Border Collies are particularly smart Some dogs can remember words for two years
Gaia often spends hours training with her owner.
Image: dpa
Border Collie Whisky shows off one of his toys.
Image: dpa
Border Collie Max took part in a study with toys. Even after two years, he still remembered the terms.
Image: dpa
Whisky is an absolute super memorizer, Gifted Word Learner (GWL).
Image: dpa
Border Collies like Whisky are considered to be particularly eager to learn and docile.
Image: dpa
Gaia often spends hours training with her owner.
Image: dpa
Border Collie Whisky shows off one of his toys.
Image: dpa
Border Collie Max took part in a study with toys. Even after two years, he still remembered the terms.
Image: dpa
Whisky is an absolute super memorizer, Gifted Word Learner (GWL).
Image: dpa
Border Collies like Whisky are considered to be particularly eager to learn and docile.
Image: dpa
Some Border Collies are true memory artists. Tests now show that these animals can not only remember an extraordinary amount, but also for an impressively long time.
05.09.2024, 00:00
05.09.2024, 00:02
dpa
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- Behavioral researchers have shown in a study that some dogs can remember the names of hundreds of toys - for at least two years.
- There are so-called Gifted Word Learners (GWL) among the fur bearers. These are often Border Collies, which are considered to be particularly eager to learn and teach.
- Many people remember the now deceased German Border Collie Rico, who proved on the TV show "Wetten, dass...?" in 1999 that he could match 77 words to the respective toys and fetch the objects on command.
Ball, squeaky duck, bone, bear - some dogs can remember the names of hundreds of toys. Moreover, the memory of such names is not lost for at least two years, as a study by Hungarian behavioral researchers shows. Humans are therefore not the only species that can memorize words over the long term.
As long-term memory plays a major role in language development, it is of great interest to investigate the memory capacities of animals for names and their assignments, the team explains in the journal "Biology Letters".
Names of hundreds of objects in the head
"Sit", "down", "stay": many dogs learn such action-related commands quite quickly. Some also know how to interpret "fetch the ball" - i.e. individual object-related instructions.
However, there are also some absolute super-learners, known as Gifted Word Learners (GWL). These are often Border Collies, which are considered to be particularly eager to learn and docile. Some of them know the names of hundreds of toys and bring their owner the one named.
Rico from "Wetten, dass...?"
Many people remember the now deceased German border collie dog Rico, who proved in 1999 on the TV show "Wetten, dass...?" that he could match 77 words to the respective toys and fetch the objects on command.
Earlier studies had already shown that such gifted word learners can memorize new object names very quickly. Six dogs living in Norway, Spain, Brazil, the USA, the Netherlands and Hungary, for example, were able to learn the names of eleven to twelve new toys within a week. The tests were broadcast on social media and delighted dog lovers around the world.
Reunion after two years in a drawer
However, the experiment then continued, as the research team led by Shany Dror from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest now reports: The dog owners were asked to store the toys they had learned in such a way that the dogs could not see them. "We waited two years and then decided to test the dogs again to see if they still remembered the names of the toys," says Dror.
Three of the Border Collies (Max, Whisky and Gaia) were tested with twelve of the toys once used, one with eleven (Squall) and one with five (Rico). The number varied because some owners could not find some objects.
Praise and treats
During the test, the owners placed some of these toys in a room together with objects from their dog's constantly used collection. They then sat down in an adjacent room out of sight and asked the dog to fetch a particular toy. There were treats and praise for correctly recognized toys.
Cameras in both rooms were connected to an online platform that allowed the experimenters to observe the dogs' behavior in real time. "After two years, we all found it difficult to remember the names of the toys," said Dror, "but not the dogs." Of the five pelt-noses tested, four still remembered the names of 60 to 75 percent of the objects they had learned two years earlier.
"We know that dogs can remember events for at least 24 hours and smells for up to a year," explained Claudia Fugazza, head of the research group. It has now been shown that at least particularly talented dogs can remember words for at least two years.
Not suitable for everyone
The fascinating docility of Border Collies makes many people think about getting an animal of this herding dog breed. However, experts repeatedly warn that this needs to be carefully considered. A Border Collie is therefore not a suitable dog for beginners due to its demanding training. As a real workaholic among dogs, it also needs an extraordinary amount of exercise, activity and mental exercise.
Owners should therefore have plenty of time to spend with the animal and be at least as persistent as their dog. Otherwise, the breed's eagerness to work and restlessness can very quickly lead to serious behavioral problems - the dream dog becomes a problem dog that leaves its owners in despair.
Border Collies were originally used as herding dogs, primarily for sheep. The breed became a fashionable dog in many places thanks to films such as "A Pig called Babe".
Participation desired
The research conducted by Dror's team is part of the "Genius Dog Challenge" project, which investigates the talents of dogs with a large vocabulary. Dog owners who have a particularly talented dog are invited to get in touch and take part in the project via email - info@geniusdogchallenge.com - or via Facebook and Instagram.
