People Are Sharing Stories About The Dumbest Dogs They’ve Ever Known In This Viral Thread (40 Pics)
We like to think that our dogs are the smartest, most adorable, friendliest creatures on Earth. But even the greatest doggo geniuses have dumb moments, and some canines seem like they’re born as giant floofy derps.
Twitter user Bum Chillups posted a story about the dumbest dog they ever owned and invited others to share their own tales. The thread got over 5.4k likes and was retweeted over 1.2k times. Which just goes to show that there are a lot of dumb (but loveable) dogs out there!
Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview about canine intelligence with Clive Wynne, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and author of Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You.
Image credits: edsbs
This post may include affiliate links.
Professor Wynne believes that there is no such thing as “dumb” dogs, only dogs with varying abilities and dogs that are more adept in different fields. “In general dogs (like people!) vary in their abilities along many dimensions. It isn’t fair to reduce all that to a single dimension of ‘intelligence.’ Different dogs are better and worse at different things.”
Certain dog breeds generally seem smarter than others. Back in 1994, psychologist Stanley Coren ranked over 100 dog breeds based on 3 different types of intelligence: instinctive, adaptive, and working/obedience.
Instinctive intelligence is pretty much easy to understand. If a dog does the tasks it was bred to perform well (like hunting or herding animals), then it’s considered to have high instinctive intelligence.
Meanwhile, adaptive intelligence is a doggo’s ability to solve problems without help and to learn from its previous experiences. Finally, working (aka obedience) intelligence has everything to do with how quickly and easily a dog learns when its taught by us, humans.
However, Professor Wynne doesn’t agree with Coren’s insights and believes that dogs, just like people, are individuals with many different skills and aptitudes.
According to the professor, the differences between breeds are much less important than many people think. “Of course, there are certain behaviors that are quite characteristic of particular breeds—only heelers heel, only pointers point, only herders herd, and so on.”
Wynne continued: “But in the only two major studies looking at differences in behavior both between and within breeds it was found that the differences within breeds were at least as significant as those between breeds. That said, I have to acknowledge that all of the four or five dogs that have been found who understand more than a handful of human words have all been border collies!”
Meanwhile, Nicholas Dodman, former program director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, told Dogster that he had two dogs, one of which was hyperactive while the other was lazy, but this wasn’t indicative of their level of intelligence.
“You would say Jasper was not as smart as Rusty. But once you were out on a trail, Jasper lit up. He was doing the job that nature intended him to do because he was a coonhound, and he was using his super-intelligent nose. He was brilliant at his job, but not so good at some other things,” Dodman explained.
Hey, at least it wasn't raisin bran. (no offense to anyone who likes raisin bran)
So before deciding whether or not a dog is smart or dumb, it’s important to keep in mind what they were bred for and what their strengths as individuals are. In other words, you can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Different dog breeds excel at different tasks. And the upside is, when a dog isn’t good at something, it leads to plenty of hilarious canine moments.
Do you have any dumb dog moments to share with us, dear Readers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
They're somewhat poisonus in quantity considering the small mass, apart the chemical toxicity, it's a difficult material to digest and can cause potential deadly locks in several points of the food path.
Load More Replies...
The owner probably isn't letting him eat cigarette butts, guys, but a strong dog like this one will eat what he wants to eat and you can't stop him in time.
Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to stop them, but the owner probably is trying to (speaking from experience, our dogs try to eat their own puke)
Load More Replies...
Why is he being allowed to eat cigarette butts? That's so bad for him! Owner should be more cautious of this.
you eat cigarette butts and fart yourself awake, or have to be forced?
Load More Replies...
