I was asked recently what I thought of this response to the question of whether dogs are smarter than wolves: “Wolves can’t be all that smart as a species, or they wouldn’t have become endangered over much of their range, while dogs are thriving, lounging inside our air-conditioned homes and relaxing in recliners.”

Where to begin with this idiocy?

That wolves still exist despite the efforts of humans around the globe and across centuries to eradicate them is a testament to both their intelligence and their resilience.

That dogs have trained humans to spoil them rotten is possibly also a statement about their intelligence, but likely more of a statement about humans …

But the comparison is absurd. They are different species living in different environments. Every aspect of dogs’ physical and mental makeup has been heavily influenced by human control over their breeding, environment, diet, social lives, and pretty much everything else in their lives. I guess the starting point should be how the author defines intelligence.

I’ve read dog books that define canine intelligence as trainability, that is, the willingness of a dog to do what a person wants them to do. I’ve seen it defined as problem-solving ability or as the ability to manipulate humans to do as the dog wishes. I’ve even seen it defined as mathematical ability.

I don’t have a simple definition or formula for deciding how intelligent dogs are as a species or even how intelligent an individual dog is. As with wolves, I see intelligence as the ability to understand the reality you live in and figure out how to thrive there. That looks very different for Orly or Hildy or  your own dog than it does for a wolf in Yellowstone, one in Isle Royale, or one in Siberia.

I also believe that there are multiple types of intelligence, such as:

• Problem-solving: There was not a treat puzzle toy that Jana could not figure out and empty (in seconds) … until she met Squirrel Dude. Orly gives up after a few seconds on all but the easiest toys, but she loves her snuffle mat. Other dogs scheme, alone or in collaboration, to reach food on a counter, open containers, or escape from fenced yards. Some dogs use tools. Feral dogs use all kinds of problem-solving skill to survive, thrive, and even raise families.
• Social intelligence — with dogs: Some dogs get along well with others. Some do not. They learn the dog social cues … or they don’t. Humans are similar.
• Social intelligence — with humans and/or other non-dog species: Again, some dogs do better than others here. Cali never quite got the concept of a stranger. To her, all humans were delightful. She would get so excited to see a person, random unknown person, walking down the same sidewalk. If that person said hi to her, Cali welcomed them like a long-lost best friend. She made many, many people’s days a little brighter with that social intelligence. Dogs demonstrate social intelligence in their ability to get humans to do what they want and to outsmart us with patience and persistence.
• Empathy: Another form of social intelligence perhaps; many dogs excel at intuiting the moods of their human packmates and comforting us if we’re sad. They’re also eager to make us laugh and often do — and repeat — goofy things just because we laugh when they do.
• Sensory: This ranges from dogs’ astounding scent abilities to the way some dogs, including both Cali and Orly, had a mysterious ability to know when a loved human was coming home. That extends in Orly’s case to many friends. both were able to determine that someone they adored was heading home, several minutes before the person’s arrival.
• And yes, trainability: By this I do not mean obedience or quick responsiveness to humans’ commands, though, but interest in learning new things, whether a dog sport, silly tricks, guide work, or any of myriad ways dogs learn to work with, collaborate with, and assist humans and each other. It can include developing a huge vocabulary (& learning grammar).

Wolves excel at problem solving, pack collaboration and planning, and social intelligence within and across species, but far less with humans. That makes sense. It does not make them less intelligent than dogs, just different. Dogs would not fare well in the environments where wolves thrive. Again, this does not reflect lower intelligence but a different ecological niche.

The same can be said about breeds. I don’t think that dogs of some breeds, or of mixed breeds are any more or less intelligent that dogs of other breeds. They might behave differently or have different temperaments and preferences — as do individuals within a breed. None of that makes one “smarter” than the others.

I suspect that the whole question of which dogs are smarter is simply a way for humans to feel superior that their dog or favored breed comes out on top… when they stack the deck by defining intelligence in a way that favors their dog or favorite breed.

Can’t we just love the individual dogs we’re lucky enough to share our lives with and appreciate their unique blend of abilities?