How Smart Are Border Collies, Really?

As pet parents, many of us may think our dogs are special little geniuses. But some pups actually have science to back up those chops. Take, for example, Chaser – a 15-year-old Border Collie who passed away peacefully in 2019. This black-and-white pup may have looked like your average doggo — but he was no normal pet. The well-researched dog was considered the smartest in the world. One study published in 2011 found that over the course of three years, Chaser had learned and retained the proper-noun names of 1,022 objects.  

Although Chaser was special, his skills were not unique — even to his breed. Studies show Border Collies consistently rank in top positions for successful work and obedience intelligence. In fact, while studies put dog intelligence at the level of a two-year-old child, one study found Border Collies have a generally higher IQ score, putting them closer to the intelligence level of a three-year-old child based on language skills alone.

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Border Collies are widely considered the world’s smartest breed, but you can’t give a dog a pencil and paper to take an intelligence quiz. So, how smart are Border Collies really, how do we determine that, and what does intelligence in dogs actually mean? Let’s get into it.

First of all, how did Border Collies get so smart?

The Border Collie breed originates from herding dogs who have been around for hundreds of years, with the modern breed developing starting in the late 1800s. The term “Border Collie” was first used in 1915, by James Reid, secretary of the newly established International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS), and the American Kennel Club (AKC) officially recognized the breed in 1995. Although the official timeline of the modern Border Collie may vary, one thing is clear: They have been bred for quite some time to be as smart as they are, says Petrina Firth, a certified animal behaviorist and dog trainer based in the United Kingdom.

“Border Collies are dogs who have been bred to work — so generation after generation after generation, they’ve only wanted good, smart working dogs,” Firth says. “If you’ve got a dog who attacks sheep all the time or runs off as soon as you let them off the lead, they’re probably not going to be bred — they would get pulled out of the gene pool. So generation over generation over generation, we’ve ended up with the best, and smartest workers.”

How else can intelligence be measured?

Individual Border Collies can be trained to exhibit specific shows of intelligence — like in Chaser’s case — learning a number of unique words. But intelligence can be determined by a number of different factors, experts say. 

“Typically, we measure Border Collie intelligence on how many repetitions they need before it feels like or looks like they know how to do something,” Firth says. “They have great memories.”

Besides memory, dog intelligence is determined by tests showing spatial awareness, response to human emotions and gestures, and other factors. One study published in 2022 examined the intelligence of Border Collies and other breeds using the “smartDOG” framework, a series of tests developed by researcher Katriina Tiira at the University of Helsinki. 

The assessments included seven cognitive tests measuring social cognition (understanding human gestures), logical reasoning (deducing treat locations), inhibitory control (resisting impulses), spatial problem-solving (navigating mazes), short-term memory, response to misleading human gestures, and persistence in unsolvable tasks. It also included three behavioral tests assessing activity level, exploratory behavior, and general problem-solving ability. Overall, it found that Border Collies excelled when it came to understanding social cues, holding back impulses, and solving spatial puzzles.

Still, Sian Lawley-Rudd, an ethical dog trainer and trauma-informed coach based in the U.K., says it is important not to limit our understanding of intelligence in animals.

“Intelligence in dogs is often measured by how quickly they pick things up and how trainable they are, but that isn’t the only way to measure intelligence,” she says. “We also want to look at how good they are at problem solving and how emotionally intelligent they are. There are other breeds that may not pick things up as quickly but are much better at regulating themselves, which is its own kind of intelligence.”

Can a dog be too smart?

A number of studies, anecdotal evidence, and pet parents’ personal experiences make it clear: Border Collies are, indeed, very smart. But what does that mean for the dogs’ needs, daily life, and behavior? Results can be varied, Lawley-Rudd adds

“Border Collies are often one of the first dogs that come to mind when we think of highly intelligent dogs, but dogs labeled as intelligent aren’t always the easiest to live with,” she says. She says that because Border Collies have been bred specifically to be “working dogs,” if not given proper stimulation or their own version of “a job,” those working behaviors can become misplaced. 

“I call this ‘going self-employed,’” Lawley-Rudd says. “If they are not having their needs met and find inappropriate ways to meet their needs. They need to have a job to do — they need to go to work.”

Per Lawley-Rudd, Border Collies who are not having their needs met, often chase cars or herd other dogs or people. The latter behavior can be particularly troubling if they begin herding children; their instincts to herd ship involve some light nipping and biting in the process.

Firth agrees that Border Collies without proper stimulation can display negative psychological responses like excessive energy or destructive and obsessive-compulsive behavior. For that reason, she recommends doing your research before choosing this breed. 

“People underestimate how clever Border Collies are and how much stimulation they need,” she says. “They need a lot of physical exercise, because they’re designed to be on a hillside, working, but it’s not just that.”

In other words, they need a lot of physical stimulation like exercise, and mental stimulation, like puzzles and learning tricks. But as working dogs, they also need time to turn off and decompress. That means lots of quiet time without outside stimuli, she adds.

One last piece of advice from Firth: “I’ve always said, never have a dog cleverer than yourself – and I feel like Border Collies are actually cleverer than me.”