‘Gifted learner dogs’ can learn words by eavesdropping, study says

A recent study published in *Science* reveals that some "gifted word learner" dogs can learn the names of objects by overhearing human conversations, similar to how young children acquire language. Researchers at the University for Veterinary Medicine in Vienna conducted experiments with ten dogs, primarily border collies, introducing them to new toys either directly or through overheard conversations between family members. The dogs demonstrated a high success rate in retrieving the correct toy when asked by name, regardless of whether they learned the name through direct interaction or eavesdropping. This suggests these dogs possess advanced social cognitive skills that enable them to interpret human communication and learn new words passively. The findings highlight the remarkable ability of certain dogs to understand and learn from human language.

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories