Robin,

I know what you mean. My 8 year old Bearded Collie, "Honey" (see in my avatar picture) has an enormous vocabulary and understand almost everything that is said around her. I know she is reading body language and combining that information with spoken words she recognizes. She is amazing and the best dog I have ever loved. Honey is one of a kind.

She also likes having her picture taken as you can tell from the photo. She is smiling for the camera.

Vocabulary of a 5 year old? Wow.

So, your dogs ask you for cups of orange juice or if they can watch a cartoon on Netflix? Because that's all I hear out of my 5 year old's mouth, haha.

To me this has been obvious. I am a dog lover and have had so many in my life. All of them pay close attention to my facial expressions and react to them. Just the other day I had to have my beloved Boston Terrier Nikki to sleep due to a brain tumor. I had to smile all the way to the end until she was alseep, then I cried like a baby.

Adam, your sacrasm is best saved for another thread/news story. Yes, dogs, on average, have the intelligence of a 5 year old child. If you fail to understand that then either you've never owned a dog yourself, or you never allowed yourself to bond with them so you could see for yourself this is true.

Shoot, I'd say there are dogs out there that are smarter than some people. I see more depth of thought in my own dog's eyes than I see in some people when I meet them.

And I agree with the OP...my dog clearly understands key words, and there are many of them. I don't think they have sentence comprehension at all, but they can pick up on certain words and associate that with their own memories/experiences from the past. And, another thing that pet owners know but scientists seem to want to deny or not prove, dogs never forget. It's not just elephants who have great memories...dogs never forget. And there is evidence if they spend just a minute smelling something, they will remember that scent all their lives.

So sorry for your loss, Sandra. It hate to read of the loss of others losing their beloved furry companions.

I know when it's time for time to separate me from my beloved dog it will be very hard on me. I am not sure I would have the composure to hold it together until after he's gone. You should be commended for giving your dog a great goodbye.

The idea that dogs can read our body language should not be a surprise to anyone that has spent more than ten minutes around a dog. They can also read our emotions. This is because our emotions cause a change in our body chemistry and dogs can literally smell the difference. There has even been some research to suggest that dogs can smell when someone has certain cancers because of the changes in body chemistry they cause. While intelligence seems to vary quite a bit among different breeds, there are certain things that all dogs seem to be able o pick up on. I have found the smartest breeds to be the Alaskan breeds like Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds, Alaskans, etc. For some reason they seem to be a step above many other breeds when it comes to innate intelligence. Two breeds that seems to have a wide range of intelligence is labs and golden retrievers. I have seen some that were extremely smart and others that were dumb as rocks. Although, that could just be the training they received from their owners.

Adam!! Ahhhh, you sound like a cat owner!LOL!!

Thank you Damien. I had a friend come with me to the vet clinic, as I knew I would not be able to drive myself home. I instructed her to act happy too. She also loved Nikki and it was hard.

Sorry DamienOujia,

But when a sentence is ended with a 'haha', no sarcasm is placed. The gag is written obviously on purpose and laughing towards my own comment. PLAYING OFF OF the commentor who posted before me. NOT questioning them.

Have a sense of humor. I figured someone named Damien Oujia would be the last person to take offense to something on a talkback.

I've got a boxer, and, well, she's pretty damn stupid, lol

I can literally look at her, knock 3 times on the wall while she's watching me, and she goes @pe@!$%# thinking someones at the door. But hey, she's a great dog otherwise

I too, have a dumb dog. Boston Terrier who is just plain stupid for some reason. Makes my three Chihuahua's look like Bill Gates. haha

My 5 year old son even made a song about her that he sings:

"Hannah, the big dumb dog. Big dumb dog of all dumb dogs."

haha

This is so true!!! I am deaf and communicate in sign language with my dog. She seems to listen better than with voice commands. She's the greatest!!!

I wonder if all animals are more intelligent than scientists have told us. My little schnauzer not only understands me, but tries to talk back!

