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Research Shows Dogs Understand Language
Associated Press ^ | 10 June 2004 | RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

Posted on 06/10/2004 6:38:32 AM PDT by SkyPilot

WASHINGTON - As many a dog owner will attest, our furry friends are listening. Now, for the doubters, there is scientific proof they understand much of what they hear.

German researchers have found a border collie named Rico who understands more than 200 words and can learn new ones as quickly as many children.

Patti Strand, an American Kennel Club board member, called the report "good news for those of us who talk to our dogs."

"Like parents of toddlers, we learned long ago the importance of spelling key words like bath, pill or vet when speaking in front of our dogs," Strand said. "Thanks to the researchers who've proven that people who talk to their dogs are cutting-edge communicators, not just a bunch of eccentrics."

The researchers found that Rico knows the names of dozens of play toys and can find the one called for by his owner. That is a vocabulary size about the same as apes, dolphins and parrots trained to understand words, the researchers say.

Rico can even take the next step, figuring out what a new word means.

The researchers put several known toys in a room along with one that Rico had not seen before. From a different room, Rico's owner asked him to fetch a toy, using a name for the toy the dog had never heard.

The border collie, a breed known primarily for its herding ability, was able to go to the room with the toys and, seven times out of 10, bring back the one he had not seen before. The dog seemingly understood that because he knew the names of all the other toys, the new one must be the one with the unfamiliar name.

"Apparently he was able to link the novel word to the novel item based on exclusion learning, either because he knew that the familiar items already had names or because they were not novel," said the researchers, led by Julia Fischer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig.

A month later, he still remembered the name of that new toy three out of six times, even without having seen it since that first test. That is a rate the scientists said was equivalent to that of a 3-year-old.

Rico's learning ability may indicate that some parts of speech comprehension developed separately from human speech, the scientists said.

"You don't have to be able to talk to understand a lot," Fischer said. The team noted that dogs have evolved with humans and have been selected for their ability to respond to the communications of people.

Katrina Kelner, Science's deputy editor for life sciences, said "such fast, one-trial learning in dogs is remarkable. This ability suggests that the brain structures that support this kind of learning are not unique to humans and may have formed the evolutionary basis of some of the advanced language abilities of humans."

Perhaps, although Paul Bloom of Yale University urges caution.

"Children can understand words used in a range of contexts. Rico's understanding is manifested in his fetching behavior," Bloom writes in a commentary, also in Science.

Bloom calls for further experiments to answer several questions: Can Rico learn a word for something other than a small object to be fetched? Can he display knowledge of a word in some way other than fetching? Can he follow an instruction not to fetch something?

Fischer and her colleagues are still working with Rico to see if he can understand requests to put toys in boxes or to bring them to certain people. Rico was born in December 1994 and lives with his owners. He was tested at home.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Miscellaneous; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: dog; language
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"And even I know what the meaning of the word "is" is."

1 posted on 06/10/2004 6:38:33 AM PDT by SkyPilot
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To: SkyPilot
Dogs are smarter than a lot of people I know.
2 posted on 06/10/2004 6:40:24 AM PDT by Mulder (Those who would give up liberty for temporary security, deserve neither -- Ben Franklin)
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To: SkyPilot

"the things he puts me through..."


3 posted on 06/10/2004 6:41:37 AM PDT by CasearianDaoist
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To: wmichgrad; Gabz

Bark Ping!

Now, if we could teach them to talk back we would be all set!


4 posted on 06/10/2004 6:41:43 AM PDT by CSM (Liberals may see Saddam's mass graves in Iraq as half-full, but I prefer to see them as half-empty.)
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To: SkyPilot

My dogs understand "cookie".


5 posted on 06/10/2004 6:41:48 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim (John Kerry - Not the Swiftest Boat in the Delta.)
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To: SkyPilot

My shepherd not only understood us, but played pranks, giggled, and was as mischevious as a child. She could show every emotion possible and even learned to spit her pills across the room.

She passed away four years ago at 14. She's very much missed.


6 posted on 06/10/2004 6:43:16 AM PDT by OpusatFR (Vote Kerry if you want to commit national suicide)
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To: SkyPilot

All dogs use the same simple rule.
If you can't eat it or screw it, pee on it.


7 posted on 06/10/2004 6:44:09 AM PDT by tractorman
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To: Mulder

At least as smart as Tom Brokaw.


