Study Finds Some Dogs Can Learn New Words Just by Eavesdropping On You
Have you ever noticed your dog listening in on your conversations? We certainly have. In fact, countless videos online show dogs reacting to their favorite words, such as “treat” or “grandma” or “muffin.” Now, a new study published in the Journal of Science suggests that some dogs may be able to learn new words simply by eavesdropping on humans.
Researchers observed that certain dogs weren’t just hearing familiar cues, they were actually picking up the meanings of new words through conversation alone.
Lead scientist Dr. Shany Dror and her team focused on what they call “gifted word learning dogs,” pets with an unusual ability to learn object labels — for example, understanding the difference between a ball and a rope. While this skill doesn’t appear to be breed-specific, Dr. Dror notes that Border Collies were more likely to show this talent.
They asked owners of gifted word learners to discuss a brand-new toy with another person while deliberately ignoring the dog. Later, without any direct training, the dogs were able to correctly retrieve the new toy when asked, indicating they had learned the word simply by listening in.
Dr. Dror hopes the findings will help deepen our understanding of how dogs interpret human language and improve the ways we communicate with our pets.