Cant you tell when you sick, your dog stays real close to you and will snuggle up against you. They try to love you to better health.

Sometimes they are more comforting than a Love one.

Maybe the saying there are no bad dogs only bad owners can also apply to there are no dumb dogs only dumb owners....I find it sad when owners call their dogs dumb, maybe you just have poor communication skills.

@ Just a thought

Thanks for raining on our parade, time to get back to being deadly serious everyone!

Don't get me wrong 'Just A Thought', I still love her. But she still is not up to par compared to my other dogs when it comes to intelligence. I have no problem saying it. Yah, my dog is pretty dumb. But she's still my dog and I wouldn't change that.

Adam, for what it's worth, I'm a huge dog lover and I thought your joke about a 5 year old's vocabulary was funny!

I have a Mini Schnauzer who is great at reading my non-verbal cues--verbal, not so good. He does know when I'm sad and comes over to try to calm me. When I'm happy, he's bouncing off the walls with happiness. Dogs, smart or not-so-smart, add joy to our lives.

Hey, there are stupid dogs and there are smart dogs. Of course, compared to humans all dogs are smart. Who pays for the dog food? Who pays for the vet and groomer? Who takes who for walks in blizzards? My dogs have trained me well, the only reason they keep me around is because they haven't figured out the can opener. Once that happens, watch out.

Dogs rule! The best companions by far and the only species I have found that truly expresses UNCONDITIONAL love.

To cat lovers who may take offense. I have owned cats also, but they do not possess unconditional love for their owners.

My cats do.

I have 4 cats and one dog. One of my cats will always greet me when I come home and wants to be picked up and kissed. He trills his purrs to me and follows me around the house like a puppy. Sleeps with me at night and can't stand to have me out of his sight. The dog just wants to be fed and then ignores me. Cats rule; dogs drool! LOL

I think the scientist are wrong on dogs don't have emotions. I have chihuahuas that cry when you get on to them. Their eyes really tear up. They smile when they are happy. I used to have a shih-tzu that would grin from ear to ear riding down the road with her head out of the window.

Tennyson, the poet, wrote of animals having conversations with their eyes. All animals have "body language", just as humans do, like we can read our fellow humans thoughts without their saying a word. I have spent years with tamed, wild lizards, observing complex thoughts viewed with body language and the looks radiating from their eyes. I have even observed their disgust at some of my stupidity.

The more research into animals, the more aghast everyone is when they realize, all vertebrates are closely related and are far more homo sapien like and conscious than ever believed. I have even observed animal altruism.

Wishfull thinking people. Dogs have the intelligence at best of a 2YO, and there are some expeptions to the rule. Parots, African Grey do indeed have a 5yo intelligence, and they can speak over 500 words and even hold a conversation. No DOG can do that.

Dogs have instincts that allow them to sense how you are feeling and do learn based on vocal tone changes.

But sorry, your does neither has the vocabulary (meaning he can speak) nor the intelligence of a 5yo.

stc 1993 that had to be so cute.

I have a shih tzu that is very expressive. I noticed that he would get my attention, then look at the door. Or get my attention and then look at the fridge, or treats, or bed. So I started using it with him. I will get his attention, then turn my head and look at my lap. And he always jumps up and curls up on my lap. Or I will get his attention and look at the door, and he will get excited and run for the door and get the leash. We have a good relationship.

