​ There are numerous benefits of owning a dog as a senior. The most obvious are health benefits. Dogs will keep you fit and active even at older age. You must take them on daily walks no matter what, which will improve your physical condition.
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There are other health benefits as well. There are studies, that suggest, that owning a dog can lower the blood pressure, lower blood sugar, it contributes for better cardiovascular functioning and it can lower cholesterol.

Dog ownership is also associated with reducing stress, loneliness or anxiety. Many people at older age are lonely, it is sad truth. With dogs, you will always have a friend by your side and you will meet other people on your walks. With a dog, you will always have a topic to discuss with other dog lovers.

Sometimes it is hard to organize your life in the retirement. Dogs will also help you with that, they will give you a routine, which can be very beneficial for many people. You will have to feed them, walk them and nurture them on daily basis.

Not only that this gives you a routine, it will also make you feel needed. In the adulthood you had job and kids who needed you. Very often you do not have it in retirement, but having a dog will give you this important feeling.

Dogs are also amazing emotional support animals. Many dogs are very empathetic and they feel when you are sad or unhappy and they share these emotions with you.

Dogs, especially medium or large sized dogs, provide security as well. Not many people will try to rob you or harm you when they will see a dog by your side.

Dogs can also improve your memory. There are studies suggesting that owning a dog can improve memory recall, memory retention, and improve mental cognition in the owner.

Of course, even though there are many many benefits of owning a dog at older age, i would not recommend it to everyone.

You should be ready for a long commitment. Sometimes it is better to adopt adult dog from shelter that is already trained and socialized rather than young untrained puppy. Living with an energetic puppy can be little bit too much for a senior.

Ask yourself if you are healthy enough to really have a dog. Are you ready for at least several walks a day? Do you have any disabilities or limited mobility? If so, i would recommend you other pet than a dog, which can also have extremely good benefits on your life.

Do you have the finances to own a dog? Dogs are not only time commitment but financial commitment as well. You must pay for food, grooming, toys and medical care. Dogs can be quite expensive to own, so think about that as well!

But if you have enough finances and you are in okay physical condition to own a dog, i would go for it! It will definitely make your life better!  

History
The Can de Chira breed was developed in the mountainous Spanish region of Alto Aragon. Most families in this region traditionally owned livestock, either sheep or goats, which is why herding dogs were highly valued by these people.
The Can de Chira has a common ancestor with many other European herding dogs. The ancestor is a dog of Asian origin that migrated with its nomadic tribes to Europe. This dog became very famous during the time of the Roman Empire for its herding abilities and quickly spread to all parts of Europe, where it would mix and cross with other local breeds. This is most likely how the Can de Chira dog came into existence. Other breeds with similar ancestry are, for example, the Catalan Shepherd, Basque Shepherd, Pyrenean Sheepdog, or Polish Lowland Sheepdog.
The existence of the Can de Chira breed has been confirmed by their appearance in pastoral photographs from the early 19th century.
And what about the name? Well, Can de Chira comes from the Aragonese language and can be translated as "dog that turns or rotates the flock." Basically, it means a herding dog.
And what about the situation today? The officially registered Can de Chira dogs count in hundreds, and it is still considered a rare dog breed, but their numbers are rising, and the breed can be found in a variety of Spanish regions, such as Huesca, Zaragoza, Girona, Barcelona, Teruel, Lleida, and Soria.

​Appearance
The Can de Chira is a medium-sized dog breed with a straight back, squared torso, and a small, wedge-shaped head. The average height is between 38-47 cm, which is 15-19 inches, and weight between 12-20 kg, which is 26-45 lbs. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males.
The Can de Chira has a semi-long coat, which is similar to the coat of a Border Collie. The coat is black with light gray, or even white spots on the body and face. Two light round spots on the eyes are very typical.
The breed has a relatively small head, straight muzzle, and lively, dark, and almond-shaped eyes

Temperament
The Can de Chira is a worker. They love to be outside and work with the cattle. They are really passionate about this utilization. The Can de Chira creates a strong bond with the owner, but also with the livestock. A big advantage is that they can handle herds of sheep and goats without biting them.
Of course, today, this breed is not only a worker but also a companion pet. The Can de Chira is known for its obedient, disciplined, loyal, and playful character. It is a lively and intelligent breed, a great combination for various dog sports, such as agility. Because this is a quite energetic dog breed, they need daily longer walks, jogs, hikes, vigorous playtime, or fun training sessions to stay healthy and happy. This is definitely not a couch potato, quite the opposite, and they will be happiest in an active family.
This breed is pretty eager to please, which makes them very trainable. They can easily learn all the basic obedience commands fast and easy. The Can de Chira can live in the family with other dogs or other pets, especially if socialized together from puppyhood, and they can make good playful partners for kids. But, of course, you should never leave a very young children with any dog breed unsupervised.

