THIS is the smartest dog breed in the world; Find it out!

For some years now, the Border Collie has been considered the smartest dog in the world, thanks to its herding instincts and history of hard work. However, recent research points out that another race can be considered the most intelligent in the world: The Belgian Shepherd Malinois.

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understand the change

Developed at the University of Helsinki, Finland, the study published in Scientific Reports evaluated more than 1,000 dogs of 13 different breeds in 10 exercises, called smartDOG, to measure their cognitive and behavioral abilities.

In the study, Saara Junttila, the author and PhD in canine cognition, said that all breeds have strengths and weaknesses. So while some may be great at reading human gestures, others aren't great at solving problems that require spatial ability, like the Labrador retriever.

Regarded as a choice for those looking for intelligent, scent and guard dogs, Belgian Malinois were placed as a perfect choice, because they show independence, ability to solve problems quickly and read movements humans.

Katriina Tiira, professor and executive director of the smartDOG tests, says that the Belgian Malinois has stood out when it came to solving cognitive problems, with good results in all tests, according to data from the search.

In the tests, the Belgian Shepherd achieved first place, with 35 points, out of a maximum scale of 39. Second is the so far known as the most intelligent in the world, the Border Collie, with 26 points. Third is Hovawart, with 25 points.

Well-known breeds such as the Golden Retriever and the Labrador, very good at emotional intuition, rank 13th and 9th on the list, respectively. On cognitive tests, these breeds did not score as well.

The study team points out that the ideal is to know what skill you are looking for in an animal and to look for the breed that is best in what you value. This is because they argue that a cognitive profile is more useful than animal intelligence classification systems.