# How smart is your golden?



## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

I wanna vote, but I don't see where...?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Sosoprano said:


> I wanna vote, but I don't see where...?


Can you see it now? 

I see the poll...


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## Dexell1827 (Feb 23, 2011)

Cute poll! I have two class clowns right now and they are my lovable goofballs, but the girl I lost in August was a certified GENIUS. I'm serious...I could show that girl something one time, and she'd do it without fail from that moment on. But she was also the most stubborn thing...if it didn't make sense to her, she wasn't doing it.


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## Sterling Archer (Feb 8, 2011)

He's smart, but I rated him as a "class clown." Why? He likes to torment the min pin. It's actually pretty amusing to watch. The min pin will jump and bark at him and he will take her whole head into his mouth...just to mess with her and leave her head/fur looking like we just shampooed her. He produces a LOT of slobber, lol.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Oh, Riley is a genius - no question. That description fits him to a T. He's, by far, the smartest dog I've ever had. He's our second Golden and we've always had GSDs, so that's saying a lot. 

He knows the vast majority of his toys by name. If he's looking for one that's not in the room, all we have to tell him is 'It's in grandma's room' or 'It's in mom's room' and he'll trot off to the correct room and find it. 
And he thinks he knows how to get away with things. If he's chewing on one of his toys and we tell him to stop, he'll take it into another room and continue chewing on it. Like, if he leaves the room, we can't see him, so we won't know what he's doing.

More often than not, I don't even have to give him a command - he knows what he's supposed to do in any given situation and just does it without my having to ask. It's hard for me not to take that for granted.

And the reactivity issues... oh, yeah! That's Riley, alright! He has his own opinions and I really think that the vast majority of our problems started because he made up his own mind before I even knew what was happening. I've had to learn to anticipate how he's likely to react to something and adjust accordingly before he does.
Can't say he doesn't keep me on my toes!

Oh, and he's quickly learned to mooch treats when we're out walking. If we pass another dog and he doesn't react, he gets a treat. Well, the next day I can pretty much count on him looking to me for a treat when we reach that same, exact spot - whether we see another dog or not. He remembers that he got a treat there, the day before. That's how hyper-aware of his surroundings he is!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Two class clowns here for sure.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Is there something lower than Class Clown? :lol:

Tucker is really a "duuuuhhhhhh" kind of dog. He always has to lay where people can trip over him. He can't seem to figure out that a better place to lay down would be his bed or NOT in the middle of a hallway or kitchen.

He can't fetch. He'll chase the ball, look at it, smile at you, then wander off somewhere to go chew a stick. (same with any other object we throw for him).

He can't swim. He LOVES water but countless times I've had to go in and save him because almost instantly he starts choking and going under.

When he was a puppy, he'd constantly run into walls, bonk his head off tables, fall UP the stairs... 

But I wouldn't have him any other way! He's the biggest lapdog in the world


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## stan and ollie (Apr 20, 2008)

Love the descriptions. Oliver is a "genius" not always a good thing. Harley is a "class clown", always happy. Stan is "nearly intelligent", someone in my house is often yelling Earth to Stan! Every morning I put their food dishes in almost the same place. Harley and Oliver wait patiently near where their dishes are placed, Stan does too but he is often facing the wrong way, backwards, sideways, someway that no one can get by him. He is so cute and wiggly waiting, I have to smile. He was digging up my yard this morning, he was so surprised that I rushed down to stop him. He looked at me like "what?"


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Haha Joey is a genious. We have to spell WALK backwards now because he knows what it means lol. He knows what time of day it is too


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## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

Yup! I see it now, and I voted "Almost Genius" for Pippa  She's very easy to train, happy to be left to her own devices (though she prefers being with us), and approaches each new thing with confident curiosity. She's also creative: When learning "down" for her dinner Kong, she figured out that I would accept her elbow fur (not her actual elbows) on the floor before I wised up and started to listen for the "plunk" of bone. She's also a master of subtlety. Her specialty is to stretch with an acceptable toy in her mouth, glance at mom, lay toy on unacceptable rug fringe, glance at mom, chew primly on toy, glance at mom, slowly let tongue lick both toy and rug fringe and then ultimately abandon toy for rug fringe :doh:. She usually gets a good three or four minutes of blissful fringe chomping before I remember to check again...


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## Angelina (Aug 11, 2011)

Angelina is by far the smartest dog I've ever owned. She is the first female and I may have to attribute it to that!  She knows what she wants and what she does not want and knows how to go about it. She can anticipate and runs circles around Cannella who is smart, but not genious smart. Angelina reads my mind and nothing passes her observation. I never put her on leash unless we are downtown and yes, she decides if she wants to listen or not (and always listens). She observes everything around her, knows when the neighbor's dogs are not out (so she can run over quick and pee on their lawn!)...really, I've just never had a dog this aware and this smart before and wonder if I ever will again...