He's a boxer??? Right??? Just double checked.........Our Emma was the biggest, funniest, weirdest, sweetest goof ball that ever inhabited this planet.........Really. My old(er) men neighbors love to still tell stories about our ansilly girl. I met so many people in our little town going to pick her up (while she'd smile, wink, the run around their yard 5-6 more times) It should be noted, yes, she had her tags, she really is my dog, I'm not super thrilled running around your house 5-6 times......But man oh man.......our Bella Bambina Canine had a grand time. She always knew I'd find her ;-) Love your critters.......Soft spot for boxers and labs......but they all melt us ;-)
I grew up with a boxer and she was the best. I firmly believe they are the best family dog once they get past that puppy stage. Easy to train and I did agility with ours. I am now consumed in the husky world but I have been begging for a boxer, I love them so much!
Load More Replies...
Hey! I have a boxer named Jameson that eats cigarette butts. He wandered in to the bar my boyfriend and I worked at when he was about 5(he's 15 now) and watched the bands play in the pit. He was chipped and his owners gave up on him(seriously) so we kept him. Since day 1 he eats cigarettes and cigarette butts(he ate an entire pack once and somehow didn't get sick, even the vet was shocked), laps up alcohol(no one gives it to him, he waits until someone isn't paying attention and drinks out of their cup), and is a womanizer. He buries his face in women's cleavage any chance he gets. I have no idea what his life was like for the first 5 years, but clearly he is a party dog. I've tried to get him to stop eating cigarettes/butts but he is so damn defiant about it. It's been 10 years and he's just learned to be more sneaky about it.
What this dog needs is an old-time stinky cigar and a cup of black coffee. He is settling for cigarette butts.
Probably he learned from smokers, but smart enough not to destroy his lungs.
You allow him to eat cigarette butts? Ever heard of nicotine poisoning? All that nicotine built up in the butts.
wait-FORCED to wake up EVERY MORNING, but FARTS HIMSELF AWAKE??? also, STOP letting him eat cig butts!!!
Never pull thread out their a*s! It can get entangled and rip their insides out! Go to a vet instead.
Dogs stealing passies isn't all that unusual. Akin to other baby's stealing another's passie at daycare.
Don't most dogs benefit from having some kind of an idea as to what you want from them?
It's her revenge for naming her Nike. I mean, you name a dog after a shoe brand, what other hobby should she have? Adorable dog btw.
Note: this post originally had 82 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
I do no like the title. Few of the dogs here are "dumb". Typically, humans calling other being "dumb" are really dumb. Many of these dogs have personality, and are very loveable. A few obviously are not kept by people who understand wat animals needs, and a few might even be abused.
This is why I don't have a dog. Not because I don't love them: they are sweet loving trusting darlings. But I'm not healthy enough to meet it's needs ie training walking etc. So I've found a happy medium with an aloof tabby, more self sufficient and maintainable. It would be unfair to have a dog even though I want one, if I can't give it a good life
Load More Replies...
Most of these are examples of very badly socialized and/or trained dogs. Not dumb, just no proper basic training of any kind. It's dumb nor normal for a dog to eat just about everything, or to be scared of everything, or to bite people, or anything like that. Accidents happen, but most of these describe 'normal', recurring behavior and that's not normal at all. I wish people had to take an exam before they could own a dog and be forced to do at least puppy (basic) training with any dog they get.
My first dog was a Pomeranian that jumped out of the third floor of a house, because he thought we were abandoning him. Falling through the grapevine in the yard is what saved him. He was a year old and it was our first family vacation with him. My dad hands him over to my uncle, while he goes to unload the car and by the time he gets downstairs to the front door, the dog was already waiting for him there.
I had a beagle that jumped through and out of the second story window screen just to chase a rabbit in the front yard. I also was walking her once and we turned the corner, I saw her grab something, and saw her swallow a bunny whole. She would have made a great hunting dog with some training (but I don't hunt).
Load More Replies... My childhood mutt was the nicest dog, but we always joked that in all the mix-breeding, her brain was bred out. Friendlist, dumbest dog. For 15 years, we took her out the same door into the backyard to pee. Everyday. Multiple times per day. 50% of the time, she'd stand on the hinge-side of the door and be shocked when it opened the other way. Every single day.
