Belgian Malinois are the smartest dogs in the world.

Finnish scientists conducted experiments involving thousands of dogs of 13 breeds. Belgian Malinois performed best on cognitive and behavioral tests. Malinois scored 35 points out of 39 during the tests, displacing the border collie from the first place. They have long been considered the smartest dogs in the world. They are now in second place with 26 points, German Shepherds third with 25 points. Popular Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers took 13th and ninth places. They did excellently on the tasks of understanding human gestures, but showed poor results in the rest.