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## Joanne & Asia (Jul 23, 2007)

Asia is a genius according to the description. She fits it to a T. She anticipates commands, was very easy to train but also hard in some ways because of her independant streak.. She understands many words and phrases and is always aware of whats going on around her. The part that says they cam get reactive is also true of her with regard to some dogs. She is the most amazing dog. (I know everyone says that about their Goldens lol)


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

I dunno, Flora fits pretty much every description. Sometimes her acuity astounds me and other times, as I watch her roll in mud or eat deer poo, I wonder if she has any brains at all.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

Although Ben has his moments of near genius, he mostly acts like the class clown. Makes agility classes very interesting - not terribly successful, but we laugh a lot.


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

Hogan = _Almost Genius_ 

Ummm Liam well I guess he falls somewhere between class clown and "no hope" (ok may be Almost Intelligent ) ....... LOL


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

@ Megora

For your genius description, I was wondering why you mention anything about being reactive. I would say my guy fits into a genius category but has never been reactive.
I personally think any of the categories can have reactive dogs and has nothing to do with intelligence.


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

I'm kind of between Genius and Almost Genius. Lucy is super intelligent but then occasionally has what we call her "blond" moments. Dory is less reactionary than Lucy and more calculating. You know when she cocks her head that she's studying things. They're both the two smartest dogs I've ever known though.

Oh, and they both can spell P-L-A-Y. It doesn't matter if you spell all the letters at once or not, they've got it figured out.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Much to my dismay, Ranger is a genius. Sometimes this leads to interesting scenarios when he's outsmarted me or figured things out on his own...like opening the fridge and helping himself to lunch meat after I taught him the "beer me" trick. 

The funniest thing is that I thought he was a real dummy when I first got him. It took me TWO WEEKS to teach him how the "down" cue. It wasn't that he didn't know HOW to do it...he'd figured it out but didn't see the incentive to do so unless I had a cookie for him.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

OMG! I just LOVE your post! 



GoldenLover84 said:


> Is there something lower than Class Clown? :lol:
> 
> Tucker is really a "duuuuhhhhhh" kind of dog. He always has to lay where people can trip over him. He can't seem to figure out that a better place to lay down would be his bed or NOT in the middle of a hallway or kitchen.
> 
> ...


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

rhondas said:


> @ Megora
> 
> For your genius description, I was wondering why you mention anything about being reactive. I would say my guy fits into a genius category but has never been reactive.
> I personally think any of the categories can have reactive dogs and has nothing to do with intelligence.


I'm buried in data entry over here so can't guarantee my brain will work well enough to sort out a reasonable explanation at this point. Aack! 

Mainly I threw that definition in because I've noticed there are a lot of dogs who seem to be thinking ahead and trying to anticipate something that is going to happen. It seems to be linked into their problem solving part of their brain. Whether your dog is like that or not depends on his security level and his individual personality.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

@Megora

Thanks for the explanation.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

rhondas said:


> @Megora
> 
> Thanks for the explanation.


I guess I wanted to add too - it isn't intended to be scientific. : TGIF fluff. This has been one crazy grumpy week for all of us I think.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

I can feel for you. I'm supposed to be on vacation but staying at home and have been working both days .

It's nice to have these polls. It's the responses that people write that are the most fun to read.


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## LaylaBauer1718 (Sep 25, 2011)

*Layla is close to Genius*

Layla is such a smart dog! I put that she is close to genius because, while she is extremely intelligent, she also loves to obey us, not just do her own thing. 

Whenever we take her out with us, people seem to be amazed that she is only 6 months old because she is such a relaxed and well mannered dog. She's just always been that way! By the time she was 10 weeks old, she had already mastered almost all the tricks we could think to teach her. She is truly a wonderful and smart dog and she will make a great therapy dog!

Attached are pictures of Layla at 6 months.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

rhondas said:


> *I would say my guy fits into a genius category but has never been reactive.*


Exactly the same here! 

My dog has always been very smart - I always said, too smart for her own good when she was a puppy! 

But she amazes me with the number of words she knows - _that I've never taught her._ When she was about 6-9 months old, can't remember, the obedience class we were in had a fun little contest to see whose dog knew the most commands and tricks. Tesia knew the basic obedience commands - but I hadn't taught her any tricks. And yet... she won the contest. I just made up tricks on the spot, and she just did them. It was freaky. 

