Study names Belgian Shepherd Malinois and Border Collie as the smartest dog breeds in the world
Research has revealed which dog breed is the smartest and two of Australia's most beloved dog breeds scored surprisingly low.
The Border Collie has long been thought of as the smartest dog in the world but a recent study from University of Helsinki in Finland found it is actually the Belgian Shepherd Malinois.
More than 1,000 dogs from 13 different breeds were put through rigorous intelligence testing with the Labrador coming in ninth and the Golden Retriever taking last place.
The Belgian Shephard Malinois (pictured) has been found to be the world's smartest dog breed after a recent study
More than 1,000 dogs from 13 different breeds were put through rigorous intelligence testing with the Labrador (pictured) coming in ninth and the Golden Retriever taking last place.
RELATED ARTICLES
Young mum pens heartbreaking final goodbye alongside her... 
Relationship expert reveals the sneaky reason why men... 
Paralegal, 23, reveals how she juggles a double law degree... 
Young Forbes rich list entrepreneur, 27, behind $15million...
Share this article
Share 116 sharesStudy author Dr Katriina Tiira told The Telegraph one breed stood out among the rest throughout the testing.
'The Belgian Shepherd Malinois stood out in many of the cognitive tasks, having very good results in a majority of the tests,' she said.
Top four smartest dog breeds
1. Belgian Shepherd Malinois
2. Border Collie
3. Hovawart
4. Spanish water Dog
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/gb/femail/reallife/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->AdvertisementBelgian Malinois are popular choices for those looking for a canine to make a good sniffer, guard or police dog but they proved themselves to also be independent, good problem solvers, quick to respond to and good at reading humans.
Border Collies proved their smarts and performed outstandingly in the tests but the Belgian Shepherd Malinois pipped them at the post.
Saara Junttila, study author and a PhD researcher in canine cognition at the University of Helsinki, said most breeds studied had their own strengths and weaknesses.
'For example, the Labrador Retriever was very good at reading human gestures, but not so good at spatial problem-solving ability,' she said.
'Some breeds, such as the Shetland Sheepdog, scored quite evenly in almost all tests, i.e., they had neither very high nor very low scores for any test.'
One of the dogs' tasks in which they were presented with two food bowls, one full, one empty, to see if they could identify which was empty yielded no results as there was no difference in behaviour between each breed.
Border Collies (pictured) proved their smarts and performed outstandingly in the study's intelligence tests but the Belgian Shepherd Malinois pipped them at the post
However three tasks which measured a specific aspect of dog cognition were more telling including one where the subjects had to navigate their way around a V-shaped fence.
Another presented the animals an 'unsolvable task' - food placed in a box that couldn't be opened - to see how quickly they would seek a human for help, determining how independent they were.
The third measured how the dogs were able to read humans, rating how they responded to five gestures: constant pointing, brief pointing, pointing with the foot, pointing at something while facing another direction and following a gaze.
Out of a potential 39 points, Hovawarts (left), were a close third behind the Border Collie with 25 points, and the Spanish Water Dog (right) was one point off with 24
Top ten most popular dog breeds in Australia
1. Cavoodle
2. Labrador Retriever
3. Greyhound
4. Border Collie
5. Golden Retriever
6. Goldendoodle
7. Labradoodle
8. German Shepherd
9. English Staffordshire Bull Terrier
10. French Bulldog
Source: Scratch
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/gb/femail/reallife/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_2 - ->AdvertisementThe Beligian Malinois came out on top for both the human gestures and the V-shaped fence tasks scoring 35 points out of 39 beating the second-placed Border Collie who scored 26 points.
Hovawarts, which is an old German working breed descended from the Newfoundland and Leonberger, were a close third with 25 points, and the Spanish Water Dog was one point behind with 24.
Vet Ben's top five picks
The beloved Labrador and Golden Retriever scored well on the gesture test but fell behind on the other two tasks coming in at ninth and 13th respectively.
