“Gifted” dogs expand their vocabulary just by eavesdropping on owners

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Researchers have discovered that dogs considered ‘gifted’ can actually learn new words by listening to their owners talk. It’s true!

Teaching a dog basic commands like ‘stay,’ ‘sit,’ ‘down,’ or ‘bed’ can be challenging. While some dogs learn quickly, others take more time to understand what’s being asked of them.

I’ve been seeing so many cool videos online of dogs learning to ‘talk’ with these buttons! It’s amazing – people are putting buttons around their houses that each make a different word when pressed, and their dogs are actually learning what they mean. Apparently, some dogs can press the buttons to ask for things like treats, their toys, or even tell you when they need to go potty! It’s seriously blowing my mind how smart they are.

I recently read about a really cool study! Researchers at universities in Hungary and Austria discovered that some super smart dogs can actually learn commands just by listening to you talk to other people! It’s like they’re eavesdropping and figuring things out, even if you’re not directly addressing them. Pretty amazing, right?

Dogs can expand vocabulary by eavesdropping

According to study author Shany Dror, this research marks the first time scientists have observed dogs learning the names of things simply by listening to others talk about them, as she explained to the Associated Press.

Researchers studied ten intelligent dogs by having their owners excitedly talk about new toys, but ignore the dogs themselves. After the toys were moved to another room, the dogs were asked to retrieve a specific toy, testing their ability to observe and remember.

Most of the dogs – seven out of ten – were able to learn the names of their toys and bring them to their owners when asked. This happened even when the toys were hidden in boxes while the owners were talking about them.

According to an Associated Press report, these dogs are part of a special group of 50 puppies identified by scientists as having exceptional abilities compared to other dogs.

Dogs are continuing to show their intelligence as the new year begins. In Oregon, an 82-year-old woman who was reported missing was found thanks to her dog, who guided rescuers to her location.

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2026-01-09 18:21