Study: Dogs as smart as 2-year-old kids

Canine IQ tests have revealed that the average dog is as smart as a 2-year-old child.

The finding is based on a language development test developed by Stanley Coren, canine expert and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia.

LiveScience reports that Coren's test revealed average dogs can learn 165 words -- about the same as a 2-year-old child. The dogs also can learn signals and gestures, and dogs in the top 20 percent in intelligence are able to learn 250 words.

When studying dogs' math and social skills, the results are even more impressive. Cohen says dogs would be on par with a 3- or 4-year-old child in basic arithmetic and their social behavior is similar to that of a teenager.

"The social life of dogs is much more complex, much more like human teenagers at that stage, interested in who is moving up in the pack and who is sleeping with who and that sort of thing," Coren told LiveScience.

Coren found the Top 7 most intelligent dogs were:

1. Border collies
2. Poodles
3. German shepherds
4. Golden retrievers
5. Dobermans
6. Shetland sheepdogs
7. Labrador retrievers

On the other end of the spectrum, many of the hounds, such as the Basset Hound and the Afghan Hound, along with the Bulldog, Beagle and Basenji were found to be the least intelligent.

The traditional list of the Top 10 most intelligent breeds of dogs is consistent with Coren's findings.