Americans love dogs. The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that over 48 million American households have a dog. Many have more than one.
Having a dog can be expensive. The cost of dog ownership runs between $1,500 and $9,500 a year, according to one estimate. This generally includes the cost of food, toys and trips to the vet. Puppies also can be expensive. Depending on the breed, a puppy can cost over $1,000. The price of some breeds can be over $10,000.
Dogs are often picked by breed characteristics. Some dogs are good with families and children. Some are good guard dogs. Some are good hunters. Some can spend most, if not all, of the time indoors. Some are considered aggressive. The American Kennel Club has gone so far as to have a section of its website where people can compare breeds based on size, life expectancy and even how hard or easy they are to train.
Another measure of breeds is intelligence, which is something dog experts do not agree upon. Poodles usually are considered “smart” dogs. Why? Dog information website the Smart Canine picks the smartest dogs based on how many commands they understand and how quickly they can learn them.
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At the far end of the spectrum are dogs that are considered “dumb.”
The recently published 35 Least Intelligent Dog Breeds & Why They’re Actually Not Dumb Dogs by Smart Canine points out that breeds that are not considered intelligent may simply be “aloof” and not interested in obeying commands. Its list of dumbest dogs relies on how many times a command has to be repeated before the dog understands. Another criterion is whether a dog can understate a command the first time it is given. In some cases, it may take a breed dozens of times to react to a command.
Based on these metrics, the dumbest dog breed is the Afghan Hound. This breed does have some attractive characteristics. The American Kennel Club describes them as royal, magnificent and independent. That independence may be what hurts their score.
Click here to see which are the smartest dog breeds in America.
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