[Dailydrool] Stanley Coren and the intelligence of authors

[Beverly Szaton]

FYI unless Stanley has re-done his book that INTELLIGENCE OF DOGS thing is
years and years and years old. and a lot of the people he interviewed for
the book were people who were heavily into training for obedience
competition, so of course, it was weighted toward the obedience dogs.
What he did not say is that breeds are designed for different things, and so
have different intelligence. It is the same with people. I have a slightly
above-average IQ but if you hand me the motor of my car and ask me to fix it
I might as well be the Village Idiot. On the other hand, the mechanic who
fixes that motor for me may not be able to write an essay on  the
implications of the matriarchal society in Bonobos.  (I probably can't
either, anymore.)
If I were starving and needed a meal I would prefer to have an Afghan Hound
with me rather than Stanley Coren because I bet an Afghan Hound could get a
rabbit for me to eat long before Stanley could. Because that Afghan won't
jump through hoops for me only means he isn't interested-- his brain works
differently: he is thinking about that rabbit and whether it is going to zig
or zag and anticipating. Something that your average Golden (or author)
probably cannot do.

That said, of course there are dumb Goldens and there are really smart
Afghan Hounds. Bassets are designed for slow, steady hunting and tracking
and they do this quite well and there are obedience trained Bassets and most
Bassets know quite a large number of words, most of which have to do with
food. I love my Belgian because he embodies the very qualities my Bassets
lack, but if Cooper and I were lost in the woods, I know who would find us
first. Especially if I had a bag of McDonald;s with me. Bassets think. They
think very complex thoughts and are able to work out complex problems in
their own way. You have to live with a breed to be able to accurately gauge
their abilities. I'd rather live with my Bassets than Mr. Coren. I think
they know more.

MomPerson to Nigel, Llewis and Conley (who ate some paper towels and a
crossword while I was writing this) and Cooper

PS One of the problems with standard IQ tests for people is that the more
world experience you have the higher you may score. You may have an IQ well
into the triple digits but if you have never been outside the cave you are
not going to score as well as a college graduate, are you? So, the more
training you have, the better you score. Ditto for dogs.
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