When it comes to cognitive ability, not all dogs are created equal. Most dogs can learn simple action cues like “sit” or “down." But so-called “gifted word learner” (GWL) dogs exhibit a remarkable ability to learn the names of objects - for example, learning the names of specific toys so well that they can retrieve them from a large pile of toys on command. And according to a new study published in the journal Science, they can even learn labels for new toys just by overhearing their owners talking about those toys. Per the authors, this suggests that GWL dogs have sociocognitive skills that are functionally comparable to those of 18-month-old human toddlers.

Co-author Claudia Fugazza of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, has been studying canine behavior and cognition for several years as part of the Genius Dog Challenge. For instance, the group’s 2022 study discovered that dogs store key sensory features about their toys - notably what they look like and how they smell - and recall those features when searching for the named toy. Prior studies had suggested that dogs typically rely on vision, or a combination of sight and smell, to locate target objects. GWL dogs can also identify objects based on verbal labels.

In that 2022 study, all the dogs - regardless of whether they were GWL dogs or typical dogs - successfully picked out the target toys in both light and dark conditions, though it took them longer to locate the toys in the dark. Most relied on visual cues, even though dogs possess an excellent sense of smell. However, the dogs sniffed more frequently and longer when searching for the toy in the dark.

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Source: Ars Technica