I used to have a dog that did the same thing, if I showed him what I wanted him to do, he would then copy it. I'd give him a plastic grocery bag to carry in, and he would put it on the table, he would go out and wait for the mailman to put the mail in his mouth, he helped the mama cat pick up her babies and put them back in the box, very smart dog. And all I had to do was show him by doing it. We even had to spell if we wanted to go somewhere, but he figured out if we spelled M-c-D-o-n-a-l-d-s, that he wanted to get in the car. But if we spelled v-e-t, he would hide in the basement. lol

The Rottie I had, was great. He knew voice commands, and he learned 10 hand signs before he was 2. Not sure if it's the very best way to "bond" with a new pup, but I've found that if I spend quite a bit of time with them havin' "play time", and breathing in their face, actually layin' down with the pup on my chest where he could smell me, and takin' advantage of one of a dogs best senses, it makes sense to me, that they'll soon recognize you as the "parent" figure, and the dominate figure in their life. They want to please. They may be domesticated, but they still like and expect pack structure. Every pup I've ever had the pleasure to be owned by, I raised like that, and they all turned out great!! I've adopted a Lab and a Mastiff though, both already grown, and seemed collectively to have the IQ of a washcloth. lol

Cowgirl, My Grandmother was deaf and owned a Doberman. Everyone would do the old trick that involved making the dog sit, asking it to speak, and then giving a treat after she barked.

The weird thing was that when my Grandmother did the trick, the dog would simply mouth a bark with no sound and my Grandmother, being deaf, gave her the treat anyway. Every time.

It was like the dog knew she was deaf and took advantage of it. The dog actually pantomimed a bark for my Grandmother. Was always good for a laugh.

As my bumper sticker reads "My Sheltie is smarter than your honor student".

Actually, I don't believe any dog who has shared my life has been dumb.

PBS had a doc about a border collie that understood the names of over a thousand stuffed animals and could retrieve them by name. They added a new toy with an unfamiliar name and he was able to figure out what the guy wanted. Amazing. The dogs name is Chaser.

PBS had a doc about a border collie that understood the names of over a thousand stuffed animals and could retrieve them by name. They added a new toy with an unfamiliar name and he was able to figure out what the guy wanted. Amazing. The dogs name is Chaser.

Sorry but it was hard to get by the overweight dog in the photo to read the article. A healthy dog (especially one who swims) should not look like that. Overweight dogs is a real problem and showing photos like this makes people believe that a dog in good weight is too skinny and a dog like this one s a correct weight. While the dog might be looking into his owners eyes telling them he wants more food, it doesn't mean you do it! You control what your dog eats!

As for the article, I think most "dog people" have known this for a long time!

Shaun123333, you are misinformed. Dogs can have the vocabulary of a five year old. African greys are also highly intelligent birds but to compare a bird and a dog isn't really fair. You are comparing two different species.

For those of us who work with dogs and the few who are privileged to work and interact with assistance dogs and other working dogs, you really have NO idea what they understand and are capable of. These dogs think and reason. Yes, much is training but to do that training, there has to be a natural talent there to work with. As one who works with a medical assistance dog, I place my trust and life in her paws and she does not let me down. She knows what she is doing. You have never been privileged to watch a working team. You need to watch a working police dog team or a team made up of handler and Search and Rescue dog. The dogs who worked the site of the Sept. bombing in NYC grieved terribly for the bodies they found. They suffered right along with the people there and their handlers. Many suffered PTSD. Never underestimate what dogs can do or think or feel.

Well said Meezermom!

The reason it is news, Auzziegirl, is because scientists have been trying to tell us for years that it isn't true. Much like they've tried to tell us that dogs don't smile and that they only lick you because of the salt exuding from your skin. Silly scientists. :)

Barky, yes. I have never got that the Scientists think that dogs only lick us for the salt. NO WAY. It is clearly a sign of affection or a greetingm leting me know they are happy I am home..

Couldn't agree more.

I don't need a "scientist" to tell me that dogs are intelligent, compassionate, sentient beings. Like someone else said - spend more than 10 minutes with a dog and open your mind and heart to what they have to teach you - and there's no question about their ability to communicate.

And yes...my dogs have huge vocabularies because I speak to them like they are intelligent beings (which they are). More so than many humans I know :)

My dog licks me because he likes to lick me, rather like doggie kisses. I have noticed that he really likes to lick me after he's eaten something disgusting, like a seriously dead squirrel carcass. Next they need to do a study on the dog's sense of humor.