My 80 lb dog tried to drown me on the only occasion I ever took him swimming. He's half labrador retriever. He also jumped out the window of a moving car to chase a turkey. He wasn't hurt, but definitely scared the hell out of me. Oh, and he once threw up a mostly whole, partially digested rabbit onto my son's baby blanket. God I love that dog though! He turns 12 this years and I really wish I could stop time.
I brought a puppy home for my mother when I was 16. Only 18 degrees F, the middle of winter, and this ball of floof took one look at the pool and jumped in... I jumped in right after it, believing it was going to drown, water was freezing!!! Once I surfaced, she was swimming circles around me. My parents spent the night trying to warm me back up. I didn't know that a Labrador/Malamute didn't need swimming lessons. I'm cold just remembering this. Bbbrrrrr!
Load More Replies...
My husband's german shaepard would attack all the sprinklers in the garden, pull them out one by one. It cost a fortune to keep replaycing. Also once stole an old lady's wig right from her head... it hunted it basically as if something alive was sitting on her head.
Looks like a lot of dog owners try to pass their dog's fears or disabilities as dumb. I'd say the owners are dumb. If you are afraid of darkness, spiders or any other thing, are you stupid then? Also if you are blind or crippled any other way, are you stupid? SAD
These dog owners are just trying to be "cute, Martti". I don't know what motivated Bun Chillups, next time he should ask for stories of dog loyalty and devotion to their owners.
Load More Replies...
i have a dog who once got stuck under the sofa in my room and woke me up at midnight so i had to move the toybox so she could get out and now she follows me everywhere
My dog loves my mom very much and has to be next to her at all times. This is important because it leads to why she did what she did in this story... She has a doggy door that gives her access to the backyard whenever she wants to. However, the door has three options: to go out and come back in, to come back in but not being able to go out, and to neither come in nor go out. When my dad was moving a boat in the backyard, my mom told me to lock the doggy door so we wouldn't have to worry about my dog getting driven over or something. My mom proceeds to go outside and help my dad (this is a big no no as you shall see very soon). I closed the doggy door and went to my room to work on some assignments and heard from a distance that my dog was trying to get through. After a while, she trots into my room (my room that is SEVERAL METERS AWAY FROM THE DOGGY DOOR) and starts sprinting to burst through her doggy door JUST TO GO SEE HER/MY MOM. She shattered the hinges, absolutely amazing...
And I'm sticking to cats. They can be furry little jerks, but they're too smart to eat furniture.
My cat's favorite family member is the dog. He cries when our dog goes outside and doesn't give a c**p when my husband leaves for work or if I step outside to do something.
Load More Replies...
My brother was dogsitting for his friend on the first day she dug a hole then it rained on day two she slammed her front paws in and was surprised when she got wet
these dogs arent dumb, as practically everyone will agree. theyre just doing what makes sense to them in their doggo brain
this mean to call a dog dumb but it is funny no but I just called them and unintelligent
My mom hade a male shiitzu who developed a crush on a garden stone rabbit. Rub himself so raw had to go to the vet. The bunny didn't make.
All I see are dogs being gross and stupid. Get a cat. Cleaner and smarter
This comment section is more depressing then my dad who no longer goes on flights cause he was in first class once, thinks he is Alisher Usmanov now and he'll no longer ride coach because of that. I mean Jesus Christ guys its just a title that says, "dumb dogs." Whats not to love. my incredible idiotic little boo-boo is doing stupid things all the time like eating wood chips and creating wave breaker turds to mauling the male man when he drops off the new Netflix CD of man vs wild season 4. My little p**s-munchkin love rolling around in sewage so much that we took the grout from our bathroom wall and made a concoction of that with dirt water to and filled a kitty pool with it for him. And no I'm not the dumb one here. I am simply a loving owner of space rescue dog I rescued from planet Dwernicus who is trying to give him a home but he keeps puking up space dust all over it. Haven't you guys considered that.
Sorry to say but it comes to my mind that most of the dogs aren't stupid but their owners.
