You mentioned before that dogs respond better to a strong leader. That made sense to me given their nature as pack animals. I'm wondering if an average dog would seem more intelligent simply because they had a good owner.
Discussion
Training has a lot to do with it.
Dogs like to learn and please, it's their nature. Like Mosha in the kitchen for instance. The reason she stays out of the way is because when she was young I would kick her (lightly, not enough to hurt, but enough she knew she was in the way). She quickly realized to stay out of the way. Ever since she stands back and waits for her treats.
This is what I usually see while cooking 😂
I do the same with cats. Cats are retarded and will dangerously walk right in front of you. People sometimes will see this light push I did with my foot and call me mean. But I would rather not seriously hurt the fucker by stepping on it or tripping while going down the stairs.
💯 not mean. It's how animals communicate.
I told my aunt to do the same with her dog, a minpin that was always underfoot.
"No that's mean!" She said.
Just like you said, she ended up stepping on it's leg and breaking it. The poor little dog never walked right again, and it cost thousands of dollars in vet bills. 🤦♂️
SMH. The intention is to teach them something important. If they could communicate in other ways, we'd do it. It's not like we enjoy this. Sad.