Border Collies OS JayaAnd nalaniAnd the aboveAnd RicoAnd the storm NS whiskey They are as cute as any dog, but they have a special skill: learning and remembering the names of toys.
This ability has been demonstrated in research This was published on Wednesday (6) in the British “Royal Society Open Science” magazine. The authors are from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in Hungary.
“We know that dogs can easily learn words associated with verbs, such as ‘sit’ or ‘lie down.’ But very few dogs can learn the names of things,” explains researcher Shani Dror, first author of the research.
For two years, scientists searched for dogs who knew the names of their toys. Searched in several countries. One of the ‘genius’ puppies the researchers found is Brazilian Gaia, Two years (See the image below and keep reading to meet others):
Gaia, a 2-year-old border collie, is considered by Hungarian researchers a ‘genius’ – Photo: Shani Dror
In tests conducted at the end of last year, Dogs had to learn 6 to 12 object names in one week. For this, each owner received 6 new toys – and had a week to teach the dogs their names. The same procedure was later repeated, but with 12 new games.
“It turns out that for these talented dogs, it wasn’t much of a challenge. They easily learned between 11 and 12 games,” says Shani Dror, who equates children with their first leap in vocabulary.
Nalani, a frontier college considered by researchers from Hungary as a ‘genius’ – Photo: Sonja De Laat Spierings
and 6 dogs Do more than just know names Number of games: In tests by Dror and colleagues, they manage to Keep learning for at least 2 months – Maximum time measured by scientists.
(The names of the new toys were chosen at random from suggestions from people who follow the project on social media. The only limitation when choosing the names of the toys was that they could not look similar to any of the toys that dogs already own.)
Gaia and owner Isabella. Gaya is one of the frontier colleges considered ‘genius’ by a survey from Hungary – Photo: Shani Dror
Brazilian Jaya I was Able to learn the names of 12 new games. When she and the owner, Isabella, took part in the challenge, Gaia already knew the names of the 24 toys.
In just three months, Border Collie has learned the names of 37 new toys. Today, It has more than 80 games in its collectionAccording to the Genius Dog Challenge website.
Find out what other dogs the survey considers to be “genius”:
Nalani, a frontier college considered by researchers from Hungary as a ‘genius’ – Photo: Sonja De Laat Spierings
Nalani, this is Mora Na Dutch, Suffers from severe epileptic seizuresBut that did not prevent her from participating in the survey. In November 2019, when he joined the challenge, Nalani knew the names of about 50 toys.
Today, you know the names of more than 85 games Many variations. Testing with Nalani can take some time because she makes sure all the toys are shaken up and “killed” before being brought to the owner.
Max, a frontier college considered by researchers from Hungary as a ‘genius’ – Photo: Cooper Photo (via Shani Dror)
Max lives in Budapest, in Hungary, and joined the project when he was only 7 months old – and he already knew the names of 15 toys! Today, he already knows 100 names.
Likes to do agility and crossing. Max is very generous and loves to present his toys to scientists during testing. When the owner asks him “Max, where are you…” he’s so focused that he sometimes sticks out his tongue, according to the survey site.
Two-year-old Squall is one of the frontier colleges that Hungarian researchers consider a ‘genius’ – Photo: Shany Dror
Squall lives in Florida, United States. When he joined the project in July 2020, he knew the names of 20 games. Today, you know more than 55 – it is not known exactly how many there are, because they often do not survive a crocodile bite.
Whiskey, aged 6, is a border collie that researchers from Hungary consider a ‘genius’ – Photo: Helge o Savella
Whiskey on the sea Norway He was the first to take part in the project. At the time, I knew the names of 64 games. Today, more than 100 names are known.
Rikko, 4 years old, is one of the frontier colleges that researchers in Hungary consider a “genius”. Photo: Shani Dror / Disclosure
Rico lives with his friends in Spain. He owes his name to the famous German Border Collie Ricoh, the first dog to have a documented ability to retrieve toys in their name. He likes to run up and down stairs to get his toys, but he’s not always too keen on putting them on the floor.
But only a Border Collie can do this?
According to the researchers, Not.
“Thanks to the Genius Dog Challenge, we have so far been able to find dogs of other breeds as well, including German Shepherds, Pekingese, Australian Shepherds and some mixed dogs,” says Shani Dror. Previous research has documented this ability in Yorkshire as well.
Max, one of the frontier colleges considered “genius” by researchers from Hungary – Photo: Cooper Photo
In addition to, Not all Border Collie are able to learn the names of creatures.
Dror says, “Originally, Border Colliers were bred to work as herding dogs, so most are very sensitive and respond to their owners’ behavior. However, although the ability to learn game names appears to be more common among Border Collies, in a recently published study, we found that Even among this breed it is very rare, ”emphasizes the researcher.
“Gamers. Unfortunate Twitter teachers. Zombie pioneers. Internet fans. Hardcore thinkers.”
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