Mygirl1: consider yourself lucky on the dead squirrel. One of my dogs , sometimes has a S$%T eating grin and wants to be affectionate right after. Talk about disgusting!!

On the article: Our dogs are alarm clocks, they know exactly when they get their morning bones. And if your not moving fast enough, they'll give a nudge to the back of your knee to prod you on. They respond to hand signals as well as commands. Easily trained. Saved Rottie mixes.

My beagle has a patio chair we put under the kitchen window. He hops up there every night, and places his "drive through" order to go. It's a fun routine we have, and he sure loves his TREATS! He is funny though, he won't eat his snack on the deck. He always takes it out to the back yard.

" ... they look deeply into our eyes and try to guess what we’re up to ..."

Explains why my dog ignores me when I've been drinking.

ROFL

Bill, I could not agree more with you.

Dog is my copilot....

"Dog is my co-pilot"

I never understood that phrase. What does it mean exactly?

Is it a dog lovers play off of "GOD is my co-pilot" (if that was a phrase) or something?

no adam, it's a dyslexic's play on that phrase.

Bill - I have said the exact same thing many times.

But I don't limit it to dogs...all animals are God's angels. The true test is how do you as a human treat animals? Like they have value? Which of course they do.

Or do you tream them as some "expendable" creature put here for your entertainment or consumption?

Something to think about.

Indigo-- all creatures are expendable, including human beings. Nothing lives forever. Consume or be consumed.

"Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on... This is necessary! This is necessary! Life feeds on life feeds on..." -- Disgustipated from Undertow, Tool

There is an ocean of difference between hunting for necessary survival and hunting just because you can.

Indigo, the more research into animal thinking, the more science realizes how conscious and intelligent animals are. Indeed, in the first five weeks in embryo, all vertebrates are almost indistinguishable. Very difficult to tell the difference between, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, including human.

I have personally observed remarkable behaviors in both wild lizards and wild tree frogs. Yes, verbal communication is only one method of communication. Animals are infinitely more conscious and intelligent than formerly believed.

I have been saying that for years. I had a dalmation mix that was probably smarter than 75 % of the US population. She was 9 when I put her on the truck and she rode with me for 4 or 5 years. I came into a customer location from the wrong direction and rather than turn around I decided to back blind-side into the driveway. There was a large boulder at the corner of the driveway and I told the dog that I could not see the rear of the trailer in the mirror or out the window and I needed her to watch the trailer and let me know before I hit anything. She barked once and I stopped to check, I was centered on the boulder about three feet from it. We repeated the process and the same thing happened, the third attempt I got into the driveway and she stopped me three feet from the loading dock. This dog was SMART!!! RIP Pepper 12/28/11

Yes, cats know what you're thinking too, they just don't care! Unless you're thinking about feeding them.

I certainly had a cat that understood the word "vet." She even learned to understand when we spelled it out V-E-T! And she was very good at hiding when she heard it. She clearly understood a great deal as we had very many "converstions." When she was elderly, and she was clearly sick, I told her it was alright to go if God was calling her home. She died the next day.

I had an aunt who had a dog who had excellent musical tastes. Really! He howled in pain when she tried to play the piano, but didn't want to let me off the bench when I played.

yeah, sounds like you eneded up with a retarded one

LOL That is exactly what I was going to say, waverider!

It's the Basset in him. As a lifelong Basset Hound owner, I can tell you they can be the some of the most dim-witted, stubborn, loveable knuckleheads on the planet.

Sort of suprised he won't follow a finger point. Thought the Lab in him would cover that concept. That's a mechanism that science has shown dogs readily understand and respond to whereas chimps - a much closer cousin genetically - can't figure seem to figure that one out at all.

My dog is a rocket scientist.

My dog would hump your dog like the nerd he is.

We have a boxador (boxer/lab mix) 1 yr old male, and I do think he is dumber than a doorknob, but sweet.

A lot of dog breeds won't do what you want them to do because they don't see any logical reason to do said action. And they're usually right.

