Line #96 Main/DogsAreDumb


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5	[[quoteright:245:[[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2009_07_10.png]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:245:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MR8Ym_H-80 As if he's any better.]]]]
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8	->'''Mr. Burns:''' Dogs are ''idiots''! Think about it, Smithers, if I came into your room, and started sniffing at your crotch and slobbering all over your face... what would you say?\
9	'''Smithers:''' ...Uh... if ''you'' did it, sir?\
10	'''Mr. Burns:''' Exactly! You'd be fit to be tied.
11	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
12
13	CatsAreMean, right? Dogs, on the other hand, are [[UndyingLoyalty always obedient and loyal.]] Unfortunately in the modern age, "Loyalty" has been diluted and warped into "[[LawfulStupid stupidity]]," and these days, unless dogs are the main characters in a given story, they are usually portrayed as [[TheDitz very simple-minded creatures]] who can't really function outside of instinct [[ChaoticStupid and impulse.]] It also helps that several breeds of dog have an incredible talent for ''[[SmarterThanYouLook looking]]'' like [[EasilyImpressed wide-eyed,]] [[PluckyComicRelief buffoonish,]] [[TheDitz empty-headed dopes]] and/or [[DroolDeluge slobbering]] {{Kindhearted Simpleton}}s at best. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it usually serves to make the dog in question out to be [[TheDitz incredibly stupid,]] especially if some other animal is nearby acting much more sensible, according to human standards of behavior that is.
14
15	Amongst an ensemble of {{Talking Animal}}s, the dog is often the dumbest, and rarely smarter than the [[NiceMice timid mouse]] or the [[ScrewballSquirrel hyperactive squirrel]], in real life way less intelligent than dogs.
16
17	Of course, as any dog owner can attest, dogs often do things that seem quite dumb (not to mention annoying to humans): loudly barking at nonexistent threats, trying to eat everything they find on the sidewalk, and recklessly chasing after squirrels, skunks, and porcupines. And cars. Cats, though still [[CatsAreLazy prone to]] [[BuffoonishTomcat their own brand of animal idiocy,]] are much more naturally discreet in fiction or not, hence the common portrayal of a quiet, cautious, and aloof cat and a clumsy, foolish, and boisterous dog.
18
19	Unsurprisingly, certain dogs tend to be lazy when they are dumb, often [[LazyBum spending times doing nothing aside sleeping through a whole day, and they will always ignore the owner's commands during these time periods.]]
20
21	This trope is somewhat based on a grain of truth, not that all dogs lack intelligence but that they are unable to function without humans (although this doesn't apply to all dogs as there are many breeds that are very much independent and can, in fact, function well without humans). Dogs have undergone thousands of years of selective breeding to rely on humans for most of their needs and to obey their commands. Dogs have even evolved to mimic human facial expressions and to digest grains because that's what their humans would offer. Cats domesticated themselves and will leave a neglectful owner and, like many other domesticated animals, can revert to a feral state which allows them to become self-reliant.
22
23	This isn't the case with dogs as they cannot form self-sustaining populations on their own and will even stay with owners who abuse them, which can make a pet dog seem like a mindless SycophanticServant (this isn't always true, though, considering dogs are capable of forming their own packs and even being self-reliant; this can be seen in many countries where dogs aren't kept as pets and are left roaming the streets and adapting to it. And many dogs will attempt to run away from abusive owners when given the chance or, if cornered, will bite or fight back to protect themselves when they've had enough). There has been evidence that due to their dependence on humans, dogs have learned to use humans as tools for their own benefit by manipulating them into giving food or solving problems as they have forgotten how to do so themselves... [[ObfuscatingStupidity or perhaps as a way for humans to be their unsuspecting slaves.]]
24
25	This trope was becoming an DeadHorseTrope due to how it was overused ever since the concept of a dumb dog was invented and has become an ForgottenTrope in the 21st century.
26
27	Dogs doing what comes naturally when nature calls leads to UrineTrouble. ''Wild'' canines are often the opposite of dumb, including the NobleWolf, ThoseWilyCoyotes, and CunningLikeAFox.
28
29	In non-Western works (especially East Asian works), dogs are ''rarely'' portrayed as dumb and are more often portrayed as intelligent and savage animals. Therefore, this trope is almost never played straight due to cultural reasons.
30
31	If the dogs are portrayed as ''evil'' instead of dumb, it is MisterMuffykins or BewareOfViciousDog.
32
33	Compare and Contrast to CatsAreLazy (if an ordinary cat is dumb) and/or BuffoonishTomcat (if they are the exceptionally clumsy, goofy, clownish, ludicrous and cartoony counterpart to the [[CatsAreLazy lazy counterparts]]), and other creatures/etc that had been stereotyped or depicted with [[TheDitz lacking in intelligence]] such as DumbDinos, DoofyDodo, UnwiseOwl, MooseAreIdiots, and FrazettaMan.
34
35	----
36	[[foldercontrol]]
37
38	!!Straight Examples:
39
40	[[folder:Advertising]]
41	* "I smell... BACON!!!baconbaconbaconbacon! There! From that bag! What's it say? ''I can't read!'' (is given some Beggin' Strips) It's '''bacon!''' I love you. [=IlovebaconIloveyou=]!" -- ad for Beggin' Strips, bacon-flavored dog treats.
42	--> It must be bacon, because only one thing smells like bacon, and that's '''bacon'''!
43	* [[http://tinyurl.com/yvcg5m This]] Bud Light commercial, where the owner discovers that all his dog has to say is "SAUSAGES!" over and over again.
44	* The "Stupid Dogbot - Clever Fiesta" Ford ad campaign.
45	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJHCGiXK_KU This]] ad for Remco's "Wilbur the Water Pup" shows a flesh-and-blood dog cautiously approaching "Wilbur" thinking it's another real dog -- only to get sprayed by the toy.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
49	* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Played straight but often for comedy.
50	** Inuyasha is a HalfHumanHybrid whose {{youkai}} heritage is canine. He's very simple-minded as a result and his limited intelligence can get him into a lot of trouble. However, his instincts for fighting evil are very powerful and he's therefore capable of surprising acts of wisdom.
51	** Sesshoumaru rarely transforms into his [[CanisMajor true form]]. When forced to against Magatsuhi, he becomes entangled in his enemy's tentacles. Jaken notices that all Sesshoumaru needs to do to escape is drop back to his smaller humanoid form and slide out. When Sesshoumaru instead pointlessly shakes his body like a wet dog, Jaken realises Sesshoumaru's true form gives him both his full power and a dog's intellect. An implied telepathic connection between them is revealed when Sesshoumaru first responds to Jaken's tactical analysis to transform and escape and then responds angrily to Jaken's disparaging thoughts regarding canine intellect. The battle is very serious, but the scene involving Jaken's internal assessment of Sesshoumaru's intellect while in dog form is PlayedForLaughs.
