Is a Shih Tzu Smarter Than Other Dogs? The Surprising Answer!

If you’re looking for a loyal companion dog, you can’t go wrong with the Shih Tzu. They’re perfect for small homes and moderately active families. However, many people believe that these dogs aren’t intelligent due to how willful they can be. The breed can show independent tendencies and may take longer to learn new commands compared to some working breeds.

Compared to working breeds, the Shih Tzu is ranked relatively low intelligence-wise. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t smart in their own way. Their ability to form strong social bonds, communicate their desire to get what they want, and solve puzzles actually makes them highly intelligent.

To help clear the air—and prove why the Shih Tzu deserves to be considered smart—this guide goes over everything that you need to know about canine intelligence and how your Shih Tzu compares to other dogs.

What Are Shih Tzus?

Like many Chinese dog breeds, the Shih Tzu has a regal nature and spent most of their history within palace walls. Before they were officially introduced to the world in the 1930s, the Shih Tzu enjoyed a life of luxury among Chinese royalty.

Their purpose as companion dogs gives them a loyal nature and a fondness for human companionship. These traits, along with their adorable faces, big eyes, and small stature, are what make these dogs so popular around the world today.

How Is Intelligence in Dogs Measured?

Before we begin comparing the intelligence of the Shih Tzu to that of other dogs, you need to understand how canine intelligence is measured. Two methods are commonly used and differ in judging how intelligent a dog is. As a result, these methods often have varied results.

Stanley Coren’s Dog Intelligence Test

When you think of intelligent breeds, your first thoughts will likely be the working breeds that everyone is familiar with. Border Collies, for example, are renowned for topping the list of the smartest dogs in the world. That list is a result of Dr. Stanley Coren’s efforts in his 1994 book, “The Intelligence of Dogs.” He first introduced the idea of dogs having different types of intelligence.¹

While Coren also introduced instinctive and adaptive intelligence, his work focused primarily on working and obedience intelligence. He determined the order of the list by collecting evaluations from dog obedience judges and ranking breeds based on:

• The repetitions needed to learn a new command
• The success rate of obeying a known command the first time

The dogs that scored the highest on Coren’s test were breeds that needed fewer repetitions to learn a command and obeyed commands more often. He also determined that a dog’s mental capabilities are equivalent to those of a 2-year-old human child.²

Adaptive Intelligence

While Coren’s intelligence ranking is the most well-known, dogs are all individuals, and their intelligence can vary depending on their personality. This means some members of a breed might be more intelligent than others.

Adaptive intelligence is how a dog figures things out on their own without a human going out of the way to teach them. While obedience covers commands like “sit” and “stay,” adaptive intelligence would be your Shih Tzu figuring out how to get their ball when it rolls under the couch on their own.

How Does a Shih Tzu’s Intelligence Compare to That of Other Dogs?

Determining how intelligent a Shih Tzu depends on what type of intelligence you’re measuring. If you use Coren’s measure of intelligence, the Shih Tzu doesn’t do well at all in obedience-based rankings, which reflect responsiveness to training rather than overall intelligence. A Shih Tzu’s performance is influenced by independent temperament and motivation. While they did qualify for the final ranking due to their popularity, the Shih Tzu is ranked 70 out of 79.³ They are in the sixth tier of least-effective working dogs.

Although the test doesn’t include every breed, the Shih Tzu is far behind some of the most well-known dogs, such as the Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd, and Golden Retriever.

However, if you consider adaptive intelligence, the Shih Tzu is more intelligent than you might think. When they want to, they can solve puzzles, learn from their environment, and communicate needs through learned behaviors and signals. They might not obey instructions as quickly as the hard-working Border Collie, but they’re equally loyal to their family members.

Are Shih Tzus Smart Dogs?

Despite how low the Shih Tzu ranks on Coren’s list, they are capable of learning and problem-solving. Their independent temperament might make them more challenging to train using traditional obedience methods—which can make them seem less smart than eager-to-please breeds—but this does not reflect a lack of intelligence. They might not respond to cues as readily as some working breeds, but these two areas demonstrate that they can learn and adapt in their own way.

Communication Skills

One way that the Shih Tzu's independent nature serves them well is their ability to use it to do what they want. If they don’t feel like doing something that you want them to do, they’ll be less likely to comply, especially if motivation or reinforcement is low. The Shih Tzu is also skilled at using body language, vocalizations, and learned associations to communicate needs to their owners.

Empathy

The Shih Tzu has always been a companion breed, even when they were solely used as palace lap dogs in China. They’re such good companions because of their ability to respond to human emotional cues and social signals. While all dogs will respond to your emotions, the Shih Tzu is a breed that may be particularly attentive to human interaction due to its history as a companion breed.

Whether you’re sad or happy or feeling another emotion, your Shih Tzu will often stay close and may adjust its behavior in response to your mood. They’ll cuddle with you when you’re feeling down or join in with your excitement.

Summary

Depending on how you measure your Shih Tzu's intelligence, they can rank relatively low or quite high. In Coren’s official ranking for obedience and working intelligence, the Shih Tzu ranks 70 out of 79. Their independent temperament and lower motivation for repetitive obedience tasks make them seem less intelligent than other dogs. Due to this, they’re ranked with other “least-effective working dog” breeds.

But when you consider their adaptive intelligence, the Shih Tzu can hold their own against many other breeds. Their ability to solve problems on their own and learn from their environment demonstrates that the ShihTzu is well-suited to life as a companion animal.  

Although they likely won’t win a prize for being the most intelligent dog in the world, their puzzle-solving ability and lovable loyalty show that the tiny Shih Tzu is smart too. Your dog might be even cleverer than you think. Try giving them a few puzzles to solve, and see how well they do!

See also:

• Why Does My Shih Tzu Lick Their Paws?

Featured Image Credit: Liliya Kulianionak