Think Your Dog Can’t Learn Alone? Think Again!

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• A recent study published by Family Dog Project researchers at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest has shed additional light on super-smart Gifted Word Learner dogs — a rarity in the world of canines
• The researchers spent five years just finding enough GWLs for a decent-sized study; over half were Border Collies, but there were some non-working dogs in the group of 41 as well
• One of several common characteristics revealed about the dogs is that their owners didn’t intentionally teach them toy names. The dogs appeared to spontaneously pick up the names during daily unstructured play sessions
• In an earlier study, the same group of researchers discovered that Gifted Word Learner Border Collies are “extremely” playful — more playful than typical Border Collies