52	--->'''Jaken:''' (''Thinking'') "He is unable to escape... even with the power of his true demon form? Or is he helpless '''because''' he is in that form?! A giant dog... isn't the hardest prey to hang on to... why doesn't he just transform back and slip free? Or does this form also have... the brain of a dog?"
53	* ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'': Jumbo King, the Akaishi family's dog, can sniff out Kuroe well enough whenever the latter turns into a {{Kaiju}}, but he's frequently seen absentmindedly running into things like shelves and trees whenever he's not being useful, on top of drooling in a way that makes him look even more dimwitted.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Comic Books]]
57	* ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'': On her fifth birthday, Sabrina gets a {{familiar}}, Salem the cat. She gets mad at the fact it's a cat, not a puppy, but her aunts mention amongst themselves that dogs aren't smart enough to be familiars.
58	* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': Rantanplan is literally TooDumbToLive (or at least dumber than his own shadow), having nearly drowned or otherwise killed himself numerous times.
59	* Ms. Lion, ''the [[GenderBlenderName male]] [[ADogNamedCat dog]]'', is absolutely TheDitz and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} of the ComicBook/PetAvengers. Founding Pet Avenger [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Lockjaw]], on the other hand, is smarter than the average dog, and superpowered to boot. Lockjaw isn't actually a dog. He's an Inhuman whose exposure to the Terrigen Mists changed him into a dog-like shape. [[DependingOnTheWriter Usually.]] Except when that's just a story that the Inhumans like to tell to gullible visitors.
60	* ''ComicBook/{{Rocky}}'': The title character (a dog) tries to get a friend's advice on trying to play some obscure HipHop music video on a Swedish music TV station, since he doesn't know any current pop music. The final panel has the friend laughing as he watches Rocky introduce a video by Vengaboys. In the English language version of the comic, the reference is changed to Music/NoDoubt.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
64	* ''ComicStrip/BigNate'' has Spitzy, Nate's neighbor's dog who is constantly getting bullied by squirrels, getting his tongue stuck licking a frozen pole, etc. Spitzy's stupidity contrast to Francis's cat Pickles (who can juggle while riding a unicycle), and Sherman, Nate's class hamster who is a SilentSnarker.
65	* ''ComicStrip/DogsOfCKennel'': Kenny, although most of the other dogs are an aversion of the trope.
66	* A strip of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' featured a scientist who invented a device that could translate what dogs are saying so he could understand them. Several dogs onscreen were barking, which was translated to, "Hey!" "Hey, hey, hey!" "Hey, hey!"
67	** That's not so much "Dogs are dumb," more like "ThisIsReality, and while the [[SlidingScaleOfAnimalCommunication communication system]] of dogs is very useful, they aren't [[AnimalTalk using a secret language like ours,]] so that every bark has a meaning that is just waiting to be [[SpeaksFluentAnimal translated]] into a grammatical English sentence."
68	** On the other hand, dogs who use the written language (surprisingly many of them) are portrayed as using poor spelling and grammar.
69	* Odie from ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', pictured above.
70	** ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had the cat usually extending it to all dogs. Which once led him to a beating, when saying "dogs have no brains"... to an audience featuring only dogs.
71	*** In the cartoon, Garfield once wore a shirt reading "I hate dogs"... and was surprised to find out that dogs can read...
72	** However, Odie might actually be a case of ObfuscatingStupidity. One cartoon showed him reading Literature/WarAndPeace while Garfield and Jon were gone, and another showed he's a wiz at [[GridPuzzle Sudoku]].
73	* ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy''. Neither Satchel nor Bucky is very bright; the difference is that Satchel has a more [[DumbIsGood innocent stupidity]], while Bucky's is a more [[CatsAreMean malevolent stupidity.]]
74	* A one-panel ''Non Sequitur'', captioned "How Your Pets Think", shows a dog and a cat looking at a man sitting in a recliner. The dog's thought-bubble reads "Petmelovemepetmelovemepetmeloveme!" The cat's reads, "Don't just sit there, you slow-witted oaf. Feed me."
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Fan Works]]
78	* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'':
79	** Normally inverted in these stories, except perhaps for Bruce the Rottweiler in "The Survivor." Even Bolt, who is frequently depicted as ComicallyMissingThePoint, is otherwise intelligent. An especially notable example is seen in "The Imaginary Letters," where Zaui, who plays a stupid pooch on TV, is shown watching a trivia-based quiz show — and rattling off the correct answers in rapid-fire fashion.
80	** Played with in "The Spaceship." The aliens in this story closely resemble bipedal dogs (they even respond to Rhino's dog whistle), and they're quite stupid. Rhino is able to convince them that scarecrows are intelligent beings.
81	* In ''Fanfic/{{Paradise}}'', Whip tells his daughters Celestia and Luna that dogs are "nasty creatures like wolves, but louder and stupider".
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
85	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' portrays the two dogs Napoleon and Lafayette as being on par with the mountain-men from ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' (in a comedic way).
86	* The also-eponymous ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'' is something of an exception, being [[AndYouThoughtItWasAGame naive]] rather than stupid.
87	* ''WesternAnimation/TheMitchellsVsTheMachines'' has Monchi, the Mitchells' pet pug, who is shown as being about on par with your average potted plant in intelligence. He has nigh-permanent FishEyes mounted on top a vacant, tongue-lolling grin, spends most of the film lazing around or being carried, and at one point attempts to jump his own reflection. He's so ugly and weird that the titular machines are unable to discern if he's a dog, a pig or a loaf of bread, [[LogicBomb which causes them to short-circuit]].
88	* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'' features the rottweiler, whose only spoken words (in a WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo-like voice) are "Play? Play!" This was specifically done to avoid the rottweiler breed's typical portrayal as vicious attack dogs, which is a common fear among children, their target audience.
89	* Dug from -- SQUIRREL! ...''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''.
90	** The other dogs, however, (particularly Alpha), are not very dumb at all, and regard Dug with [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer scorn and shame]], so it's really just Dug who represents this trope.
91	** They are all shown to have some sort of AttentionDeficitOohShiny though, at least regarding squirrels and tennis balls.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
95	* ''Film/{{Beethoven}}'': The eponymous character is not exactly a canine genius. He's not exactly a moron either, there is significant evidence that many of his "accidents" are in fact planned out, and he is also extremely quick to pick off on people's emotions and is exceedingly patient.
96	* ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney'': Chance. [[CatsAreSuperior Sassy]] and [[TeamDad Shadow]] [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this repeatedly. It's more likely that he was meant to be young and naive, as compared to every other dog in the movie and sequel who range from quite knowledgeable (Shadow), to street smart (Riley).