Health and grooming
There are no official health studies about the health of Can de Chira, but it is typically a very hardy and healthy dog breed that does not suffer much from any serious health issues. However, they can sometimes suffer from typical dog-related health issues, such as joint and bone problems, eye problems, allergies, or infections. The average lifespan of Can de Chira is typically between 12-14 years.
Their semi-long coat is relatively easy to maintain. Brushing from time to time is beneficial to remove all the loose and dead hair and to redistribute natural oils all over it. No other grooming is required. Like all dog breeds, you should regularly check their eyes, ears, nails, and teeth and clip or clean them if needed.

h The Ghadrejani, also known as Central Iranian Shepherd is a extremely strong, alert and independent livestock guardian dog and in this video i will tell you all you need to know about the Ghadrejani.

​First of all I would love to thanks Zeeba Farm for letting me use their photos in this video. If you will like the Ghadrejani and you would love to see more of them, definitely check the Zeeba Farm out, link is in description. And now lets jump into the video.

The first thing you will definitely notice about the Ghadrejani dog breed is its huge size. These dogs were primarily bred to protect livestock against various predators, such as wolves, which is why they just have to be strong, big and powerful. And indeed, the Ghadrejani is typically over 70 cms tall, but it can even reach height of 90 cms. The weight is typically around 60 kilograms, which is 130 lbs. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males.

The dog is extremely strong and big, but it is also very athletic, fast and agile. They have long legs, strong neck, large head with strong muzzle and deep chest.

The color of the Ghadrejani should be black and white and various combinations of these two colors. The Ghadrejani has extremely dense coat, which is making them adaptable to all kinds of harsh weather. These dogs are able to withstand cold, but also warm weather without problems and they can work in rain, snow or any other bad weather for all day long easily.

These adaptable dogs create extremely strong bond with its owner, family, but also with the livestock they protect. They are extremely alert, watchful, brave and courageous, determined, independent and territorial. They will defend the family and livestock no matter what. These dogs were bred for protection for centuries and the protective instinct of Ghadrejani is super strong.

On the other hand, these dogs should not show any sign of agression towards its own family. They must be loyal, obedient and trustworthy when they are with its family. Many of them will make good partners for kids and they are typically pretty gentle with the kids. Ghadrejani dogs can live with other dogs in the family as well. They should not have high prey drive, so they can be socialized with other household pets as well. But this is vastly influenced by early training and socialization.

And what about the history of this breed? Well, it is surrounded by mystery and there is not much documentation about it. It is extremely old Persian dog breed. This area is full of various livestock guardian dogs, such as Sarabi dog or Kuchi dog. It is believed that all these dogs are somehow related together. 

Let's start by saying that despite their many similarities, these two breeds are not related. The Pug is an ancient dog breed from China, thousands of years old, where they lived with royalty and were viewed as almost sacred animals. Pugs were brought to Europe somewhere around the 1600s. French Bulldogs are descendants of small toy Bulldogs from the United Kingdom that were brought to Normandy, France by lace workers. The history of the French Bulldog dates back to the 1800s, making it a much younger dog breed.

Now let's talk about the differences in appearance between the Pug and the Frenchie. One of the reasons why they look similar is that they are both brachycephalic dog breeds – which basically means that they have a short, pushed-in nose. The Pug has a slightly shorter muzzle than the Frenchie, but that is not the biggest difference in the facial area. The biggest difference would definitely be the ears. The Pug's ears sag down over its face and are velvety to touch, while the French Bulldog's ears are larger, distinctive, and erect. Additionally, the head shape is slightly different. The French Bulldog has a square-shaped head, while the Pug has a big, flat, round head. The last difference on the face is the wrinkles. Both breeds have them, but the Pug's wrinkles are deeper set and much more prevalent.

There are also significant differences in body type and size. The Frenchie typically looks more athletic compared to the Pug, which most often has a round body. It is important to note that both breeds are prone to overeating and obesity, so you should closely monitor your dog's diet.

And what about size? Well, the Pug is slightly smaller of the two. You can see the size comparison on the screen right now, but the size difference is not really that big. Both are small dog breeds.

The Pug and Frenchie have short coats, but that's the only similarity in their coat types. The Frenchie has a single-layered silky coat that sheds only minimally. The Pug has a smooth double coat that sheds like crazy and requires much more brushing to remove all the dead hair and minimize shedding.

Purebred Pugs can only be fawn or black. Fawn is by far the most common Pug color. On the other hand, Frenchies come in a variety of colors. You can find Frenchies in all kinds of plain colors like fawn, black, blue, or cream. Various shades of brindle, which is probably the most common Frenchie color pattern. French Bulldogs can also have differently colored spots on their coats, very typically dark, beige, or red spots on their chest, bottom, paws, or eyebrows.

