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Lassie was a Male cause he didnt blow his coat go into heat. Pal was smart! HE Listened to directions ... Better than Human males LOL So he never got lost hehehe Timmy Never listen Always got into trouble! So that too made Pal look great !!
When my husband and I went to pick out our puppy we narrowed it down to two from the litter,a male and a female.I had always found males easier,more simple lets say,and my husband had never had his own.The puppies were on the lawn for about and hour by now,and starting to get warm in the sun.The female ran to the kennel enclosure trying to climb in persistantly to get to the water and shelter yelping her intentions( ofcourse we helped her in)but while this was going on I looked at the male, and he went to the nearest bush and laid down in the shade.That did it for me.As these were mastiff puppies,I pictured the female not taking no for an answer if she wanted something off the table,the counter tops,heck,she was smart enough(and soon to be big enough)to open the fridge.That was three years ago,My male dog only needs a"no".He has never destroyed anything,never taken anything off tables,counter tops,even my garbage is unprotected.He also learns every command in five minutes.That's smart enough for me.He's just right.
I'm not surprised. It's the same with humans. Women are smarter than men.
I think my female GSD is smarter than my male GSD. My male is very gentle. But he doesn't cut his own nails. He lifts his paw to pee and then puts his paw back into his pee puddle. He drinks water but fails to wipe his mouth before leaves his water bowl. He also chases rabbit out of our yard as soon as he sees them. My female is not too friendly and keeps distance from strangers. She does her own nail (I don't know how) and keeps her paws clean. She never carries water around after drinking. She doesn't chase rabbits away so she can enjoy watching them for a long time.
I generally agree with this and that is why for years I only had female dogs. There are always exceptions to the rule though and some forms of intelligence seem hard to quantify due to different personalities and different interests.
My female GSD is a very smart dog, but Mister, my male GSD is more vocal, if you will, about his smartness. He's got a swagger, and she doesn't see the need to brag. And my female GSD's interest is primarily me, while Mister is deeply interested in everyone in addition to me. He notices certain things very obviously (like clouds in the freakin' sky) but just because my female doesn't react to them in the same way, doesn't necessary indicate a lack of intelligence but a lack of interest.
Strangers would find Mister much more personable. He is generous with his kisses, loves to fetch balls, loves it generally when we have company - the more the merrier. My Anka gives people a cursory sniff, doesn't mind being petted, will fetch a ball just to show you that she knows what you want her to do, but as I tell a disappointed Mister, she "plays ball like a girl." Her heart isn't in it.
I may have mentioned this before but due to Mister's outgoing personality, I used to think that maybe he didn't have any protective instincts at all, but a few years ago, during a BBQ at which I had quite a few people, he blocked all the adults from coming inside the house when I was in there alone (preparing food) until I came to the door and that let him know it was okay. He let all the children pass without comment though.
I do think females of any animal species (not humans) are smarter - they have to be, they are the breeders. I also think GSDs need to be excluded from any studies because everyone knows they are the closest thing to human. If they could drive or write checks, they'd be WAY too obnoxious at becoming pack leader.
I totally agree they couldn't be bothered with tricks and will only do it to prove a point.
OTOH, I think it's a guaranteed bet that a female will bite faster, harder and with more accuracy. They are NOT playing around when they're acting all aloof and superior haha.
Once my SO's pack of 4 GSD's got loose out of control when the father was watching them for a week. It was hilarious watching them making a mockery of him and a couple friends he called for help (but not really). He tried EVERYTHING to get them to go in or into their pen...including laying on the ground with a raw bone in his mouth and they got it away from him every single time before he could even reach up for their collar. They'd speed by, grab the bone and go take it into their PEN and hide it. LOL. Finally they called me to go over and the dogs were mad, the party was over. But not until I watched the father for about 15 minutes be utterly helpless to outsmart them. haha
He had no idea it was a simple trick. Address yourself to the FEMALE leader and the other 3 will follow - including one subordinate female.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 07-08-2013 at 02:07 PM..
Then why was Lassie always a boy dog? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
My first thought, too! My purebred male lab was the smartest dog I'd ever known--he was also a pain in the behind because he was so smart and almost hyperactive, demanding a lot of attention--but boy, could he communicate--and he had a very large "vocabulary".
We simply don't have enough information. What percentage of the dogs in the study were spayed or neutered? At what ages? Some researchers proved years ago that children kept in playpens had lower IQ scores than those who could explore. It seems almost certain that dogs kept in crates would suffer the same fate. How many of which sex were confined to cages?
Perhaps their intelligence is differentially sex-linked. Looking at humans, it was known for years that boys and girls had about the same average intelligence. But both geniuses and idiots have always been far more common among boys. Later DNA studies showed that boys received their intelligence solely from their mothers while girls received it from both parents. Could dogs be the same and if so what effect would that likely have?
The study is mildly interesting but it offers no real answers.
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And my female GSD's interest is primarily me, while Mister is deeply interested in everyone in addition to me. He notices certain things very obviously (like clouds in the freakin' sky) but just because my female doesn't react to them in the same way, doesn't necessary indicate a lack of intelligence but a lack of interest.
If they could drive or write checks, they'd be WAY too obnoxious at becoming pack leader. 