97	* The 2006 version of ''Film/TheShaggyDog'' partially plays with this trope. Dave thinks like the human he is, but succumbs instantaneously to frisbees, scritches, and games of fetch.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Literature]]
101	* Somewhat understandable in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' since the main characters are cats, but still. All dogs portrayed in ''Warriors'' are either slobbering vicious brutes, or a harmless, but severe annoyance. Only the slobbering vicious brute variety was capable of any sort of speech, and their vocabulary was limited to HulkSpeak that is little more than "pack" and "kill" repeated over and over. The funny thing is, the head author actually likes dogs more than cats. Sister series ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'' turns this on its head as dogs are smart but [[CatsAreMean sharpclaws are annoying and cruel]].
102	* T.S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' includes one passage comparing cats to dogs, ridiculing the latter as "clowns" that are "easily taken in" etc. (That stanza was cut from this number in the musical adaptation.) Also, there is the poem "Of the Awefull [sic] Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles", which basically describes two feuding clans of dogs who are so caught up in fighting that they disrupt life in the city until they are scared away by the Great Rumpus Cat.
103	* In ''Literature/WatershipDown'', dogs are just another one of the ''many'' enemies the rabbit protagonists have to deal with, but they still show this trope. Rowsbery Woof, a minor figure in rabbit mythology, is a complete drooling moron, and the dog that shows up in the climax never has any lines and is treated as a giant monster.
104	* Both subverted ''and'' played straight in ''Literature/ThePlagueDogs'', where the dogs ''do'' have lines and are treated as {{Stoic Woobie}}s... but they still seem less aware than, say, [[CunningLikeAFox the fox]], ranging between TooDumbToLive and BreakTheCutie. Justified, since the dogs are only slightly more intelligent than real dogs despite being able to speak, Rowf is basically [[ShellShockedVeteran shell-shocked]], and Snitter is a CloudCuckoolander after being subjected to [[AnimalTesting scientific experiments]].
105	* Basically the entire point of ''Literature/MarleyAndMe'', in both film and book form. Marley was a tremendously loyal dog, and the overall plot is about how that affected the writer's life, but he was also a rather dim-witted, headstrong dog, which caused a great deal of trouble because of his physical size.
106	* Played straight in ''Literature/AnimalFarm''. The female dog is loyal, but not terribly bright, which is why [[spoiler: she allows Napoleon to take her puppies and raise them to be his blood-thirsty, single-minded minions.]] In all fairness, she didn't know what he was going to do.
107	* Many of Creator/DaveBarry's columns about dogs play up their stupidity. In fact, some people have accused Barry of being a dog-hater, apparently not noticing that he has evidently owned multiple dogs for years (Barry himself responding to such claims: "Perhaps from these peoples' perspective, dogs are intelligent, but I'm not going to go there.")
108	** Roger in ''Literature/BigTrouble'' is stated to have the intelligence of celery, though he at least has enough self-preservation not to mess with the Enemy Toad again after it gave him a face full of bufotenine.
109	** In a "Reader Alert" sidebar in ''Dave Barry Talks Back'', he expresses some puzzlement that readers want him to write more columns about his dogs because "all of my dog columns basically boil down to the following statement: 'Boy, are dogs ever stupid!'" He conjectures that perhaps they help readers put their own failings in a reassuring perspective: "Well, I may have missed out on that big promotion, and I may have screwed up my personal life, but at least I've never run headfirst into a tree at 37 miles per hour while [[DogsHateSquirrels chasing a squirrel]]. At least [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy not while I was sober]]."
110	* In ''Literature/TheUnadulteratedCat'' by Creator/TerryPratchett, during the Campaign For Real Cats SuspiciouslySpecificDenial that they have anything against dogs, the phrase "smelly, fawning, dribbling, morons of uncertain temperament" is used. A [[FootnoteFever series of footnotes]] record attempts by the Committee to have this changed, to which the Chairman responds by making similar comments at greater length.
111	* Another obligatory Pratchett example: Laddie in ''Literature/MovingPictures''. His internal voice consists mainly of "Good boy Laddie! Laddie good boy!". Gaspode is a pretty severe aversion, being a dyed-in-the-wool cynic.
112	* Several dogs in the works of Creator/PGWodehouse, including [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Aunt Agatha's]] dog [=McIntosh=], "an aberdeen terrier of weak intellect". They sometimes overlap with the MisterMuffykins type (also prevalent in Wodehouse's works), but are generally better-liked by Wodehouse's heroes, [[UpperClassTwit who tend to be dim]] ([[AFriendInNeed and loyal]]) themselves.
113	* In the Creator/GordonRDickson novel ''The Magnificent Wilf'', the hero's Great Dane is given the ability to talk by aliens. Examples of things it says are as follows: "Love Tom. Love Lucy [his owners]. Love Love Love Love." "Play? Frisbee? Play?" "Ow! Flea! Bite flea! Bite Bite Bite Bite Bite. Crunch flea. Aaaahhh."
114	* The children's chapter books by Lucy Nolan in the series ''Down Girl and Sit'' focus on two not-so-bright dogs who believe that "Down Girl" and "Sit" respectively are their names because these two phrases are what they usually hear from their owners.
115	* In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', there's Know-Nothing Bozo the Non-Wonder Dog, so stupid that it is incapable of eating the right dog food on camera, even when engine oil is poured on the wrong food.
116	* In the ''Literature/MidnightLouie'' books, the [[DetectiveAnimal crime-solving cats]], Midnight Louie and Midnight Louise are firmly of this camp in most cases, but sometimes have to work with dogs, such as the Scottie and Westie terriers, Scotch & Soda, in ''Cat in a Yellow Spotlight''. After all, even a dummy can have certain skills that would be useful to their investigations, such as a dog's sense of smell or being able to inconspicuously be in certain places.
117	* ''Literature/HollowKingdom2019'': Dennis the bloodhound is one of the few animals in the story who never speaks, and S.T. is easily able to get him to do what he wants him to by imitating the voice of his owner.
118	* Michio Tsukui of ''Literature/JuniTaisenZodiacWar'' represents the sign of the Dog. He fancies himself a sly strategist, and biggest brain in the tournament. He's actually ''massively'' overconfident and not as bright as he thinks he is. [[spoiler:His idiocy results in him being the 2nd elimination of the tournament when he gives a super drug to fellow contestant Chicken, who offs him the second it kicks in.]]
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
122	* ''Emergency Vets'' unintentionally makes you wonder if dogs are intelligent after seeing enough episodes where dogs have to be brought in and operated on for having eaten something completely inedible (socks, speaker wire, a coin collection...).
123	** Although humans have been known to swallow some pretty stupid non-food items, too.
124	* Darren from ''Series/TheFerals'' and ''Series/FeralTV'', whose Intelligence stat was on par with that of a mushroom.
125	* ''Series/MadAboutYou'' has Murray, a Border Collie mix, which runs after mice until it runs into a wall, causing itself head trauma. And there are no mice in the flat.
126	* ''Series/RedDwarf'': When the crew go to a parallel universe, Cat is disappointed to find that, instead of a female opposite, he gets to meet a male humanoid who presumably evolved from Debbie Lister's dog. The dog doesn't exactly exude intelligence (though in fairness neither does Cat).
