Maltese, intelligent or just strong willed?

my little 8 mo. old male maltese shows signs of intelligence...he brings every toy he has into whatever room i'm working in and lays there a plays with his toys (i think that's pretty cute and smart). however, he seems extremely dense about aspects of training such as coming, "no," and other commands. i reward him with little treats consistently for all favorable behaviors, but have never had a dog so frustratingly difficult to train! i've owned a lot of other small and large dogs in my life. i know how to train, using reinforcement, etc. any feedback on the intelligence level of this breed? i've read the "trainability is the #1 test of intelligence." if that's the case, he's mentally challenged, but he has these other "smart" traits. what do you think (maltese breeders and trainers would be appreciated for comments).

I think they're both! Smart enough to have a mind of their own and to exercise their options!
When my sis was trying to potty train her Maltese, she finally asked for help from a trainer. He told her that the best way to determine intelligence in a dog is to put a dish towel over its head and see how long it takes the dog to figure out how to get it off its head Anything under 10 seconds was supposed to be VERY smart. My sis put the dish towel on her dog. The dog thought about it for a few seconds, then layed down and went to sleep with the dish towel still on her head! My personal opinion is that the trainer was the one who wasn't very bright!
The Maltese is 4 now and would explode before having an accident in the house. My sis says the dog just wanted to wait to be housebroken until she felt like it.
I think your little guy will get it sorted out before too much longer. Malteses are a smart and adorable breed.

yes I would say he should be getting it by now ,the basic commands I mean like sit ,stay and etc . I would keep at it though . I know alot of ppl that own malteses and they just go on about how smart they are . I hope I helped . good luck .

They are not the smartest of all breeds, but without a doubt, I find them pretty smart. And strong willed, I would not doubt either! Good luck, and try to read up on books, they may also help!

I know tons of dogs....generallly speaking, maltese are not one of the smartest--but there's an exception to every rule!

My dad has always had maltese, in fact I rescued Jake, one he has now. He is very smart in many ways (fetches the newspaper), but still having problems understanding potty-training....

What is it you want him to do? Basic sit-stay-come? Tricks? Or pet therapy? Your pup is still young, be patient, maybe go to a puppy class.

they are intelligent, but can also be stubborn. Don't make the mistake of thinking they aren't smart just becoz your training efforts haven't been rewarded with their good behavior :) just keep up the training, be calm & assertive and consistent. Males take longer to reach maturity than females, developmentally, so hang in there & good luck!