No they wouldn't.

Or if you're patient and breed them by selecting only the more gentle, the more docile and the more intelligent, and if you do that for, oh, maybe 10 thousand years, then maybe, maybe the "wild" variety you end up with will do just as well as a domesticated dog.

Look at wolves or hybrids that are kept as pets. You don't and can't treat them like you would a domestic dog. They need to be properly managed and they will never act in the way you expect a dog to act. They're different animals -- they're not just Canis Lupus living in different environments.

"Who cares how smart a person they'd make? What matters is how smart a dog they are"

In fact, what really matters is if the owner can cope with that kind of dog.

The Border Collies are often glorified for their intelligence and abilities. However, there are very few people who would be able to keep one in a house. Intelligent dogs need to work (or play, or exercise, which is pretty much the same for a dog). And most of the time, intelligent dogs will end up with behavior problems and then in a shelter.

Trust me, owning a Collie or a Retriever can be a nightmare.

For some people, a "dumb" Pekignese is just what they need. It won't change a thing how smart they are.

But it's true that we can't exactly compare human intelligence to dog intelligence. Tests are designed for either, but not for both. Dogs are dogs. Are they've been bred to stick with us and act in a way that we like.

"I think you would have to keep one to appreciate the difference."

That is so true! I own seven dogs (they're pet dogs, I don't have a kennel -- yes, I'm crazy).

I've read a lot about the breeds I own (and about almost every breed, in fact). But you just don't know what the difference is between this and that breed until you live with them.

If you have only one dog or one breed of dog, you will most likely think of them in a positive way and find them far more intelligent and smart than other dogs you see on the street or at a friend's house.

However, when you own -- or have owned over the years -- more than one breed, you can see what we mean when we say that Border Collies are more intelligent, that Great Danes ar lazy, that Newfs are gentle, that Shih Tzus are ... uhm... not as intelligent. Et cetera, et cetera.

Besides the dogs I live with (Border Collie, Dane, Newfoundlands, Berneses, Dobermann, St-Bernard), I also happen to work with dogs every day. I see different breeds and different owners all the time.

Yes, a Pekignese living with a nice person can look far more intelligent and pleasant than a Border Collie stuck in a cage for 20 hours every day. But still, you can see some attitudes, some behaviours that tend to show more in certain breeds.

And yes, I think it's fair to say that some breeds outperform other breeds in certain (or all) type of activities. And it is clear some breeds are more intelligent that other breeds, will learn faster, will learn more, will work harder, etc. However, these breeds REQUIRE work and activity. In the wrong hands, they will look just as dumb as any other dog...

It's just VERY hard to see and admit these differences when you own a single dog, or when you prefer a breed over an other.

It simply sounds wrong.

In fact, it doesn't. It just show that whatever we did, whatever we accomplished, whatever we believe in, we will all end up dead.

Memento mori...

What? People have been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for naked cars with spartan interiors and little else for luxury than pure performance...

I, for one, would pay the price to drive an electric car, especially if it wouldn't be bundled with features I wouldn't use...