127	** Part of the reason the Dog appears so dumb is because the Cat has actually become, while not actually human and/or intelligent, at least more so than he was in, say, series one. The Dog was introduced as a one-time joke and is therefore almost exactly as "doglike" as the cat was "catlike" in the first series.
128	*** The ''Red Dwarf'' tabletop game gives both species nearly identical hits and bonuses to their stats. Both get a minus to dealing with other creatures socially, Cats because they're narcissistic and lack empathy, Dogs just because they're a bit uncouth and unrefined. (As the text puts it, Dogs are social beings, but in a "hanging-out-with-the-boys" sense, not a "let's-put-on-a-tux-and-go-to-the-Queen's-reception" sense.)
129	* ''Series/TopGearUK'' Dog, Richard Hammond's real-life pet Labradoodle, during her brief stint on the show.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Music]]
133	* ''Music/TheDillards'': Mitch declares outright that foxhounds have no sense during the introduction to "Old Blue." This results in them running themselves to exhaustion and then ending up in any shelter they can find.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Radio]]
137	* A great example on an episode of Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion, during the "Guy Noir" segment. Guy sets out to find a talking dog who's been kidnapped. The character who kidnaps the dog says "At first it's amazing, then you realize, dogs just aren't that smart. He kept saying 'you're barking up the wrong tree!'"
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
141	* The ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' sourcebook "Panopticon" lists [[UpliftedAnimal "Smart"]] dogs as having the intelligence of a two-year-old human (which real life dogs are compared to) and a vocabulary of twenty to thirty words (far lower than RL dogs). Smart cats on the other hand have the intelligence of a three-year-old and a vocabulary of thirty to forty-five words.
142	* In ''TabletopGame/GoldenSkyStories'', the player characters are shapeshifting animal spirits called henge, with dog henge being one of the available options. One of the weaknesses players can choose for dog henge is "Clumsy", which forces them to start with their Adult attribute (which represents social awareness and ability to do human things) at zero.
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Video Games]]
146	* ''VideoGame/BloodCrusher2'': The dog enemy is notably simple, consisting of just three behaviors; stand out of sight waiting for the player, run in a straight line at the player to attack, and ''chase any grenades the player throws''.
147	* ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' has the dog. Look at that dopey expression when you shoot a duck. And when you fail... it laughs, entertained at your failure, while you're no doubt [[TooDumbToLive feeling sociopathic, looking very frustrated and have a loaded shotgun in your hands.]] Unfortunately, you can't ShootTheDog.
148	* ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': Missile comes off as TheDitz, albeit a very cheerful Ditz. Perhaps less "stupid" and more "incredibly naive and optimistic" (but note the subversion below).
149	* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Dogs are rather infamous for falling off of cliffs and into lava, and for attacking anything the player attacks, which could mean their death.
150	* Pochiko from the ''[[VideoGame/PopNMusic pop'n music]]'' series is a dog girl that actually acts like a dog, despite other LittleBitBeastly characters acting mostly human.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Webcomics]]
154	* Rare for a Furry Comic, but ''Webcomic/BetterDays'' has this, WordOfGod claims that all have "a little touch of the Downs".
155	* The ''WebComic/{{Gunshow}}'' strip [[http://gunshowcomic.com/276 Dog Problems]] features a dog locked in the bathroom of an airplane. He's more concerned with how he's supposed to drink out of the toilet, how he got on the plane in the first place, and where "the other dog" (his reflection in the bathroom mirror) came from than [[spoiler: the fact the airplane is about to crash]].
156	* In ''Fanfic/HauntedMansionAndTheHatboxGhost'', the (self-styled) [[http://haunted-mansion-fandom.wikia.com/wiki/Dog "Fabulous" Dog]] is a canine counterpart to über-villain the One-Eyed Black Cat. In contrast to [[CatsAreMean the cunning, dangerous Cat]], Dog is a blabbering lunatic who never does anything to assess his status as the same class of being as the Cat. The Cat is actually ''embarassed'' when Dog is brought up in his presence, and we're talking about as literal a devil as there is in the Mansionverse.
157	* ''Webcomic/HyperboleAndAHalf'': The Simple Dog is incapable of operating a staircase or getting out from under a blanket, and when put in sled-dog booties to prevent damage to the wooden floor, stared up with an expression captioned in the story's accompanying cartoon as "Where R My Legs?" Allie's other dog, Helper Dog, appears to be of normal canine intelligence, but on the other hand is a hair-triggered mass of neuroses and melodrama.
158	* ''Webcomic/{{PVP}}'': Scratch Fury, Destroyer of Worlds, uses a mind-enhancing machine on Kirby in order to create his own nemesis -- but unfortunately, even after multiplying his intelligence by 1000, he's still dumber than a sack of hammers, and tends to forget that he can speak, whenever he takes a nap...
159	* ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'': Pooch. If he's not stupid, he's definitely very young and/or naive. In contrast, his cat companion, Percival, is sublimely arrogant and sophisticated. He is, however, just as dumb as Pooch and can be easily swayed with food or toys. He's a bit of a hypocrite and it's played for laughs.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Web Original]]
163	* There is an internet meme which shows how a cat and a dog view their respective existences. The dog will say things like "Walk! YAY! Food! YAY! Pet! YAY! Outside! YAY!" Meanwhile, the cat [[CatsAreMean carefully plots revenge on and escape from its human captors]]. [[http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm And here it is...]]
164	-->'''Dog:''' Dog food! My favorite thing!\
165	'''Cat:''' My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
166	* "Thoughts Of Dog" on Twitter combines this with SimpleMindedWisdom and CloudCuckoolander.
167	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': In the flashback in "A Curse or a Blessing", Melinda's curse's dog form, Dylan is able to trick it into falling off a cliff by getting it to charge at him, then jumping down to a lower ledge.
168	-->'''Dylan:''' Good thing dogs are so dumb.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Western Animation]]
172	* ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 2 Stupid]] [[WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs Dogs]]'': The whole point of the cartoon is that they are idiots. Little Dog especially. In one episode, it's revealed he doesn't even know his own age or name.
173	* Runt from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. He's almost on TheDitz level of dumb, unable to understand that Rita is a ''cat'', though it's arguably subverted since 80% of the time, Runt saves Rita from her own arrogance and selfishness (showing she's not exactly a genius either outside of composing brilliant musical bits). Rita's arrogance is typically attributed to her being a ''cat,'' which she mentions frequently as being superior to humans and all other animals. Runt, meanwhile, is shown as being far stupider than the average dog, which have normal intelligence.
174	-->'''Rita:''' For fifty dollars and a chance to the Fisteva: how many brain cells does a dog have?\
175	'''Runt:''' Oh boy! Oh boy! Nine! Definitely nine!
176	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBagelAndBeckyShow'': Bagel is a dog, and not too bright.