The French Bulldog and the Pug also share a lot of similarities in their temperament and personality. Both are known to be excellent family companions with affectionate and friendly temperaments. They will trail after you everywhere you go and create a very strong bond with the family. These dogs crave attention and companionship.

The differences in their temperament are rather subtle, but the Pug is more clownish, more puppy-like, playful dog with mischievous antics. The adult French Bulldog tends to be more laid back, let's say "wiser" and relaxed.

The exercise needs of both breeds are minimal. A few daily walks combined with some playtime are enough for both dogs. But you must exercise them daily, so they stay happy, healthy, and fit.
Both breeds are pretty smart, but also independent and stubborn. From these two, it is most often the French Bulldog, who tends to be more stubborn and independent. However, both breeds are easily capable of learning all the basic obedience commands.

And last, but not least, let's talk about the health of both breeds. Since they both have brachycephalic face structure, they both can have troubles with respiratory complications. These problems are especially prevalent in hot and humid climates, and you should limit the exercise when your dog has breathing difficulties. These problems are significantly more serious for Pugs, as they're the more brachycephalic breed of the two.

Eye issues are another problem with both breeds, but again, they are much more common in Pugs. The bulgy eyes of Pugs are the source of many health issues. In addition to that, as I already mentioned before, both breeds are prone to obesity, and both breeds have histories of skin and autoimmune disorders.

​The average lifespan of a Pug is around 13 or 14 years, while the average lifespan of a French Bulldog is around 12 years.

1) Origin
There are few theories about the history of the Markiesje dog breed. The most popular one claims, that this breeds date back to 1600s. There are paintings of dogs similar to Markiesje from 17th or 18th century, but there are no records about breeding of Markiesje dog and no one really knows its ancestors and exact origin, but it is very likely that the breed has its ancestry in the Dutch breed known as Dutch Spionen.

2) Recent history
What we know for sure is, that in 1970s, the Markiesje breed was reintroduced by several breeders. During this time, the Markiesje population was not absolutely homogenous and it would be impossible to create perfect breed standard. That is why the Dutch Kennel Club set up an intensive breeding program, where the Markiesje named Pom, owned by Mrs. van Ederen become the foundation dog. This breeding program resulted in homogenous population of Markiesje breed as we know it today.

3) Companion
The Markiesje is not used as a hunter, not sa guard dog, or as a herding dog. Its main purpose in life is to be the best companion dog as possible. And they are perfect companions, they are lively, playful, friendly with almost everyone and they thrive for attention. It is pretty gentle dog breed that can make good partners for kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. They can typically be socialized to live with other dogs or other pets in the family. Majority of Markiesje dogs are very alert, which can make them okay watchdog, but they are too friendly and too small for a real guarding job.

4) Exercise
The Markiesje is a great companion pet, but it should not be confused with a lap dog. They love long walks, they love to run, retrieve, playing different games and they will enjoy fun training sessions. This is definitely not a coach potatoe and these dogs will be almost always ready for any kind of outdoor adventure. Without enough exercise, these dogs might develop some unwanted behaviour such as excessive barking or destruction

5) Name
The breed has a very unique name – Markiesje. It is believed that it is named after one of the most famous mistresses of the French king Louis XV, Markiezin de Pompadour. But some people say, that the name has its origin in french word „Maquer“ which means „standing dog“. Or possibly from a dog breeder Van he Veluws Markizaat. But you can always call this dog by its cute nickname – the Dutch Tulip Hound.

6) Size
The Markiesje is rather smaller dog breed with average height around 36 cm, which is 14 inch and weight between 11-13 lbs, which is 5-6 kg. There are no extreme size differences between males and females.

7) Coat
The coat of the Dutch Tulip Hound is a single layered coat in medium length that can either be straight or have slightly wave to it. It is very common to see feathering on Markiesje coat, especially on the ears, tails and hind legs.

8) Color
This dog breed is always in shiny solid black color or black color with white markings. Ticking within the white is allowed.

9) Maintenance
Speaking of the coat, lets mention the grooming and maintenance as well. Luckily, this is easy to take care for dog breed. Regular brushing is beneficial to remove loose hair from the coat and to prevent tangling and matting. No other grooming is required. Just like with all dog breeds, you should regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

​10) Health
The Markiesje is usually healthy dog breed with average lifespan around 14 years. There are no studies about the breeds health, but they should not suffer much from any serious genetic health issues. Of course, just like all dogs, they might suffer from the typical doggy issues, such as various allergies, infections, joint problems or eye problems, but none of these problems should not be very common in Markiesje dog breed.

All dog breeds are capable of learning all the basic obedience commands quite easily, but some will learn them faster than others. And the ability to learn new things fast and easy is important to evaluate dogs intelligence, at least, according to dog canine psychologist Stanley Coren, the author of famous book The Intelligence of Dogs.

