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Dog Trained on 200-Word Vocabulary

Posted by michael on from the what's-that-lassie?-timmy-fell-down-the-well? dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany is reporting in Science Magazine today on an example of successful human to non-human communication: Rico, a collie trained on a vocabulary of 200 words. Their conclusion is that 'brain structures that support this kind of learning are not unique to humans...[Rico has a] retrieval rate comparable to the performance of three-year-old toddlers'. In case you ever wondered if your dog understands what you are saying, Rico 'can learn the names of unfamiliar toys after just one exposure to the new word-toy combination.'"

5 of 532 comments (clear)

  1. 200 words? by Sinful_Shirts · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    My girlfriend is a dog and knows a lot more than 200 words!

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  2. Re:how about... by jrockway · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Guess you never heard this saying...

    If the post isn't on topic, don't post it!

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  3. My dog has a better vocab in only 6 words.. by t_allardyce · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    "Suck my cock you fucking bitch"

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  4. Re:Rico for President! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Shut the fuck up, you fat, pale geek loser.

  5. Re:how about... by GeorgeDubya · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    200 werds! THat's almost as much as a nigra can talk!!