177	* ''WesternAnimation/BestEd'': Ed is a dog who is not very bright and often causes trouble when he tries to help his best friend Buddy, a much smarter squirrel.
178	* ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' obviously has the latter half (contrasted by {{Cat\|sAreMean}}), but the vast majority of canines is also portrayed this way.
179	* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has an early episode where Dexter gives a dog capability of speech and it drives him insane because all it says is what it sees going on.
180	-->"It's a thing! I-I-I found a thing! It's here, the thing, I found the thing, and here it is, it's the thing, right here, a thing!"
181	** And then it plays with the trope. [[ParentalObliviousness Dexter's parents never notice]] the dog can speak English. Also, when the dog's true owner shows up, [[UncattyResemblance he speaks exactly like the dog does]].
182	--->'''Man:''' Hey! It's my dog! I found my dog!\
183	'''Dog:''' Hey, it's my man! I found my man!\
184	'''Both:''' I found you, I found you, I found you! I found you!\
185	'''Man:''' Let's go for a ride! You wanna go for a ride?\
186	'''Dog:''' Yeah, ride, let's go for a ride!\
187	'''Both:''' Let's go for a ride!
188	** Dexter also tries to repair Dynomutt at Blue Falcon's request, but Dexter scraps him as being a "goofy idiot sidekick" (which he is).
189	* ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder'': Dynomutt is Blue Falcon's idiot robot-dog sidekick.
190	* [[DumbMuscle Rock Bottom]] from the WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatJoeOriolo cartoons is a walking bulldog, and he's very stupid, making it easy for Felix to fool him. In [[Recap/JoeOrioloFelixTheCat1x45FelixAndVavoom "Felix and Vavoom"]], he tells Professor [[LampshadeHanging he's aware of it]].
191	-->"Excuse me, boss, I forgot what I'm supposed to do. I'm so stupid!"
192	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': Dino (only arguably a dog anyway) was smarter than Fred in many cases. But so was the cat. Hoppy was about as smart as Barney.
193	* Freakadog from ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' was not only dumb, but also vicious and rabid.
194	* In ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', Garfield tends to go to great lengths to insult not just Odie, but all dogs in general. Their intelligence (or lack thereof, as far as he's concerned), is usually the main subject.
195	** One of Garfield's fantasies is that dogs used to be smart, but when they found out that cats are actually alien invaders who have enslaved humanity, our feline overlords lowered their intelligence with a stupidity ray so they wouldn't tell us.
196	** Garfield's also claimed that dogs have a very small brain, and that their tongue is ''nine yards long'' on average.
197	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gasp}}'': Dogbox is easily the dumbest of the animals in the household; making him stupider than the goldfish and the cockroach.
198	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Mandy's dog Saliva. Despite being owned by the smartest character on the show, he is quite stupid.
199	* The title character in ''WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey'' is clearly more dense than his cat sidekick.
200	* ''WesternAnimation/HuckleberryHound'': Despite being smart enough to walk among humans, Huck is still dumb. There are occasional hints that this is ObfuscatingStupidity, as while he sometimes succeeds through blind luck, there are other times when he is smart enough to overcome his foes (like Powerful Pierre and Dinky Dalton).
201	* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': GIR helps add onto the stereotype of dogs being dumb. He has to wear a lime green dog suit to "blend in", and humans gullibly buy it even though green dogs don't exist. While wearing the dog suit, GIR does a lot of comedically stupid things like saying "Meow!" to a bystander or running around in a circle ''while leashed to a tree''. And after he runs out of leash, he trips then goes the reverse direction and does this over and over.
202	* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': Astro is pretty dumb, despite being able to talk. That said, he does recognize a bad thing or person when he sees one, and will warn and help the family. In one episode, he was made into a super genius, but became insufferable as a result.
203	%%* A Proto-Dino was shown during a camping episode to be extremely intelligent, with an elegant pseudo-British accent, until he was adopted by the women. Then he lost his ability to talk.
204	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
205	** The WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon ''Foxy By Proxy'' features a fat fox hound who is so dumb he couldn't spell "cat" if he was spotted the "c" and the "a." Yet somehow the big lummox winds up triumphant at cartoon's end. Mostly because Bugs got too distracted in scoffing at the other dogs' failure and threw his guard over his tail.
206	** There was also a similar dog character named Willoughby who made occasional appearances during the 1940s. He was based on Lennie from ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'', so this trope speaks for itself.
207	** The one-shot cartoon ''Ding Dog Daddy'' (1942, Creator/FrizFreleng) features a dim-witted dog who falls in love with a statue of a female dog. Not once does he realize that she's just a sculpture, not even after she's turned into a bomb and explodes on him.
208	** On the topic of Bugs Bunny, his 1944 cartoon "WesternAnimation/HareRibbin" features a hunting dog with a Russian accent as the main antagonist, who is just as easy to trick as Bugs' other foes and even initially fails to see that Bugs is a rabbit when he encounters him for the first time.
209	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The Diamond Dogs aren't the sharpest crayons in the box. Averted with Applejack's sheepdog Winona, however.
210	* ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010'': Niblet (who is, incidentally, a sheepdog) is far outstripped in the intelligence department by his teammates... including the squirrels. However, see the Pound Puppies example under aversions for a counterargument.
211	* Spunky from ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' drinks his own drool, eats trash, has crossed eyes, fell in love with a mop, and runs into walls.
212	* The eponymous ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''. It's implied that the reason he can't talk clearly is because he's not smart enough rather than being physically unable to.
213	-->'''Scooby:''' "Third level - lots of luck."\
214	'''Shaggy:''' [[LikeIsLikeAComma Like]], what did you say, Scoob?\
215	'''Scooby:''' RI don't row, Raggy.
216	* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': James's pet dog Rex is dopey and fun-loving. He constantly fails to grasp when a situation is serious, and when Clover's IdenticalStranger bunny shows up, he's too dumb to be confused over there being two Clovers around. (On the other hand, James's other pet, a baboon, is also less than intelligent and easily distracted, so maybe that says more about James than dogs.)
217	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Stanley}}'': Harry combines this trope with a SurferDude speech pattern.
218	* ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'': Dudley has an assortment of dog stereotypes, plus he occasionally chews on his butt.
219	[[/folder]]
220
221	!!Subversions and aversions:
222
223	[[folder:Advertising]]
224	* In the commercials for Bush's Baked Beans, Duke the golden retriever is a clever huckster who's always trying to sell his master's secret family recipe for his own monetary gain.
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
228	* ''Manga/ChisSweetHome'': All the dogs play the trope straight and Chi's very much afraid of them. However, in the second season, one of the Yamada's neighbors has a hyper puppy, and David subverts the trope by rescuing Chi in episode 76.
229	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Ein the "data dog" is hinted to be very intelligent, but none of the crew ever notice. It's also implied that [[spoiler:he's a better hacker than ''Ed'' in one episode.]]
