Top dog: Why the Belgian malinois is pick of the pack for brains

THE Belgian malinois has been found to be the most intelligent dog in a study of 13 different breeds.

Scientists assessed 1,000 dogs by setting them seven cognitive and three behavioural tasks.

Tests included their ability to read human gestures and if the animals could detour around a transparent V-shaped fence to access a food reward which they could see. The researchers also investigated how independent a dog was and how quickly they came to a human for help by giving them an unsolvable task – trying to access food in a sealed box.

The malinois, pictured, which are often used as police dogs or guard dogs, came first with 35 points out of 39. Border collies came second with 26 points, while the hovawart – a German breed – was third with 25 points.

Dr Katriina Tiira, from the University of Helsinki in Finland, told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘The Belgian malinois stood out in many of the cognitive tasks, having very good results in a majority of the tests.’