Opinion Some dogs can learn more words. But all dogs are man’s best friend

People fortunate to have dogs will insist, not even half-jokingly, that their “baby” can understand every word they utter. Rover can identify his favourite toy, and Moti will run across rooms when he hears the word “chicken” (or whatever the puppy’s favourite food happens to be). In essence, many dog parents — like the parents of some human children — insist that their baby is secretly brilliant. But in at least one sense, pet dogs had it better than human kids. No dog mom or dad has ever compared their canine companion unfavourably to the neighbour’s pooch or complained about them being underachievers. The pride in the so-called intelligence of their pets can be put down to blind affection. That could change.

A study published in Science last week has made global headlines. Researchers found that Gifted Word Learner dogs can “acquire novel words by overhearing third-party interactions” in much the same way that human toddlers do. Not only can these genius dogs label hundreds of items, they can also pick up vocabulary by eavesdropping on human conversations. Labelling, linguists and behaviourists will rush to clarify, it isn’t the same as language — in all its grammatical, lexical and metaphorical complexity. But the study does indicate that non-human animals can learn in the same ways we do, and perhaps carry within them multitudes we do not yet comprehend.

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But in all this talk of meaning and science, language and being, little thought is being given to poor Rover and Moti. The study, after all, focuses on the rare, “gifted” dogs. Most are still just a best friend, loving their people unconditionally. Let’s hope that those parents who want their kids to be toppers and brilliant, who push them to be cutthroat in a dog-eat-dog world, spoil the dog — even if they couldn’t spare the child.