230	* ''Manga/ExcelSaga'': Menchi is quite clever, and fully aware of her position as "emergency rations".
231	* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': {{Subverted\|Trope}}. Shigure, the Dog from the EasternZodiac, [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts stupid]] and seems harmless at first glance, but he's really the only Member of the Zodiac with a plan. It's played straighter in the 2001 anime, where his manipulative side isn't shown and he's [[AdaptationalComicRelief made into pure comic relief]].
232	* ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'': The defining characteristic of Sapphie (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) is being smart.
233	* ''Manga/MassuguNiIkou'': For the most part, the dogs aren't explicitly stupid. The closest examples of this trope are Hanako, who is more of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} than anything else, and Shokora, whose main problem is that he is LiteralMinded. Mametarou and Sora are subversions: they might have dumb moments, but give no indication that they lack intelligence. Averting this trope outright are Sebastian, Gen, and Jack -- Sebastian being fairly down-to-Earth, Gen being an honorable and sensitive GentleGiant, and Jack being a very intelligent {{Jerkass}} (later a JerkWithAHeartOfGold).
234	* Manga/MyRoomateIsACat: While they’re still depicted as goofy and less serious than cats, the dog Haru meets at the vet (who's eventually revealed to be the neighbor's dog Taro) is depicted as smarter than the cats, in that while all the cats, even the ones who had been there multiple times, only saw the vet as some kind of torture chamber, the dog managed to put two and two together and notice that whenever he’s sick or hurt, he starts feeling better after he goes there.
235	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Akamaru is quite the efficient partner for his master, [[HotBlooded Kiba Inuzuka]], either as his HeadPet or his BigFriendlyDog. Justified, since the Inuzuka clan's business revolves around veterinary issues and dog training.
236	[[/folder]]
237
238	[[folder:Comic Books]]
239	* In the Italian comic book ''ComicBook/LupoAlberto'', set in a WorldOfFunnyAnimals, dogs are on average as smart as the other animals. In particular the most preminent one, Moses (a bobtail sheepdog), runs the [=McKenzie=] farm not just by his considerable strength but by virtue of having more common sense and being far more money savvy than most other characters (the only one who has him beaten in the common sense department is Alberto, who is a wolf) and has shown himself much smarter than Gideon the cat (not that it's actually that difficult), and the one time he was forced to take a long vacation he hired a temporary replacement through an agency that sent ''another'' bobtail sheepdog who did an exceptional job.
240	* Snowy from ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' rescued his master with clockwork regularity, either by biting ropes and baddies or by chasing down a human who can help him.
241	[[/folder]]
242
243	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
244	* The dogs in ''Citizen Dog'' were jerkasses of normal intelligence while the cats were cheerful ButtMonkey[=s=] who were easily entertained by string.
245	* Dogbert, from the comic strip ''{{ComicStrip/Dilbert}}'', is generally presented as more intelligent than those around him (and as an evil genius).
246	* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'': Snoopy is fairly bright, albeit with a blind spot regarding the name of that round-headed kid.
247	* Boot from the British newspaper strip ''ComicStrip/ThePerishers'' was certainly smarter than his boy owner Wellington. Unfortunately whenever Boot attempted to articulate his thoughts Wellington could only hear barking.
248	[[/folder]]
249
250	[[folder:Fan Works]]
251	* ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': Utterly averted by Rex the Diamond Dog. This stereotype is one of his {{Berserk Button}}s.
252	[[/folder]]
253
254	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
255	* Disney films ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' and ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'' both feature dogs as highly intelligent and articulate, but do not show them as capable of talking with humans in ordinary language (although Tony can seemingly understand The Tramp).
256	[[/folder]]
257
258	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
259	* ''Film/{{Babe}}'': The dogs are the leaders of all the farm-animals, and most intelligent; meanwhile the cat is pure evil.
260	* ''Film/CatsAndDogs'': The dogs are able to run a hi-tech spy organization against the evil cats. Though some moments of stupidity still ensue (such as a WireDilemma when [[AnimalsSeeInMonochrome dogs are colorblind]]).
261	* In the Soviet comedy ''Film/OperationYAndShuriksOtherAdventures'', Shurik and Lida try to get past an angry dog to get into her apartment. Shurik comes up with a plan to stuff some sleeping pills into a sausage and throw it to the dog. The dog takes the bait... but then eats only the sausage, leaving the pills on the pavement.
262	[[/folder]]
263
264	[[folder:Literature]]
265	* Novelist Creator/DeanKoontz tends to write canine characters as smarter than most dogs (even excluding ''Literature/{{Watchers}}'', which involves a genetically engineered [[IntellectualAnimal dog of human intelligence]]).
266	* Subverted in ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'' series by Creator/MargaretWeis and Tracy Hickman. Haplo's nameless dog is repeatedly shown to have the most common sense of any character in the series and often acts as his AntiHero owner's moral center. [[spoiler:Of course, it turns out that Dog is actually the physical manifestation of Haplo's soul, so this is justified.]]
267	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Gaspode the Wonder Dog is an equal-level thinker with most humans he interacts with, and currently makes his life as the thinking-brain dog (like a seeing-eye dog, only with providing thoughts instead of vision) of Foul Ole Ron. He's also basically the OnlySaneMan in the Canting Crew.
268	** Similarly, the Dog Guild in ''Literature/MenAtArms'', although none of them were loyal (Gaspode ''is'' loyal, and seriously resents it). By contrast "Laddie", the Discworld version of Franchise/{{Lassie}} in ''Literature/MovingPictures'', is completely moronic and a clueless, blond-furred [[TheDitz ditz]], but because he ''behaves'' like a Wonder Dog is expected to behave, everyone thinks he's clever.
269	** ContinuityDrift had a part to play here however. Originally in ''Literature/MovingPictures'' Gaspode has had his intelligence magically boosted to human levels and there is no real evidence Laddie was especially dim by normal canine standards. By ''Men At Arms'' all dogs are as reasonably intelligent, although not so much as Gaspode (who can speak as well as most humans and even write (badly mangled) Morporkian, as well as being deeper in his thinking, the result of a different magical reason than in Moving Pictures). Laddie becomes retroactively that much worse. It is mentioned that the type of intelligence displayed by dogs is something they got from humans, along with names, cruelty and a cringing inferiority complex. Wolves are displayed as pretty smart but with a one-track mind controlled by instincts and thoughts wholly unlike dogs as a result.
270	** According to Angua (in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant''), a bimorphic werewolf who spends too much time changed into a wolf becomes more wolflike in thinking, more prone to react either with flight or fight to unknown things, and unable to reason like a human. Her father, Baron Guy von Uberwald, has regressed so much that when he is in human form he speaks mostly in monosyllabic one-word sentences, in a loud voice like a bark, and has to be reminded to wear clothes. Anytime Angua and her relationship with Carrot comes up, someone (usually Angua) mentions that anything that is part wolf and part human is a dog, which sort of explains a few things about Big Fido and his ideas about wolves.
