The short answer
No, pigs are not smarter than dogs.
Although dogs and pigs both solve puzzles, retain long-term memories, have dynamic social lives, and are capable of complex emotions like empathy, dogs are much better than pigs at communicating with human beings.
This mental superpower sets dogs apart from pigs and many other animals with otherwise similar intelligence, suggesting that dogs are smarter than pigs.
Read on if you'd like to learn more.
The long answer
The idea that pigs are smarter than dogs is one of the most common "fun animal facts" that I've heard over the years—it's just something people like to say when they see a pig.
This "fact" is also employed by vegetarians, vegans, and animal rights groups like The Humane Society, who claim:
Studies have found [that pigs are] smarter than dogs and even 3-year-old children!
Now that is quite a claim!
Before we consider dogs, please allow me to dismiss the second part of the above claim with a quick comparison.
I have a two-year-old son who knows hundreds of words, sings, tells me how he's feeling, uses tools (poorly), comprehends stories, counts to twenty, plays fetch with our dog, and pretends to be different animals, among other feats of the imagination.
Show me a pig (other than Babe) that can do any of those things, and I will eat my imitation leather boot.
I assume the studies that The Humane Society refers to (but does not cite) involved administration of intelligence tests in which pigs outperformed three-year-old humans.
The problem with intelligence tests
Here's the problem with intelligence tests: If we follow The Humane Society's simple logic, we might also conclude that rats are smarter than adult humans, since rats outperform humans on some intelligence tests.
Of course that would be an absurd conclusion.
Here's a better conclusion: Different species of animals are smart in different ways.
In cases of vastly different intelligence—like humans and rats—we should use common sense to determine which species has greater intelligence. Humans win, hands down.
In more subtle cases—like pigs and dogs—it is a more challenging comparison.
How to determine if pigs really are smarter than dogs
To compare the intelligence of pigs and dogs, we would ideally compare relative abilities to acquire and understand information. Unfortunately we can't ask them. Well, we can ask, but they are unlikely to respond.
Based on behavioral observations, however, we know that both dogs and pigs retain long-term memories, have complex social lives with group dynamics, and are capable of higher-level emotions like empathy.
Although plenty of news stories and online articles claim that pigs outperform dogs on some intelligence tests, I could not find a single study directly comparing pig versus dog intelligence. (Please contact me if you know of one.)
Some websites are just downright wrong about the facts, as shown by this statement from The Roots Institute (another animal rights group):
Research shows that pigs are at least as intelligent as dogs, and in many cases even outperform dogs on tests of cognition, memory, and other measures of intelligence. For example, not only can pigs be taught how to fetch like dogs, they can also differentiate between objects, for example a ball vs a frisbee. In fact, when it comes to problem-solving, pigs far outperform dogs.
The first claim is just wrong. Dogs can discriminate between objects when fetching, as shown by many YouTube videos, like this one.
The second claim lacks support. I can find no studies directly comparing pig vs dog intelligence that would allow us to conclude that pigs "far outperform" dogs "when it comes to problem-solving."
The research cited by The Roots Institute shows no such evidence; ironically, it shows that dogs are more likely than pigs to ask humans for help in solving a problem. And I think we can all agree that asking for help from someone more knowledgeable or capable is a sign of intelligence.
This brings us to an important point: Even if pigs really are better than dogs at solving certain puzzles (like rats versus humans), dogs are far smarter than pigs in a distinct and extremely important way: Dogs are better than every other non-human species at communicating with human beings.
Even chimpanzees (generally considered the smartest non-human species) struggle to understand human pointing (they look at the finger), while dogs look in the direction being indicated.
As a more familiar example: if you’ve ever had a bad day, you may have enjoyed some extra love from your pup, and that’s not a coincidence. Your dog really could be picking up on your mood, and then responding to it.
These findings suggest that dogs operate on a higher emotional plane than pigs. This is a key point in our inquiry because emotional complexity is a central measure of intelligence—we typically associate it with the smartest of all species, including humans, great apes, and dolphins.
We can therefore conclude that dogs are smarter than pigs.
While this answer may disappoint vegetarians, they can take comfort knowing that some people eat pigs and dogs, saving everyone from the unsavory hypocrisy.
An afterthought
I am sympathetic to animal rights groups campaigning for better treatment of animals—pigs included—but this comparative intelligence angle makes for a weak argument, since it misses the point.
Dogs are so deeply valued by human society not for their problem-solving skills, but due to their emotional intelligence. Pigs just can't compete when it comes to human connection.
That said, all animals deserve to be treated kindly and live without stress and pain, even if we do end up eating them.
Bon appétit!
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