http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810025241.htm

Link to an article in Science Daily, says dogs have an intelligence about equivalent to a 2 year old human,

"As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the "super dogs" (those in the top 20 percent of dog intelligence) can learn 250 words, Coren says. "The upper limit of dogs’ ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a border collie named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words and demonstrated ‘fast-track learning,’ which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language learning apes," Coren said." according to the article.

It goes on to mention, that dogs can "count up to four or five, said Coren. And they have a basic understanding of arithmetic and will notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3."

During play, dogs are capable of deliberately trying to deceive other dogs and people in order to get rewards, said Coren. "And they are nearly as successful in deceiving humans as humans are in deceiving dogs." the article went on to say.

What does that last bit say about human intelligence?

What does all this mean to the Police Dog Trainer/Handler

1. You need to be smarter than a 2 year old to be a dog handler.

2. Don’t be surprised when your dog anticipates an out after 4 or 5 seconds, because that is how long you allow him to bite every time he gets a grip.

3. Don’t ask a 2 year old to make decisions that a trained police officer should be making.