271	* W. Bruce Cameron's works such as ''Literature/ADogsPurpose'' and ''Literature/ADogsWayHome'' depicts dogs as naive rather than stupid. Being dogs, there just are some things they can't comprehend. The characters can be quite insightful and clever when needed.
272	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Mouse is just as intelligent as a human, though he isn't a normal canine, but rather a "Foo Dog" (essentially a spirit-world canine from the mountains of Tibet).
273	* Lord Draffut, from Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Empire of the East'' and the ''Literature/BookOfSwords'', was mutated by tens of thousands of years in proximity to the "Lake of Life." Now he's worshipped as a god of [[HealingHands healing]]. He tells an ally:
274	-->"I was not in the Old World as you see me now. Then I could not think. I was much smaller, and ran behind human beings on four legs. But I could love them, and I did, and I must love them still."
275	* [[IntelligentGerbil Headies]] in [[Creator/StrugatskyBrothers the Noonverse]] are a species of dog-like aliens that are psychic, extremely pragmatic as a species and much, ''much'' smarter than humans; after a few decades, [[spoiler:they just decide that they learned everything worth learning from humans and abruptly severe all diplomatic contacts with them]].
276	* ''Literature/OldYeller'' is realistically (non-anthropomorphically) smart, and is able to save members of his family from other animals several times.
277	* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Huan, the Hound of Valinor, was able to speak three times, went through a conflict of loyalties and ended up helping Beren and Lúthien in their quest. (He and Lúthien managed to defeat [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] by themselves.)
278	* Averted in Robin [=McKinley=]'s ''SpindlesEnd'', a rewriting of "Literature/SleepingBeauty". Dogs are shown to be loyal guardian types with a sense of dignity, although one dog is also known for her tongue-overfriendiness.
279	* ''Literature/TheStand'': Kojak is revealed to be not only one of the hardiest dogs left in America, but the smartest... and ends up one of the heroes. He follows the other characters halfway across the continent, then [[spoiler:rescues Stu from certain death]]. He's almost a [[MartyStu Marty Pooch]].
280	* ''Literature/{{Uplift}}'': Subverted. It's hinted at that after Chimps and Dolphins, dogs are the next animals humanity plans to Uplift, implying that they are fairly intelligence.
281	* ''Literature/VarjakPaw'': Kludge may not be very bright, but he's loyal to his friends and can speak cat... somewhat.
282	* ''Literature/WhereTheRedFernGrows'' has two main dogs, also portrayed in a completely non-anthropomorphic, realistic way. Old Dan doesn't really fit this trope as he's not exactly dumb, but Little Ann averts it outright by being distinctly the brains to Dan's brawn. Both are very well-trained.
283	[[/folder]]
284
285	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
286	* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': The Veterinary Sketch featured Stephen Fry as a babblingly stupid dachshund fancier, getting on the nerves of Hugh Laurie's cat-owning character. The end of the sketch reveals that the dachsie is, quite sensibly, taking Stephen in to the vet's to be put down.
287	* The dogs in ''Series/EerieIndiana'', who plot to take over the world.
288	* Eddie's intelligence is a matter of dispute between ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' and Martin (one of many, of course) - but the dog that played him must have been a ''genius''.
289	* ''Series/InspectorRex'': The protagonist dog is definitely not a dumb. Not only he is useful to solve murder cases, but also is very capable of outsmarting criminals.
290	* ''Series/{{Lassie}}'' is usually smart enough to [[TimmyInAWell communicate with humans through barking and body language]].
291	* ''Series/MadAboutYou'': The dog is actually fairly clever.
292	* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Despite his laziness, Buck the Bundy's dog is smarter than his owners. Granted, this is not a significant challenge and does not prove that Buck is above canine-normal intelligence. He knows what channel ''Jeopardy'' comes on. That's pretty good for a dog, really.
293	* An aversion in ''Series/MythBusters'', as they showed that, yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. They also proved that almost ''none'' of the supposed tips for throwing a bloodhound off the scent actually worked, including the original literal RedHerring (the dog was temporarily distracted by the prospect of food, but the handler quickly got him back on track).
294	* ''Series/SueThomasFBEye'': Sue Thomas' dog is very smart.
295	[[/folder]]
296
297	[[folder:Video Games]]
298	* ''VideoGame/DogsLife'': The protagonist, Jake, is an immature goofball but he's an exception more than the rule (and even Jake can be clever when he needs to be).
299	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': Your Mabari war hound averts this as it is explicitly stated to have human-level intelligence; he's perfectly capable of obeying complex orders and fully understanding human speech, and you may sometimes suspect he's the smartest member of [[DysfunctionJunction your party]].
300	** He's also a master manipulator, able to thaw Morrigan into giving him treats, and if you choose him as one of the companions to try and break you out after being captioned, choosing to let Dog bluff succeeds in both cases where it's available.
301	** At one point in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', you can walk into your house and find Varric playing cards with your dog.
302	--->'''Snarky!Hawke:''' Is it brilliant or horrible that you play Diamondback with my dog? \
303	'''Varric:''' All I'm saying is, he'd be up more than two sovereigns if he watched his tells.
304	** He can even fetch the city guards to arrest a burglar that has broken into your house.
305	** The Mabari hound is a national symbol of Ferelden. You'll see dog motifs in a lot of architecture, affectionate nicknames nobles give their children, and even in coats of arms for nobles. There's a Fereldan proverb: "Mabari are smart enough to know how to talk, and wise enough to know not to."
306	* ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': [[spoiler:The [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] in the end is Ray's true identity-a past-timeline Missile who manipulated Sissel into saving Lynne and Kamila while on his QuestForIdentity, having gone ten years into the past and taking TheSlowPath back to the present. The Dog LITERALLY Was The Mastermind.]]
307	* ''VideoGame/Persona3'': Koromaru has a human-like intelligence. He may not be smarter than most of the humans in the party, but he could probably give [[IdiotHero Junpei]] a good run for his money.
308	* Poochy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland''. He's practically indestructible in that game, and as one bonus level so aptly puts it, Poochy ain't stupid.
309	[[/folder]]
310
311	[[folder:Webcomics]]
312	* ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'': While most dogs in Babylon Gardens are ditzy, book-dumb, and excitable, a few aversions exist. Peanut seems to fit the idiot dog mold perfectly, but is actually quite intelligent, just very emotional and absent-minded. Tarot also happens to be a pomeranian, and one of the most intelligent and capable characters in the entire cast by far.
313	* ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': Brutus is an ex-military service dog, and is implied to have been [[TheAce a very good one]], at that. As such, he's ''way'' more on top of things than Pixie, and takes it upon himself to defend her from [[TheComicallySerious the horrors of a perfectly ordinary house in the suburbs]].
