How Clever Is Your Dog?
(Part Two)

You may remember that back in January I told you there was a new TV show coming up which was all about how intelligent our dogs (and other animals) are. And I mentioned a border collie called Benjamin who was going to be on the show. I said -

"He knows an incredible 56 different toys by name, and will find any given one in the dark when told its name, including ones with names such as 'stegosaurus' and 'iguanadon'.

He takes just four minutes to learn the name of a new toy, and once learnt he seems to have fantastic powers of recall. His owner produced a bag of toys that had been put away for two years, yet he was still able to pick them out when told each of their names.

He picks up litter and puts it in bins, and responds to 22 different commands."

The first part of the show went out on Saturday. And guess what?

I missed it! I'd planned to see it but things all went a bit wrong. I'd gone out for a walk with Tufter about an hour before it started and while we were out he managed to get tangled in some old barbed wire and tore his abdomen badly. He clearly needed immediate veterinary attention and all thoughts of the show went right out of my head in my rush to get him seen to.

By the time I got home (minus Tufter, who had to spend the night under observation after being stitched up) the show was over, and of course I hadn't remembered to tape it. How annoying!

Anyway, you might like to know you can read all about it at www.bbc.co.uk/testyourpet and if you register at the site you can then test your pet's IQ online and take part in the survey.

Just one slight difficulty that might arise - one of the questions asks you which county you live in. If you don't live in the UK I'm not sure if it'll let you get past that page onto where the actual test questions are.

It might be quite fun for us all to test our dogs and see which Dog Training Blueprint reader has the brightest dog. What do you think? Give it a go and email me your dogs' score. Also tell me what sort of dog you've got. It came as no big surprise for me to learn the three brightest dogs are border collies, poodles and german shepherds. (That said, Tufter really ought to have been intelligent enough not to mess with old barbed wire as he's half poodle!)

Don't let that comment about the three brightest breeds mislead you though - that doesn't mean to say other breeds are 'thick'. I knew someone who did a lot of competitive obedience work with all his dogs. He did have a border collie but he also had a Yorkshire terrier which was trained to a *far* higher standard than most family pet dogs I get to see.

By the way just changing tack here -

The reason I was in a real rush to get Tufter to the vet at the weekend was not so much the fact he'd torn himself, but *where* he'd done it. Belly wounds can be very very nasty and should always be treated promptly. If my dogs cut their legs or feet so long as it's nothing obviously serious I tend to just bathe it with salt water and let nature take it's course. But please, please don't ever take any chances with a belly wound - they are a completely different ballgame and can potentially be life threatening.

That's all for today - now go and test your dogs IQ and let me know how you get on. I'll let you know the results next time!

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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