There’s a distinction between intelligence and biddability, and I believe they are mostly independent traits. Some dogs (and indeed most cats) will only use t

There’s a distinction between intelligence and biddability, and I believe they are mostly independent traits. Some dogs (and indeed most cats) will only use their intelligence to get what they want. Biddable dogs actually care what you want and try to please you, independently of whether it will directly benefit them. You could say their reward is seeing you happy (that’s not to say treats don’t also help!). The most trainable dogs are both intelligent and biddable.