314	[[/folder]]
315
316	[[folder:Web Original]]
317	* Inverted and downplayed in Cogito Ergo Sum's series of [[http://joker7777.info/index.html "escape the room" games]], where Nyan the cat frequently finds herself locked out of the apartment and needs Wan the dog's help in order to get back in. Nyan also eagerly jumps to participate in any suspicious special offer she receives, so long as there's a prize is at stake, while Wan just sighs and goes along with her. So she's not entirely stupid, just accident-prone and somewhat gullible.
318	[[/folder]]
319
320	[[folder:Western Animation]]
321	* The ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'' live by the show's title; going on wacky adventures because of or in spite of their stupidity. They don't even know their own names, much less each other's.
322	* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'': Jake's dog Fu Dog is smart as humans, but he's a magical creature.
323	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': Being a trained attack dog for the Goddamn Batman, the Bat-Dog is extraordinarily smart.
324	* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'': All of the dogs are intelligent, and Blue often seems to come across as smarter the human host, be it Steve, Joe or Kevin.
325	* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': Mr. Peanutbutter plays heavily with this trope. He's a yellow Labrador who, while never exactly portrayed as "dumb," certainly seems oblivious to unpleasant things around him, not the least his supposed "best friend" [=BoJack=] constantly insulting him (his occasional dog-like actions like fetching, chasing the mailman or rolling around on the ground don't help). In later seasons it's deconstructed, showing, that in large part, he deliberately adopts an AntiNihilist attitude to avoid dealing with problems he doesn't like or understand. It's also PlayedForDrama in his marriage to Diane Nguyen, as Mr. Peanutbutter seems unable to grasp why his wife doesn't appreciate his grand romantic gestures.
326	* ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} is somewhere in between. He's generally portrayed as [[TheFool a simple country bum]] type. As ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie'' and the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games show, he's generally the wisest of his friends. Or he's so dim-witted that he can have moments of [[DumbassHasAPoint incredibly]] [[TooDumbToFool clear]] [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight insight]]. It all [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on what's right for the story.]] More precisely, Goofy ''the character'' is accident prone and a bit dim. Goofy the ''[[AnimatedActor actor]]'' is still a bit accident prone, but not nearly as dumb.
327	* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is smarter than his humans more often than not. He proved at times to be quite naive but compared to Eustace and Muriel and many citizenes, not setting the bar high here, he is a genius. A straighter exception would be Shirley, one of the most knowledgeable and dryly intelligent characters in the show and one of the few who helps Courage.
328	* ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'': Inverted. Muttley, the snickering hound, is smarter than Dick Dastardly and company. Admittedly this doesn't say much.
329	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'': Pork Chop is portrayed as extremely intelligent by dog standards, to the point where he has human-like mannerisms (though he can't speak intelligibly, he pantomimes frequently.) The series makes it clear that most dogs in the cartoon's world don't act like Pork Chop, however.
330	* Droopy, the classic Creator/{{MGM}} cartoon character, is a DeadpanSnarker.
331	* ''WesternAnimation/DrZitbagsTransylvaniaPetShop'': Averted with Dr. Zitbag's skeletal canine companion Horrifido. Quite often, Horrifido proves to be smarter and more rational than Zitbag.
332	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian was generally the smartest character on the show (aside from perhaps [[BrainyBaby Stewie]]), before {{Flanderization}} set in and he went from the OnlySaneMan to an KnowNothingKnowItAll StrawHypocrite. Even after, he's still at least of average human intelligence (he can drive, read, writes a best-seller by exploiting stupid readers, etc...), and possibly about as ''smart'' as he was in the first few seasons, just less moral.
333	* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'': Brain the aptly named dog can understand English, use machines, disguise himself, and generally ends up cracking the case (along with Penny) instead of the show's eponymous character.
334	* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'': Dukey is often the voice of reason for his human friend Johnny and constantly exasperated by his silly antics. He is also occasionally the voice of common sense among the Test family.
335	* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'': "Bandit" is fairly intelligent for a dog, and often saves Jonny and the team from danger.
336	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Monroe behaves in a similar manner as Fu Dog mentioned above.
337	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
338	** Sam the Sheepdog continually outsmarts Ralph the Wolf.
339	** Barnyard Dawg generally outsmarts Foghorn Leghorn in his appearances.
340	* ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'': Kevin is actually quite intelligent, often occasionally helping Bogus out with any problem that arises in the Anybody residence.
341	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Applejack's dog Winona is rather intelligent and a great animal herder. Although she can get rather [[GenkiGirl frisky]].
342	* Snoopy is generally the most intelligent member of the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' gang; Peppermint Patty even thinks he's human, and refers to him "that kid with the big nose." Snoopy dictates complaint-letters to politicians, plays baseball better than anyone else on the team, surfs, and generally shows up Charlie Brown at everything. He's also the most popular one.
343	* Most, if not all of the dogs from any version of ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies1980s Pound]]'' ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010 Puppies]]''. Even the occasional ones portrayed as dumb can be seen as aversions, as TheMasquerade of dogs being speechless animals has held.
344	* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': Frisket is fairly intelligent, even managing to understand the Web Riders bizarre beeping language without difficulty (when presented with a Web Rider who knew his name, he reacted to the statement and THEN sniffed, recognizing the speaker).
345	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' subverts and reverses it at the same time with CatsAreMean -- the dog, Ren, is the {{Jerkass}}, AxCrazy and LargeHam, while Stimpy, the cat, is the {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, StupidGood and [[GenreBlindness Genre Blind]].
346	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rintindumb}}'': The title character is Rantanplan from the ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' comics, and is every bit as dumb in this as he is there.
347	* Mr. Peabody (''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'', ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'') is the smartest being ''ever,'' despite being a dog. He is so intelligent that he builds a time-machine that not only transports him anywhere in time and space, but also allows the traveller to understand the language and dialect of the natives. This allows him to fix errors in history using his super intelligence. In the original series, Mr. Peabody basically treats Sherman as a pet, even introducing himself "I'm Mr. Peabody, and this is my boy, Sherman." In the movie, he's more of a [[GoodParents loving father]].
348	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Santa's Little Helper varies from episode to episode but (especially in later episodes) is often presented as being pretty clever. Oddly though, his cleverness is usually applied in stealing food. Though as anyone with a dog will tell you, 99% of dog intelligence is focused on food and getting to places they're not supposed to sleep.
349	* Gromit, from ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit''. No voice, but easily as intelligent as (if not more than) any other character in the shorts/films. Preston in "WesternAnimation/ACloseShave" is violent ''and'' fairly intelligent, he's also [[spoiler:a robot]]. Gromit's ability to be a master of the [[SilentSnarker silent snark]] is further evidence of his genius. You know, if being a dog who can build a rocket isn't enough.
350	* ''WesternAnimation/WatchMyChops'' is all about the attempts of a talking clever-by-human-standards dog to keep his secret under wraps.
351	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DogsAreDumb