Top dogs: Eavesdropping ‘genius’ pups are learning new words

Nosy dogs of all breeds have this ability

Dog owners may be inadvertently teaching their pets new words.

Eavesdropping “genius dogs” are able to learn names for objects by overhearing their owners, according to groundbreaking new research from Hungary’s Eötvös Loránd University.

The gifted, multi-breed canines are able to learn hundreds of toy names during play sessions, the researchers said. And, the dogs could retrieve the specific toys when asked.

The researchers compared the dogs’ level of comprehension to that of young children under the age of two.

“Our findings show that the socio-cognitive processes enabling word learning from overheard speech are not uniquely human,” lead scientist Dr. Shany Dror explained in a statement. “Under the right conditions, some dogs present behaviors strikingly similar to those of young children.”

Genius dogs like 11-year-old male Border Collie Bryn are learning words by eavesdropping (Photo by: Helen Morgan)

Pawsitive results

To test this, the researchers put 10 of their genius dogs in two situations. In one, owners introduced two new toys and said what they were while interacting directly with the dogs. In the second, dogs watched as their owners talked to other people about the toys.

Both interactions lasted only eight minutes and were repeated over the length of four days before the researchers asked to “bring Teddy” or other toys.

The results were striking, with the dogs accurately identifying the toys 80 percent of the time after the direct interaction with their owner and 100 percent of the time when they overheard the toys’ names.

“Overall, the gifted dogs performed just as well when learning from overheard speech, as when they were directly taught, mirroring findings from infant studies,” the university said.

Previous research has shown dogs know words for behaviors, as well (Getty Images for IRONMAN)

In a second experiment, owners challenged their genius dogs by showing them the toys before placing the toys in a bucket. They named the toys only when they were out of the dogs’ sight.

Despite no longer being able to see the toys, the dogs still learned their names.

“These findings suggest that [the] dogs can flexibly use a variety of different mechanisms to learn new object labels” senior scientist Dr. Claudia Fugazza said.

Is your dog a genius? That may be far-fetched

These results build on previous research showing that dogs can eavesdrop, know words for behaviors and objects and understand words using soundboard buttons.

In 2019, a study from Emory University found that dogs process numerical quantities using a similar region of their brain as humans do.

But, not all dogs are genius dogs, the researchers stress.

“These dogs provide an exceptional model for exploring some of the cognitive abilities that enabled humans to develop language,” said Dror. “But we do not suggest that all dogs learn in this way – far from it.”

Still, owners can apply to participate in the research.