Gifted word-learner dogs prefer new toys and try to share them, study finds

Gifted word learner dogs prefer new toys and want to share

A new study has found that dogs with a rare talent for learning toy names have a strong preference for novel objects and actively try to share them with their owners. The research, published in Animal Cognition, suggests social motivation is key to these dogs' unique cognitive abilities.

The study comes from the same Eötvös Loránd University (ELU) group that last month showed such dogs can learn new toy labels just by overhearing their owners. This time, the team investigated how these "gifted word learner" (GWL) dogs interact with named and unnamed toys.

Testing dogs with labeled and novel toys

Researchers recruited 10 GWL dogs and 21 typical border collies. Over two weeks, owners familiarized the dogs with eight toys: two were repeatedly named, two were not named, and four were kept as novel toys for the test phase.

Each dog then participated in two 90-second trials with free access to the toys. Owners remained passive while researchers recorded the sessions. Contrary to expectations, all dogs, regardless of group, showed a strong preference for the new toys.

"Just hearing toy names does not automatically increase a dog’s attention," the authors noted, a finding that contrasts with how human babies pay more attention to named objects.

Social interaction, not just curiosity, drives the behavior

The critical difference emerged in how the dogs interacted with their owners. The GWL dogs were much more likely to pick up a toy—especially a new one—and bring it to their owner to initiate play.

Typical dogs more often sought passive physical contact. The authors interpret this as a distinct social style, similar to how human babies communicate by showing objects to parents.

"The way these dogs actively recruit humans into interactions around novel objects is intriguing," said co-author Andrea Sommese. "It raises the possibility that social motivation plays a role in why some dogs end up learning object names."

A history of discovering advanced canine cognition

The ELU group, led by co-author Claudia Fugazza, has a track record of uncovering advanced abilities in these rare dogs through the Genius Dog Challenge project. Their past discoveries include:

• Dogs store key sensory features (sight and smell) of their toys and recall them when searching for a named item.
• GWL dogs can identify objects based on verbal labels alone.
• Certain dogs can perform "label extension," applying a known toy name to new objects with similar functions, without formal training.

This latest study shifts the focus from the toys themselves to the dog-owner relationship. "To understand why some dogs learn words, we may need to look less at the toys and more at the relationship," Sommese said. This opens new avenues for studying how language-related skills emerge in species living closely with humans.