Mark, you deserve a serious answer to your question, but I don't have one.
However, about six weeks ago a re-run of "Frasier" showed Frasier's father
giving Eddie the dog a test from a book on the subject of animal IQs.  (I
don't know if such a book actually exists...it LOOKED real enough.)This
specific test consisted of dropping a bath towel on a dog's head and seeing
how long it took the dog to get it off.  The fastest recorded time was
supposedly 7 seconds.  (Of course, Eddie just sat there.) So I tried it on
my five ferrets, using a hand towel to compensate for size.  Lilly the Mitt
(the smallest and fastest and naughtiest) was out from under it in about
1/2 second, nipping it several times on her way.  Hopper, like Eddie, just
sat there and eventually curled up and went to sleep.  The remaining three
averaged about 3 seconds.  So I figured if I threw out the lowest and
highest scores, that still left ferrets about twice as smart as dogs.  Of
course, dogs can be trained to do all sorts of things ferrets can't or
won't do, but that's only because God programmed them differently.  For
instance, you can't act as a thief and a retriever at the same time or your
wiring would short-circuit and sparks would shoot out your ears.  And I
have no idea about cats' IQs.  I had one who could open any door in the
house, but when she got outside never went anywhere because she was scared
of grass.  I tend to think ferrets are more clever than either dogs or cats
because, like many of the most successful humans, they've discovered that
charm and determination are more important in achieving their ends than
following the rules.
 
Signe
[Posted in FML issue 3306]