He ranked dog breeds registered by the AKC by their intelligence and i will show you his 100 most intelligent dog breeds in a moment.

But first, lets say, what where his criterias for dog intelligence. First, he meassured the number of repetitions a dog needed to learn a new command or trick. The fewer repetitions were needed, the more points the dog breed got.

The second most important criteria was how succesfully was the dog obeying the command on the first attempt. For example, if your dog would obeys a learned trick 9 out of 10 times on the first try, he would get more points than a dog that would obey it only 7 out of 10 times.

You could argue, and you wouldn't be alone, that these are not the only aspects of intelligence. Some dog breeds, such as Siberian Husky, are without questions excellent problem solvers and very intelligent dogs, but when it comes to classic obedience training, they dont do so well, especially because of their independent mind. It is because many working breeds, either hunting, sledding or livestock protecting breeds have high instinctive intelligence, which is a reason why they are amazing at their job, but they might not be so easily trainable, which is why they will rank lower in Stanley Corens list.

There is also a so called adaptive intelligence. It is basically how a dog can naturally adapt to his envirnoment and if he could survive in it. This is again not reflected in this list, because this list is made by the dogs ability to positively respond to human to dog training and it does not reflect what a dog can teach itself to survive. The best adaptive intelligence could be found in semi-wild dogs, such as, for example Indian Pariah Dog or New Guinea Singing Dog.

In conclusion, no list that is ranking dogs intelligence will be perfect, because there are many ways how to meassure the intelligence, but this list definitely have some value as it is showing you which dog breed using its intelligence in classic obedience training the most and which one is best at it.

100 (tie): Ibizan Hound
100 (tie): Welsh Terrier
100 (tie): Irish Terrier
100 (tie): Boston Terrier
99: Rhodesian Ridgeback
98: Wire Fox Terrier
97: Chinese Shar Pei
96: Whippet
95: Alaskan Malamute
94: Staffordshire Bull Terrier
93: Shiba Inu
92: Dachshund
91: Great Dane
90: Boxer
89: Scottish Deerhound
88: West Highland White Terrier
87: Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
86: Greyhound
85: American Foxhound
84: Jack Russell Terrier
83: Otterhound
82: English Foxhound
81: Tibetan Spaniel
80: English Toy Spaniel
79: Havanese
78: Bichon Frise
77: Siberian Husky
76: American Water Spaniel
75: Black and Tan Coonhound
74: German Wirehaired Pointer
73: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
72: Pointer
71: Finnish Spitz
70: Saluki
69: Miniature American Shepherd
68: Kuvasz
67: Irish Wolfhound
66: Curly Coated Retriever
65: Smooth Fox Terrier
64: Bedlington Terrier
63: Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier
62: Dalmatian
61: Norwich Terrier
60: Clumber Spaniel
59: Pharaoh Hound
58: English Setter
57: Miniature Pinscher
56: Australian Silky Terrier
55: Affenpinscher
54: Norwegian Elkhound
53: Irish Setter
52: Kerry Blue Terrier
51: Cairn Terrier
50: Bearded Collie
49: Gordon Setter
48: American Staffordshire Terrier
47: Australian Terrier
46: Newfoundland
45: Field Spaniel
44: Samoyed
43: Manchester Terrier
42: Australian Shepherd
41: Welsh Springer Spaniel
40: Briard
39: Border Terrier
38: Bouvier des Flandres
37: Airedale Terrier
36: Portuguese Water Dog
35: Giant Schnauzer
34: Yorkshire Terrier
33: Puli
32: Chesapeake Bay Retriever
31: Cardigan Welsh Corgi
30: Vizsla
29: Irish Water Spaniel
28: Pomeranian
27: Bernese Mountain Dog
26: Belgian Malinois
25: Weimaraner
24: American Cocker Spaniel
23: Brittany
22: Standard Schnauzer
21: English Cocker Spaniel
20: Flat Coated Retriever
19: German Shorthaired Pointer
18: Keeshond
17: Collie
16: Belgian Sheepdog
15: Schipperke
14: Belgian Tervuren
13: English Springer Spaniel
12: Miniature Schnauzer
11: Pembroke Welsh Corgi
10: Australian Cattle Dog
9: Rottweiler
8: Papillon
7: Labrador Retriever
6: Shetland Sheepdog
5: Doberman Pinscher
4: Golden Retriever
3: German Shepherd
2: Poodle
1: Border Collie
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Here you have it! List of 100 smartest dogs in the world. And do not forget, the intelligence is not the main and only characteristic to consider when getting a dog! I would say there are much more important characteristics, such as exercise needs, size, grooming and maintenance needs, temperamental traits such as protectivness, playfulness, alertness and friendliness.. There are much more to a dog, than the intelligence and as i mentioned in the beginning of the video, all the dog breeds are capable of learning all the basic obedience commands quite easily!