Highly gifted dogs learn words by listening

Spektrum der Wissenschaft

17.1.2026

Translation: machine translated

Some dogs learn new words by listening to conversations between people. If a dog masters this, it is an exceptional talent.

Some four-legged friends learn new words simply by following conversations between people. Smart dogs memorise which sound sequence belongs to which object even if the word and object do not appear at the same time. This is shown by a study published in the specialist journal «Science».

This was investigated by a research team led by cognitive scientist Shany Dror from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. The focus was on so-called «gifted word learners», a very small group of highly gifted dogs that were already able to distinguish an unusually large number of toys by name. Ten of these super dogs took part in the experiments. For comparison, the researchers also tested ten typical family dogs without a special vocabulary.

First of all, the dogs heard their carer talking to another person about a new toy. For example, the humans were sitting at the table and talking about a stuffed dinosaur called «Sinclair». The dogs were in the same room, but were deliberately ignored: no eye contact, no speech.

«Bring Sinclair!»

The humans named the toys, passed them to each other and commented on them - using simple language, clear glances and audible enthusiasm, similar to how adults talk to small children. Later, the dogs were asked to pick out certain toys, such as Sinclair, from a larger selection when called on.

The team recorded how often the animals chose the right toy. They also tested whether the dogs learnt even if the object was briefly hidden at the moment the name was mentioned. Two weeks later, the researchers tested whether the dogs were still able to remember the new words.

As linguistically gifted as toddlers

The result: the superdogs picked up the right toy significantly more often than would have been the case by chance. Even when the word and toy were not presented at the same time, the talented dogs learnt reliably. And what they learnt could still be recalled weeks later. The family dogs tested, on the other hand, showed no clear signs that they had learnt new words simply by listening.

The study suggests that at least a few specimens have amazingly complex social skills - comparable to those of 18-month-old children. However, the researchers emphasise that this is a rare talent and not an ability that should be expected in every dog.

Spectrum of science

We are partners of Spektrum der Wissenschaft and want to make well-founded information more accessible to you. Follow Spektrum der Wissenschaft if you like the articles.

Original article on Spektrum.de

Spektrum der Wissenschaft

Wissenschaft aus erster Hand

dirdjaja@spektrum.de

Experts from science and research report on the latest findings in their fields – competent, authentic and comprehensible.

Follow

---

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all

These articles might also interest you