Cross Breeds

Can mixed breed dogs be smarter than pure breeds?

I've heard today that mixed dogs can be smarter than pure breed dogs (at least in some limits). I thought that this could be some benefit of their genetics but I am not sure. Do you have any answer to this?

Public Comments

1. The smartest dogs that I ever had were mutts. When people breed pure breds they are generally breeding them for the best looking body and coat. There is allot of talk back and forth about it but I would rather have a happy and smart mutt than some cutesy dog that is so bred through and through that no one ever thought about what thier brain would do. Really sucks.
2. Any dog can be smarter than another. I ALWAYS suggest Obedience Training. All breeds, mixed or not, need to learn this, it just might save their lives one day.
3. by bringing in new genetics into a stream could be good new characteristics help...the bettre of the both
4. Absolutely they can. I have 3 to prove it.. You have the best of all of the mix without the health problems of purebreeds.
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6. Yes, mixed breed dogs can be smarter than pure breeds...and not just "in some limits." But this really doesn't have anything to do with pure bred vs mixed. That's like saying that black people are smarter than white people or mixed-race babies are smarter than babies whose parents are the same race. It may be true of certain individuals but it is certainly not anything that holds true for an entire population. I've met some brilliant mutts and some that are incredibly dumb. Same for pure breed dogs. Dogs are dogs...regardless of how drastically different some breeds look from others they still share most of their DNA and the DNA that does differ controls only a few superficial physical traits.
7. Yes. There are a lot of people out there that breed pure bred dogs when they shouldn't be, they don't pay much attention to how they breed, and they just want money. The pure bred dogs sometimes end up inbreeding which causes genetic defects. Puppy mills don't care how they breed as long as they get puppies to give to pet stores. There is probably a lot of inbreeding done there as well just to produce a pure bred puppy. And since the puppies aren't cared for well, they may not get enough nutrients and care to develop a healthy brain. There are some very smart pure breds, because the breeders want to make better dogs so they are carefully bred. Mutts have traits of two or more completely different breeds in them, and are usually smart in general.
8. You will find very intelligent dogs in all breeds,but on this site most will call a mixed breed dog a mutt.Mixed breed dogs seem to be much healthier than the purebred dogs.
9. I love my mutts. I'm not saying either is smarter than the other, but my mutts are no dumber than a purebred!
10. There is said to be three kinds of intelligence concerning dogs: instinctive, adaptive and obedience. All dogs are intelligent, although in different ways. Mixed breeds can be just as smart or smarter in any one or even all of those areas. I don't support breeding mixes (puppies & adults are dying in shelters), but most of my favorite dogs have been mixes/mutts. One of which, I trained and showed through 4-H obedience. Every match and show (for years on end), he placed first...above all the purebreds. In fact, the top dogs were all mixed breeds, lol. Some of my friends parents bred show dogs, but all of them were in awe of him. Even those who didn't like dogs were amazed and loved him. He was smart in many ways, including protective. I can't go into details, but he risked his life for me more than once.
11. Logically, "mixed breed" dogs are not smarter, nor dumber than "purebred dogs". Over the decades of trialing dogs in various dog competitions and sports, and being an agility trainer for 12 years, I have seen brilliant purebred dogs and brilliant mixed breed dogs. I have seen some obnoxious, uncontrollable, dense mixed breeds (most recent 2 so-called labradoodles) as well as some purebreds. But, you need to really define "smart". I rather assume most people who use this term are actually referring to a dog's "trainability". I have known some REALLY intelligent dogs that are pretty impossible to train for the average person.....and some dogs that catch on to training really quick that are rather 15 watt bulbs. As far as people talking about mixed breeds being "better" than purebreds because of expanding the gene pool, anad they get the "best" from both breeds.....that is a load of crock. They can just as well get the "worst" from both breeds. As far as not having the health problems of the purebred...well, do you know any mixed breed people who have their dog's hips x-rayed, their eyes certified, etc etc???? If you breed a mix which carries genes for certain health problems to a another of the same....the health problem will arise.