Meet The Dog Who Knows 1,022 Words

srdogtrainer

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
My computer does not want to play the video through right now. I only saw a few seconds at the beginning. Sounds like an amazing dog though! I can't believe anyone would train their dog five hours but he did look old enough to be retired.
My golden River gets a ton of training but I doubt it even comes close to averaging in the 5 hrs./day range.

I would say he knows over 100 commands. As for nouns I would say without a doubt he knows cookie. He also seems to know bowl, paw, leash, car, toy, boot, shoe and kennel. The problem for me for figuring out how many words he truly knows would be that I would need to go back and test it in various contexts. For example if River picked up a sock and I had a laundry basket right there and I told him to go put the sock in the basket he would probably do it. If however I had a basket and a trash can that were about the same height I’m not sure if he would chose the right one. If he did I wouldn’t know if he knew what a basket was, just got lucky or just practices putting things in a laundry basket more then a trash can.
If I put a bowl and a leash next to each other on the floor and I told him to get his leash, I would predict that he would get his bowl. Does this mean he doesn’t truly know what a leash is? Perhaps, but it could also be that River has a strong association with getting his bowl and being given food. If I tell him to get his leash and he see’s his bowl right there he may see the leash and know that is a leash, but he may decide that the bowl is more valuable and results in a greater reward and just incase I will decide to feed him again pick that one instead.
 
Ina

Ina

Well-Known Member
I found 5 hours a day a bit excessive too.

In the vid they showed that if you tell the dog to bring "spongebob" he would bring a toy that he associates with the word. So it's not really "knowing the word" because if you would use any other spongebob soft toy the dog wouldn't know what it means.

After watching the video I decided that whenever we play fetch, I say "fetch tigger" or "fetch the ball". Hopefully this way he learns the words automatically :)
 
Sally Honna

Sally Honna

Member
My dog knows the difference between "chewies" and "fetchies". Chewies are chew toys; bones, rawhide, sticks, ect. Fetchies are fetch toys; kong wubbas, soft toys, frizbees, small ball, ect. If you say, "Get Fetchie!" then she will run as fast as she can to find the nearest fetch toy. That also works for,"Get Chewie!" which means that you want her to run and get some kind of chew toy. Kong Wubbas are her favorite Fetchie. Nylabones are her favorite Chewie. You can find Kong Wubbas at about any pet supply or feed store. Nylabones can also be found there. My dog is a strong chewer, so it is essential to buy the extra-hard dow Chewies. If your is always bringing back the wrong kind of toy for fetch or for sitting on laps, try the Chewie/Fetchie system.

Key:
Chewies:
Nylabones: Bone
Nylabones: Fish
Rubber Kong
Rawhide

Fetchies:
Kong Wubbas
Soft Toy
Small Balls
Frizbees

Make sure to show your dog the difference between Chewies and Fetchies if you are planning to start using the system. Hold a Kong Wubba and say "Fetchie" before throwing it. Or say "Chewie" when holding a Nylabone. They may mess up a few times at the start, but make sure they know the difference. Treats or dog kibbles may help, liek when they bring the right toy back give them a treat, if not, don't. Pretty soon your dog will start to reconize the difference.
 
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