The study comes after online-famous veterinarian Ben the Vet, from the UK, took the internet by storm when he listed the five dog breeds he would consider owning as pets in a viral TikTok clip.
Scroll down for video
Ben said he favours mongrels or mixed breeds as they are less prone to diseases and genetic issues.
Also in his top five were the Labrador, Hungarian wire-haired Vizsla, Border Terrier and the Greyhound.
Starting from five and working backwards, he listed the greyhound at number five.
'They may not look very cuddly but they are really gentle and there are so many of them needing homes after their racing careers end,' Ben said.
He added they often suffer from bad teeth so Greyhound owners need to 'put in the effort from the beginning to get their teeth brushed'.
The study comes after online-famous veterinarian Ben the Vet (pictured), from the UK, took the internet by storm when he listed the five dog breeds he would consider owning as pets
Ben said he favours mongrels or mixed breeds as they are less prone to diseases and genetic issues
'They will happily plod along on a walk but they would like the opportunity to sprint around so make sure you give them that opportunity,' the animal doctor said.
Border terriers were Ben's fourth pick and would be his top choice if he were to get a small dog because of their loyalty, 'robust' health and affectionate nature.
'In my experience they are quite affectionate little dogs and compared to other terriers maybe they form slightly strong attachments with people,' he said.
Starting from the bottom, Ben put Greyhounds at number five saying: 'They may not look very cuddly but they are really gentle and there are so many of them needing homes.'
Border terriers were Ben's fourth pick and would be his top choice if he were to get a small dog because of their loyalty, 'robust' health and affectionate nature
Ben did advise people to speak to the breeder about any potential health conditions in the line as Border Terriers are prone to luxating patellas where the knee cap dislocates or moves out of place.
For their 'really lovely temperament', Ben said the Hungarian wire-haired Vizsla comes in as his third choice.
'This is a little bit of a niche choice because there are not many of them around but the ones I met have a lovely temperament,' he said adding they can often suffer from hip dysplasia
For their 'really lovely temperament', Ben said the Hungarian wire-haired Vizsla comes in as his third choice wile he dubbed 'loyal', 'funny' and 'gentle' Labradors as second
'They do need lots and lots of exercise and stimulation so I would only get one if I had the time to take them out for two long walks a day.'
Ben said Labrador's 'affectionate', 'loyal', 'funny' and 'gentle' personalities earn them the second place on his list.
'They are moderate in their appearance, they are not exaggerated in anyway, exaggerated is bad for health so that's good, however I am slightly conflicted about them because they are unfortunately to a few different problems,' he said.
Finally, Ben's top choice of pooch is the mixed breed but said: 'the downside is the unpredictability of adult size, temperament and activity levels that you get with a pedigree dog
'They are also very prone to getting fat so I would be extremely careful to keep them trim.'
Finally, Ben's top choice of pooch is the mixed breed or mongrel.
'When I say mongrel I mean proper liquorice all-sorts mixed breed where you cant tell what they are. The downside is the unpredictability in terms of adult size, temperament and activity levels that you get with a pedigree dog,' the vet said.
'But what you do get is diverse genetics who is, by virtue if being less in-bred, is less prone to diseases that have an inherited component and for me as a vet that's very important.'
Ben clarified that he is 'definitely not telling everyone to go out and get these five dog breeds' but in his experience as a vet believes they are the 'possible five healthiest'.
'These are also not the only five I would consider. Remember it is just my opinion and you are fully entitled to disagree.'
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaJ6Voq6quI6rnJqkXaG2p7GOmqmtoZOhsm59kG9pam1lbnyUwNSdsGamkaKytHmhnqOgoZGjepS0xKmfnqqUYpqiuMinpqKrXXe8s7DEq2R8p5yhtqZ50qaYq6yVqMFusM6gZJuqlZqxtHnWqKmlnF6dwa64