I think some breeds are brighter than others, but there are also example in every breed that aren't, well, normal for their breed. I suppose just as humans can be born without a high IQ, so can dogs.

I've had so many dogs over the years, and beagles, for example, are so smart when it comes to their nose, but clueless with sight work. On the other hand, I've had several German Shepherds that are too dang smart for their own good. My current one watches me every second and knows if I'm going for the leash the second it crosses my mind! It's uncanny. Although, that level of watchfulness can sometimes be a little on the irritating side, especially if I just want to sit and watch a movie. I do appreciate her ability to convey her needs, though. Never have a question if she's out of water, or can't find her ball, or she's not feeling well, or whatever she needs. I just wish she'd lay off figuring out how to open doors, or at least learn how to close them behind herself! She's even figured out the lock, for Pete's sake.

My greyhound was very aloof when I first got him. I used to call him autistic. But now he's very responsive and we "talk" a lot with body languge-he wants me to go upstairs with him, or I want him to do something. I think his behavior in the first two years I had him had to do with him not having a lot of social contact with people

I had a chocolate lab awhile back, and I still miss him terribly. I always say there are smart dogs, and dogs that try real hard. My lab wasn't very smart but he never did anything wrong. he was happy, loving, wagged his tail a lot, smiled a lot. But if I threw a ball, he'd look over at me as if to say,"hey lady, you dropped your ball." He would sit, if it looked like he would get food for doing so. He was a round lab of 100. pounds. I got him in the divorce, him and I were close pals for 7 years. I have had two dogs now since he was gone, but I miss him still.

I actually had to put down my bassador 2 years ago, but she was the brightest dog I ever met. Her name was Abby, as in abi-normal. She had a massive vocabulary and practically trained herself. Within 2 days of getting her she was whining at the door for the bathroom, and tricks were a breeze.

Funny quirk: She was really afraid of the dark. She wouldn't go off of the deck unless we had the big spotlight on!

Our lab was so smart that he definitely knew the differences between numerous words. We'd ask him to fetch his ball(ee), bone(ee), sock(ee) and he always knew what to look for. One time, we had him look for his ball(ee), he disappeared in our bedroom and stuck his head out to look at me in the living room, just staring at me. He disappeared again for a few seconds, stuck his head out and looked at me again. I got up to see what the problem was and when I walked into the bedroom, he was looking under the bed - the ball was stuck in the middle and he was too big to crawl under it to get it.

As far as following my gaze, my Keeshond was sitting next to me once time when I happened to see a squirrel on our deck outside. I looked at her, raised my eyebrows and looked outside at the squirrel. She followed my gaze, saw the squirrel and immediately went into a barking frenzy. I didn't have to say a word.

My current dogs are very different in their behavior, but as you stated, this may be due to the type of dog group they're in (hunting, herding, retrieving, working, etc.). Almost all dogs know universal words like "out", "hurry up" (meaning go potty), basic obedience commands and of course, "treat". "Do you want a..." is another phrase that grabs their attention. They also know whether you're going to the bathroom (no interest) or the kitchen (much interest) and the sounds of all kitchen appliances. But, it's not only words, it's your tone, body language and my dogs always knew obedience commands by words and by hand signals. My hound/lab mix (sporting group) couldn't care less how I am feeling, as long as her needs are met. My mini-poodle (non-sporting, bred for companionship) watches my every move, knows and cares how I feel, licks me when I'm not feeling well, knows when I just got a scratch on my leg and is always staring at me, waiting to see what I'll do next! She also went into depression and slept with a T-shirt of mine on our bed when I was in the hospital. Most dog owners/lovers don't need no stinkin' study to know what they're all about and how intelligent they really and truly are.

Yep, I have two Bassets, and I love 'em to pieces, and they are dumb as stumps. They don't get pointing, either.

I see this dumbness as a feature, not a bug -- dumb dogs are in many ways easier to deal with than really smart ones.....