I find it amusing that people react to dogs being called dumb as if they, themselves, were personally insulted. Tell someone they are not tall, strong, fast, pretty, etc and they take it in stride. Imply that someone isn't smart, even a non human, and folks lose their minds. I don't understand
Steven Cook, people react that way only when a dog is not properly trained or has medical issues which effect his behavior; instead to find out why dog behaves certain way, owner call him dumb!? Also many animals are abused. Responsible owners who love their pets are referred to as guardians, not owners.
Load More Replies...
I usually love BP animal content, but this just seems derailed. First, the title. One of these dogs are obviously blind, so why allow possible medical issues or mental health issues be labeled as "dumb". Me thinks whoever is responsible for this article really don't know much about dogs. But, positive note, a lot of people spoke up as well, and some gave experienced advice like the dog nail issue Or the dog wanting a dog companion for examples.
Exactly. Why was iluvanimals comment down-voted?
Load More Replies...
Again, what kind of individual must have down-voted Carole's comment? I would really want to know.
Load More Replies... I do no like the title. Few of the dogs here are "dumb". Typically, humans calling other being "dumb" are really dumb. Many of these dogs have personality, and are very loveable. A few obviously are not kept by people who understand wat animals needs, and a few might even be abused.
This is why I don't have a dog. Not because I don't love them: they are sweet loving trusting darlings. But I'm not healthy enough to meet it's needs ie training walking etc. So I've found a happy medium with an aloof tabby, more self sufficient and maintainable. It would be unfair to have a dog even though I want one, if I can't give it a good life
Load More Replies... Most of these are examples of very badly socialized and/or trained dogs. Not dumb, just no proper basic training of any kind. It's dumb nor normal for a dog to eat just about everything, or to be scared of everything, or to bite people, or anything like that. Accidents happen, but most of these describe 'normal', recurring behavior and that's not normal at all. I wish people had to take an exam before they could own a dog and be forced to do at least puppy (basic) training with any dog they get.
My first dog was a Pomeranian that jumped out of the third floor of a house, because he thought we were abandoning him. Falling through the grapevine in the yard is what saved him. He was a year old and it was our first family vacation with him. My dad hands him over to my uncle, while he goes to unload the car and by the time he gets downstairs to the front door, the dog was already waiting for him there.
I had a beagle that jumped through and out of the second story window screen just to chase a rabbit in the front yard. I also was walking her once and we turned the corner, I saw her grab something, and saw her swallow a bunny whole. She would have made a great hunting dog with some training (but I don't hunt).
Load More Replies... My childhood mutt was the nicest dog, but we always joked that in all the mix-breeding, her brain was bred out. Friendlist, dumbest dog. For 15 years, we took her out the same door into the backyard to pee. Everyday. Multiple times per day. 50% of the time, she'd stand on the hinge-side of the door and be shocked when it opened the other way. Every single day.
My 80 lb dog tried to drown me on the only occasion I ever took him swimming. He's half labrador retriever. He also jumped out the window of a moving car to chase a turkey. He wasn't hurt, but definitely scared the hell out of me. Oh, and he once threw up a mostly whole, partially digested rabbit onto my son's baby blanket. God I love that dog though! He turns 12 this years and I really wish I could stop time.
I brought a puppy home for my mother when I was 16. Only 18 degrees F, the middle of winter, and this ball of floof took one look at the pool and jumped in... I jumped in right after it, believing it was going to drown, water was freezing!!! Once I surfaced, she was swimming circles around me. My parents spent the night trying to warm me back up. I didn't know that a Labrador/Malamute didn't need swimming lessons. I'm cold just remembering this. Bbbrrrrr!
Load More Replies... My husband's german shaepard would attack all the sprinklers in the garden, pull them out one by one. It cost a fortune to keep replaycing. Also once stole an old lady's wig right from her head... it hunted it basically as if something alive was sitting on her head.
