Some dogs can learn new words just by overhearing you!
What's the story
Just like toddlers, some intelligent dogs can pick up new words just by eavesdropping on conversations, a study published in the journal Science has found. The research was conducted by scientists at Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Hungary. They wanted to see if "gifted" dogs, those that were particularly good at learning toy names, could also learn new words through overhearing.
Research
Study involved 10 gifted dogs and their owners
The study involved 10 gifted dogs and their owners, who had contacted the researchers after seeing social media posts or advertisements. The owners introduced two new toys to their pets, naming them repeatedly during direct interactions. These sessions lasted for several minutes over multiple days. The researchers found that "eight minutes was enough for the dogs to learn the name of two new toys," cognitive researcher Shany Dror told CNN.
Overheard learning
Dogs learned new toy names through overhearing
The researchers also tested the dogs in "overheard" conditions, where the owners used the new toy's name in sentences without looking at or interacting with their pets. Seven out of 10 dogs were able to identify and retrieve these new toys after just hearing their names. This suggested that gifted dogs can learn novel object labels by overhearing interactions, much like young children do.
Retention test
Dogs retained toy names even after 2 weeks
In a third experiment, the researchers tested eight dogs (four from the original 10) with new toys. The owners said the name of the toy only after placing it in a bucket and out of sight. Most dogs identified these new toys correctly and remembered their names even after two weeks. This showed that these gifted dogs can learn under different conditions and retain information over time, Dror said.
Limitations
Not all dogs have this unique ability
While these gifted dogs can learn new words in different ways, the researchers caution that their findings "should not be extended to the general dog population." A similar "overheard" experiment on 10 Border Collies that hadn't learned any object names before, showed typical family dogs don't learn new toy names like the gifted ones do. The researchers have been studying this group of "very special dogs that know names of toys" for years.