Whether it’s a Labrador, Pug or Chow Chow, most owners have called their dog a “smart boy” or “smart girl.”
But according to new research, there are two key signs to look for in a truly “gifted” dog.
According to researchers from Eotvos Lorand University, the first sign is that they can remember the names of hundreds of objects.
But to be truly called ‘gifted’, they must also be able to remember certain names for at least two years.
According to the researchers, it is mainly Border Collies that have these ‘special’ talents.
Whether it’s a Labrador, a Pug or a Chow Chow, most owners have at some point declared their dog a “smart boy” or “smart girl.” But for a truly “gifted” dog, there are two key signs to look for, according to a new study
Research has already shown that a small number of dogs, known as gifted word learners (GWL), have a unique ability to remember the names of hundreds of objects.
Experts have now discovered a small group of Border Collies who can remember some of these names for at least two years.
The hope is that the talented dogs can give scientists more insight into how animals other than humans retain their memories.
Dr Claudia Fugazza, head of the research group at Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, said: ‘We know that dogs can remember events for at least 24 hours and smells for up to a year. But this is the first study to show that some talented dogs can remember words for at least two years.’
Research has already shown that a small number of dogs, known as gifted word learners (GWL), have a unique ability to remember the names of hundreds of objects
For the study, the team analyzed the behavior of five border collies: Gaia, Max, Whiskey, Squall and Rico.
These GWL dogs had learned and remembered the names of several toys and were tested again two years later.
According to the researchers, “remarkably,” four out of five dogs could still remember the names of 60-75 percent of the toys after two years, with Gaia performing the best.
As a group, the dogs scored an average of 44 percent correct, which is significantly above chance level, the team said.
Dr Shany Dror, lead researcher on the study, said: ‘We waited two years and then decided to test the dogs again to see if they still remembered the names of the toys.
‘Because so much time has passed, some owners have lost a few toys. For example, three dogs were tested on 12 toys, one dog on 11 and one dog on five.
‘After two years, we all had trouble remembering the names of toys. But not the dogs! They didn’t seem to have any trouble.’
The research is part of a project called the Genius Dog Challenge. The scientists are urging owners who think their dog knows multiple names for toys to contact them via the project’s website.
Dr Fugazza added: ‘The findings of our current study cannot be generalised to other dogs, as we only tested GWL dogs, dogs that have a special talent for learning object words.’