I've always felt all dogs are smart. We just can't recognize their abilities. A blood hound seems dumb as a rock until they are on the trail. Suddenly you have a genius on your hands. Never underestimate the critter at your feet.

There have been rankings of breeds and their intellegence. I blow those off as rankings from our point of view.

The best bred dogs, muts (muts have a much larger gene pool to breed from), seem to me to be even more attuned to me.

Sounds like an episode from Lassie!

sounds like the dog is smarter than your wife!

"My dad swears his cat knows what he's thinking and knows his every move"- and now the crazy people come out...

It's true Hot-In-Miami. Animals truly have a heightened sense and emotion. In many ways they are even more evolved emotionally than we are.

there's a youtube vid of dog that can identify over 100 toys by name and is the first dog that you can show a picture of an item and it will go get it. i believe it too was an australian cattle dog.

I used to have a really smart dog that did a lot of tricks and chores around the house (carrying in groceries for me, getting the mail, etc). I finally thought to train him to get my shoes out of my closet and bring them to me. He caught on to that one real quick. However, then I trained him to take them back to the closet when I took them off. Problem was, he'd get about halfway and couldn't remember whether he was putting them away or bringing them to me, so he'd bring them back to me. LOL

They say the best way to figure out if your dog can count? Get four treats, give him three. See what happens. lol

I have a Cattle Dog (Lab mix) as well she's also able to get the specific toy that you ask her for. I'm on a pool league and play on Tues. nights she checks to make sure my pool cue is in it's spot often. She's on me like nobody's business just trying to anticipate my every move. There's no sneaking out of my house! Great dog!

the way to tell if a dog can count is have 2 of them. give 1 of them 2 treats and 1 of them 1. the one that only got one will stare at you till it gets it's second one.

That is so true!!! They're really competitive about the equality of treats! Attention and affection, too - just try paying attention to one dog without the other coming over to you for equal or greater attention! Too funny!

Lady,

I certainly wish more polititians with their own pets would enact stricter local & national laws against abusers...

A BIG ME TOO

Lady, I can so relate. My boys could understand our sentences and words so we started spelling and well, they figured out those too. The one was definitely smarter than the other but both amazing. I had a friend come over w/her new born and harley sat next to her and didn't leave her side and then started pecking at the baby's head to make sure she was ok. it was amazing. They always knew when we didn't feel well. Rarely they needed to go out at night but one night my hubby was sick and harley came to wake me up knowing that they never wake me up. I miss my boys. They have passed on and it was the saddest days of my life.

Oh man, the spelling thing. I have a Min Pin, a Doberman, and a Newfie, and both of the Pinschers are too smart for their own good. It took them less than a week to realize we were spelling "hungry", "food", and "outside". (The Newfie is still a puppy, so she gets a pass for being kind of clueless.)

The Min Pin is scary smart. We've caught her pushing wheeled computer chairs around to reach the kitchen cabinets.

Amen Lady!

I used to have a newfie/lab cross. And sometimes they remain clueless. lol. Did you know they tried to use newfoundlands for guard dogs? Seriously, they failed. they couldn't get the newfoundland dogs to bite anyone. True story.

I think she is saying "Is it dinner time yet?" or "I have to go really bad Mom."

I think she is apparently saying, "Yo quiero Taco Bell."

This is a short leap of logic that an 8 year old could have made.

or a dog.

That must be why my mother cooked for her poodle.

Bulldogs are not stupid,just very stubborn. They're also by far the funniest breed of dog, if you want to laugh numerous times everyday, get a Bulldog.

I grew up with a miniature poodle. And if he was mad at me, he'd go pee all over my bed. I was the person to groom him with the clippers, and afterwards, he'd prance around very pleased with himself. but if I gave him a bath, but didn't trim him, he'd pull the covers back on my bed and pee all over. Or if I'd swat him for getting in the trash or something, he'd run down the hall in to my room. lol