So I'd say genius here.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

:--heart:My girl's the smartest golden EVER period end of story. LOL! I'm just kidding of course, but I am just crazy nuts about her and think she's the BEST, SMARTEST, PRETTIEST, SWEETEST, MOST LOVELY Golden-girl for me.:--heart:


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## cory (Aug 23, 2010)

Well, I love Dakota dearly but I think calling her Class Clown is even a little high for her. She is also constantly bonking her head off the table, doors and walls. Sometimes she looks at us with a look that just says there is nothing in there. That being said though, I love her so much and she is very intuitive and what she may lack in intelligence she makes up for in emotional intelligence. I wouldn't trade her for the world.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I hope everyone else is like me and at home, safe, warm (it's FREEZING outside), and hanging out with the smart dogs for the weekend. Cuz I am.  I was thinking about driving an hour down to a trial tomorrow to watch some people and socialize the boy, but if it this cold and sloppy... I won't. 

My answer btw - my guy's a genius. 

Out of the four goldens I've owned, only two of them were genius material. One was Sammy. Jacks is the other.

My sister (Sammy's person) shares her amazement every day over the little ways that he clearly shows signs of THINKING and figuring things out, just like Sams. Little things like looking out windows to check the weather. He knows where all the dogs in the neighborhood live. And he knows where all the nice people live. He remembers where he's left every single one of his toys. He will literally retrack his steps to where he left them last. If you hide from him he will go and check all of the places where you've hidden in the past. He remembers every single one. 

That tug of war game? He likes tugging, but if he doesn't win in a few seconds, he's discovered that swatting the other person's hands with a big paw or nipping the fingers usually makes them let go immediately. <- He's bad, I know. 

Our two other dogs were actually in the almost intelligent category.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I'm living an episode of "Are You Smarter than your Golden Retriever" and I'm losing the war of keeping the e-collar on him. He is a genius at getting it off.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

Copper was sort of a genius class clown.

He could open all thumb latch and lever doors and sometimes the round knobs.
He turned on the water in the upstairs bath , pushed in the stopper and as best I can figure jumped in after it was full and thereby flooded the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms. The overflow was working and the water was not overlowing the tub, but there was water all over that floor and in the one below.
He was happily smiling and sitting in the sink when DH came home and found the mess.:doh: We were both in the dog house for that escapade for a while....

I came home for work and couldn't find him. Finally realized there were noises over my head. He had went in the upstairs computer room, pushed the door closed and locked it. Then happily pushed the computer chair in front of the door while he opened the bifold closet doors and ate the cardboard box the old photos were in, but not one photo. With him trying to get out and me trying to move the chair back out of the way, it took us long enough for DH to come home and catch us - again.:doh:

At one point I had fenced in the back yard for him and my other golden Chance. Copper was always out when I drove up and I couldn't figure out how (neither could definite class clown/surfer boy Chance) until I outsmarted him and went in the back yard and called him. Hmm.. he pulled the deck lattice out, went under the porch and did the commando crawl for 20+ feet and then squeezed out from under the deck in a hole I would have sworn was too little for him.

He had his very own, specially built copper proof kennel at the vets and they didn't even charge me extra.

We had some good times, but he sure did "liven things up"; a little too much at times for sure.:smooch:


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

> He could open all thuimb latch and lever doors and sometimes the round knobs.


Well, Cooper and his twin Barkley are probably happily opening doors in doggie heaven....


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Kirby is definitely my little genius which is not the easiest dog to live with but oh so much to fun to work with. 

Darby... I am not sure where he fits in, he is not food oriented so all his training is because he is smart and wants to please. He can heel beautifully then take off on a moments notice. Impulse control issues - absolutely. But he knows his stuff and can amaze me and our trainer so hmmmm... How about a "genius class clown"


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

Harley is the most intelligent dog I've ever owned..... Mirabelle is cogntively challenged.


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## Nyahsmommy (Jul 23, 2011)

Nyah is definately a genious... too smart for my taste. She's good with helping people and reading people but she uses her intelligence to her advantage.

At night time before bed she is too tired/ lazy/stubborn to go outside so when we take her out sometimes she will squat and pretend to pee just to go back inside sooner. She also has started to play fetch with us. She will 'paw' the ball under the couch/table so we get it. It took us a while to realize what she was doing though. :doh::uhoh: She also cleans up her toys when she gets a new one out. :


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## AnimalLuver (Oct 13, 2011)

I always say Trooper is a Genius. I'm just blessed to have him. When my boyfriend and I went to get him, the breeder had Husky's and Retrievers...and we just saw Trooper and decided...did VERY little training, actually none until this year, and people tell us everyday that he's so smart. He just understands english...if he had thumbs he could do anything humans can do :


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## rubysdoghouse (Sep 27, 2010)

Ninde'Gold said:


> Is there something lower than Class Clown? :lol:
> 
> Tucker is really a "duuuuhhhhhh" kind of dog. He always has to lay where people can trip over him. He can't seem to figure out that a better place to lay down would be his bed or NOT in the middle of a hallway or kitchen.
> 
> ...


 Oh my but you made me laugh!! Tucker is the way my last Golen was and I loved him so.


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