‘Dogs can learn the names of hundreds of toys — their language develops by eavesdropping on us’

So, you think you’re smart? Try to understand important words said in an entirely unknown language, used by a totally different species — now, multiply that by several languages. Even as we dazed humans reach for our AI assistants — who will also have a tough time trying to translate the talk of whales or parrots to us — nonhuman beings might just have an edge here.

Scientists have found gifted dogs can learn entire ‘label’ words in human languages, often simply by ‘eavesdropping’ on people, as Shany Dror, cognitive researcher, tells TE. Sitting beside delicate pink orchids in gleaming brass pots, Dror says, ‘Humans are always interested in what makes us ‘human’ — why are we so different from other animals? In the past, people thought only humans could use tools but research by Jane Goodall showed how other species also make and deploy tools. Now, several researchers feel what makes us human is our ability to use language. In nature, we see several intricate communication systems — but none is as complex as human language. We need to understand which experiences have shaped our language — and that is where dogs come into the picture because unlike other animals used earlier to study language, like dolphins or parrots, dogs were raised in our environment. Today, in fact, pet puppies are often exposed to an atmosphere very similar to a developing child.’

As with children, that’s where toys come in. Initially, Dror found dogs who understood the word ‘ball’ — then, she found some who understand the difference between ‘ball’, ‘frisbee’ and ‘rope’. She says, ‘Most dogs easily learn ‘sit’ or ‘stay’, which are labels for actions — but certain dogs can learn the labels of objects. Those are exceptional in their ability — they can learn a new label after hearing it just four times. We found even if you gave these dogs 12 new toys with distinct names every week, they could learn the individual names very fast and remember them for years.’

It’s not due to training — some of that just depends on your dog hanging out with you. Dror says, ‘Through my research, I noticed dogs pay a lot of attention to what their owners are saying and doing — owners recounted several indicative stories. Once, one was pondering aloud over ordering a pizza — their dog came straight into the living room, holding up its toy named ‘Pizza’. Another was talking about a bag on the phone and her dog, who has a toy called ‘Bag’, immediately brought it to her. This deepened my curiosity about how closely dogs watch and hear their owners and interpret their world.’

Among experiments, Dror set up two pet owners sitting down and chatting about toys, all of which had names. Their dog would be sitting in the background, listening — each time the owners mentioned a certain toy amongst themselves, the dog, without being asked to, brought it along. Dror emphasises, ‘This ability is very rare among dogs — but it exists.’ She calls this kind of canine a ‘genius dog’ — she says, ‘We’ve found these gifted dogs don’t just learn the names or labels of two or three objects, they learn hundreds. Much depends on how many toys their owners buy them — some people told me initially, ‘Oh, my dog knows just a few toy names’. As the dog became a much-doted-on pet, within two years, it had learnt the names of 200 different toys bought for it.’

In India, where many households speak multiple languages, this presents fascinating possibilities. Is it likely that an Indian pet might recognise multilingual words? Dror muses and replied, ‘In many senses, when dogs are learning the name of an object, they don’t have the context of a linguistic distinction, as in understanding — this is one language, that is another language. In our studies, we have pet owners from different parts of the world who normally speak, say, Portuguese, English and Spanish with their dog. When it comes to specific names of toys, the dogs don’t care. But studies conducted by other researchers show dogs do have a sensitivity in fMRI scans — they show a different reaction to their language as opposed to a different language. When a dog is exposed daily to multiple languages spoken in the same household, I’d say the dog doesn’t distinguish because for it, this is just part of their daily life.’

So, is it then fair to assume that memory, application and intelligence, our species’ much-vaunted gifts, are not only human — and are widely found in other species? Dror replies, ‘The term ‘intelligence’ includes different things. When we talk about animals, usually we don’t talk about general intelligence but specific things, like social cognitive abilities. Dogs are extremely good at this, being very perceptive at understanding social communication. They are not as good at, say, spatial intelligence or navigating in space — many of us know that moment when your dog is carrying a stick around in its mouth and gets stuck in a door and can’t pass. In contrast, elephants and parrots have very good spatial intelligence.’ Dror emphasises, ‘It’s important to note every animal has its own specialisation — humans are terrible at echolocating. A bat would be like, ‘Oh my God, they’re so stupid at that!’ Intelligence is both natural and highly specific.’

Skeptics — and there are always some, with inordinate time on their hands — would ask, what is the point even of trying to understand animal cognition? Dror replies, ‘Domesticated dogs developed in the same environment that we did. They were exposed to the same pressures. If we can understand some of the similarities in how we and they see the world, that would tell us a lot about which environmental factors, as opposed to our genetic background, shaped us. Humans and dogs are very different genetically but grew up in the same environment — so, in many senses, they’re putting a mirror in front of us. We have a lot to learn from them.’

TE can’t resist asking, ‘Are dogs better at understanding humans than the other way around?’ Dror smiles, possibly the very tender smile of a pet owner whose life has been changed by a dog. ‘That’s a good question… in our experiments, we put the toys referred to in another room but the dog would go get them from there when mentioned. Dogs are exceptional at reading the smallest cues humans give. Think of how before you know you’re going to get up, your dog is already stretching or you think you’ll go for a walk and your dog is already ready. They are extremely observant — and they definitely read us way better.’