The Eavesdropping skills some dogs have can expand their vocabulary. Dogs are great at learning commands like “sit” or “stay.” Dogs are also great at remembering the names of things, such as their owners, or their toys. So now the research is pushing the limits on what dogs can do.
Scientists were already aware that these amazing dogs could learn the names of their toys and owners by just spending time with them. By latest studies, they discovered that dogs can also learn new things and new names by eavesdropping.
There are ten gifted dogs in this study – including a Border Collie named Basket, and a Labrador named Augie who watched their owners hold a new toy and talk about it. Then the dogs were told to go to another room and retrieve that toy from a pile, and they did it! This study shows how dogs can learn new things and expand their vocabulary by eavesdropping on their owners.