Looks like a lot of dog owners try to pass their dog's fears or disabilities as dumb. I'd say the owners are dumb. If you are afraid of darkness, spiders or any other thing, are you stupid then? Also if you are blind or crippled any other way, are you stupid? SAD
These dog owners are just trying to be "cute, Martti". I don't know what motivated Bun Chillups, next time he should ask for stories of dog loyalty and devotion to their owners.
Load More Replies... i have a dog who once got stuck under the sofa in my room and woke me up at midnight so i had to move the toybox so she could get out and now she follows me everywhere
My dog loves my mom very much and has to be next to her at all times. This is important because it leads to why she did what she did in this story... She has a doggy door that gives her access to the backyard whenever she wants to. However, the door has three options: to go out and come back in, to come back in but not being able to go out, and to neither come in nor go out. When my dad was moving a boat in the backyard, my mom told me to lock the doggy door so we wouldn't have to worry about my dog getting driven over or something. My mom proceeds to go outside and help my dad (this is a big no no as you shall see very soon). I closed the doggy door and went to my room to work on some assignments and heard from a distance that my dog was trying to get through. After a while, she trots into my room (my room that is SEVERAL METERS AWAY FROM THE DOGGY DOOR) and starts sprinting to burst through her doggy door JUST TO GO SEE HER/MY MOM. She shattered the hinges, absolutely amazing...
And I'm sticking to cats. They can be furry little jerks, but they're too smart to eat furniture.
My cat's favorite family member is the dog. He cries when our dog goes outside and doesn't give a c**p when my husband leaves for work or if I step outside to do something.
Load More Replies... My brother was dogsitting for his friend on the first day she dug a hole then it rained on day two she slammed her front paws in and was surprised when she got wet
these dogs arent dumb, as practically everyone will agree. theyre just doing what makes sense to them in their doggo brain
this mean to call a dog dumb but it is funny no but I just called them and unintelligent
My mom hade a male shiitzu who developed a crush on a garden stone rabbit. Rub himself so raw had to go to the vet. The bunny didn't make.
All I see are dogs being gross and stupid. Get a cat. Cleaner and smarter
This comment section is more depressing then my dad who no longer goes on flights cause he was in first class once, thinks he is Alisher Usmanov now and he'll no longer ride coach because of that. I mean Jesus Christ guys its just a title that says, "dumb dogs." Whats not to love. my incredible idiotic little boo-boo is doing stupid things all the time like eating wood chips and creating wave breaker turds to mauling the male man when he drops off the new Netflix CD of man vs wild season 4. My little p**s-munchkin love rolling around in sewage so much that we took the grout from our bathroom wall and made a concoction of that with dirt water to and filled a kitty pool with it for him. And no I'm not the dumb one here. I am simply a loving owner of space rescue dog I rescued from planet Dwernicus who is trying to give him a home but he keeps puking up space dust all over it. Haven't you guys considered that.
Sorry to say but it comes to my mind that most of the dogs aren't stupid but their owners.
I find it amusing that people react to dogs being called dumb as if they, themselves, were personally insulted. Tell someone they are not tall, strong, fast, pretty, etc and they take it in stride. Imply that someone isn't smart, even a non human, and folks lose their minds. I don't understand
Steven Cook, people react that way only when a dog is not properly trained or has medical issues which effect his behavior; instead to find out why dog behaves certain way, owner call him dumb!? Also many animals are abused. Responsible owners who love their pets are referred to as guardians, not owners.
Load More Replies... I usually love BP animal content, but this just seems derailed. First, the title. One of these dogs are obviously blind, so why allow possible medical issues or mental health issues be labeled as "dumb". Me thinks whoever is responsible for this article really don't know much about dogs. But, positive note, a lot of people spoke up as well, and some gave experienced advice like the dog nail issue Or the dog wanting a dog companion for examples.
Exactly. Why was iluvanimals comment down-voted?
Load More Replies... Again, what kind of individual must have down-voted Carole's comment? I would really want to know.
Load More Replies...