranking of dog breeds based on intelligence.
Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter Than the Cardigan Welsh Corgi?
The Labrador Retriever is smarter than the Cardigan Welsh Corgi.
This is because the Labrador Retriever ranks 7th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi is 26th 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 7th, the Labrador Retriever belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.
This means that Labrador Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 26th, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi belongs to the `Excellent Working Dogs` category.
This means that Cardigan Welsh Corgis tend to learn new commands after 5 to 15 repetitions.
| Labrador Retriever | Cardigan Welsh Corgi | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 7th out of 133 dog breeds | 26th out of 133 dog breeds |
| Learning Ability | Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions | Tend To Learn New Commands After 5 To 15 Repetitions |
Learn more about how smart Cardigan Welsh Corgis are here.
Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter Than the Siberian Husky?
The Labrador Retriever is smarter than the Siberian Husky.
This is because the Labrador Retriever ranks 7th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Siberian Husky is 45th 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 7th, the Labrador Retriever belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.
This means that Labrador Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 45th, the Siberian Husky belongs to the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Siberian Huskys tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.
| Labrador Retriever | Siberian Husky | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 7th out of 133 dog breeds | 45th 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 Siberian Huskys are here.
Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter Than the Basset Hound?
The Labrador Retriever is smarter than the Basset Hound.
This is because the Labrador Retriever ranks 7th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Basset Hound is 71st 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 7th, the Labrador Retriever belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.
This means that Labrador Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 71st, the Basset Hound belongs to the `Lowest Degree of Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Basset Hounds tend to learn new commands after 80 to 100 repetitions or more!.
| Labrador Retriever | Basset Hound | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 7th out of 133 dog breeds | 71st 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 Basset Hounds are here.
Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter Than the Japanese Chin?
The Labrador Retriever is smarter than the Japanese Chin.
This is because the Labrador Retriever ranks 7th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Japanese Chin is 62nd 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 7th, the Labrador Retriever belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.
This means that Labrador Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 62nd, the Japanese Chin belongs to the `Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Japanese Chins tend to learn new commands after 40 to 80 repetitions!.
| Labrador Retriever | Japanese Chin | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 7th out of 133 dog breeds | 62nd 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 Japanese Chins are here.
Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter Than the Chinese Shar-Pei?
The Labrador Retriever is smarter than the Chinese Shar-Pei.
This is because the Labrador Retriever ranks 7th out of 79 in the intelligence ranking of 133 dog breeds, while the intelligence rank of the Chinese Shar-Pei is 51st 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 7th, the Labrador Retriever belongs to the `Brightest Dogs` category.
This means that Labrador Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
On the other hand, because of its intelligence rank of 51st, the Chinese Shar-Pei belongs to the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Chinese Shar-Peis tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.
| Labrador Retriever | Chinese Shar-Pei | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 7th out of 133 dog breeds | 51st 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 Chinese Shar-Peis are here.
Is the Labrador Retriever Smarter than a 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 Labrador Retriever 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 Labrador Retriever is definitely way smarter than a cat because the Labrador Retriever 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 Labrador Retriever?
Before discussing the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of the Labrador Retriever, 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 Labrador Retrievers become full-grown and reach mental maturity at one year of age.
Also, let us make the bold assumption that, as Labrador Retrievers 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 Labrador Retriever will have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old human child, and a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever will still have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old human child, and a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever 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 Labrador Retriever, which will have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old child, has an IQ of 200! This is not too surprising because Labrador Retrievers mature and age faster than humans.
A one-year-old Labrador Retriever is twice as smart as a one-year-old human child.
Also, since a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever will have the intelligence of a two-year-old human, then the corresponding IQ of a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever is 100. Similarly, a three-year-old Labrador Retriever 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 Labrador Retriever intelligence. That is what you get when you use human intelligence as a reference to measure Labrador Retriever intelligence.
Conclusion
We hope this article has provided you with all the facts you need to know on Labrador Retriever intelligence.
To learn more about the Labrador Retriever, check out our article where we reviewed the Labrador Retriever breed.
Also, to learn more about the temperament and behavior of the Labrador Retriever, check out our article on the temperament profile of the Labrador Retriever. This will tell you what Labrador Retrievers are really like.
If you do not own the Labrador Retriever yet, and you are planning to get one, check out our list of reputable Labrador Retriever breeders and article on Labrador Retriever price and buying advice.