8 posted on 06/10/2004 6:44:15 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (STAGMIRE !)
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To: Mulder
Dogs are smarter than a lot of people I know.

Ain't that the truth.

A friend of mine taught his dog to "do his business" upon command. The word was a name.

9 posted on 06/10/2004 6:44:28 AM PDT by SkyPilot
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To: big'ol_freeper

Popcorn ping.


10 posted on 06/10/2004 6:46:32 AM PDT by Lil'freeper (God Bless Ronald W. Reagan)
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To: SkyPilot

BTTT


11 posted on 06/10/2004 6:51:34 AM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: SkyPilot

We've got a Weim.

She understands lots of words.

She likes stuffed toys, and she can fetch whatever one you ask her to (i.e. get the bear, get the bunny, etc.)

But the most amazing thing to us is that if we bring her a new toy, we'll tell her that "this is your new toy." Then later in the evening or the next day if we ask her to go find her "new toy", she'll always bring us the latest addition to her toy collection.

Maybe just coincidence, or maybe that she's more enamored with the new toy than with the older ones, but it sure amazes us, LOL!


12 posted on 06/10/2004 6:55:05 AM PDT by dawn53
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To: SkyPilot

Yesterday evening, my husband and I were watching the Reagan Funeral Procession on TV. I turned toward our back wall of windows, and our outdoor cat was doing something I've never seen her do before. She was sitting up on the window sill, staring at the TV set. She'd been there so long, that when she jumped down, she actually had to stretch. It was unreal.


13 posted on 06/10/2004 6:55:38 AM PDT by hispanarepublicana (Reagan was right.)
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To: SkyPilot

Border collies are exceptional smart dogs. Now my two shih tzus on the other hand are dumber than a box of rocks, but my wife says they look soooooooooooo cute.


14 posted on 06/10/2004 6:55:49 AM PDT by hoosierboy
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To: SkyPilot

I watched a woman deal with a barking dog. She said something like "Quiet, or you're getting a bath!" I didn't hear another sound out of that dog.


15 posted on 06/10/2004 6:56:51 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (Uday is DU in Pig Latin)
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To: SkyPilot

Black labs are some damn smart dogs. As soon as the wife gives me permission, i am getting one.


16 posted on 06/10/2004 6:58:47 AM PDT by Fierce Allegiance ( "Stay safe in the "sandbox", cuz!)
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To: SkyPilot

They do understand basic commands in different languages. A dog taught to "Come" in Spanish will not respond when commanded in English and vice versa. Guess that's why they run when I make the comment, "Hmmm...that dog looks delicious!"


17 posted on 06/10/2004 6:59:12 AM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: Fierce Allegiance

maybe 2.


18 posted on 06/10/2004 6:59:14 AM PDT by Fierce Allegiance ( "Stay safe in the "sandbox", cuz!)
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To: SkyPilot

We've had to spell W-A-L-K in front of my lab as she goes ballistic if she hears the word. Now she understands the spelled version, so we've started to use other languages :lol:.
This has happened with us using abbreviations for other things too (like T for treat, etc).

She knows who people are too - if I ask her if she wants to go see Gene or Junior (neighbors) she looks down the road in the direction of their house (they live in opposite directions).

I mentioned to her this AM that I was going down to NY to see "Grandma and Grampa" today (my parents, it's a family joke that we call them that on behalf of the dog) and she got all excited then went and sat in front of the phone (my mother asks to talk to her when she calls all the time) :lol:.

LQ


19 posted on 06/10/2004 6:59:26 AM PDT by LizardQueen
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To: SkyPilot
Border collies are scary smart. They RULE in agility, where my little Choc Lab competes (she does alright though.)

My Lab probably has a hundred-word vocabulary. She can tell her toys apart (you can tell her "go get Hedgie (her stuffed hedgehog) or Bone-Bone (her current smoked beef knuckle)" or whatever other toy you want and she'll rummage through her toy basket until she finds it. Of course she knows all the agility commands (left/right, wait, the names of all the obstacles, close/out, heel/side, go-go-go!, etc.) She also potties on command (which is handy in the rain or when you're in a hurry). Even if she doesn't need to go, she'll go through the motions and give it a try.

Next weekend she is going to a training session to see if we can make a hunting retriever out of her. She's very birdy and has a good nose, so I don't see why not. And since water will be involved, she's all for it.


20 posted on 06/10/2004 7:03:09 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of Venery (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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