Dogs remember toy names after two years - study

Researchers from the Eötvös Lorand University of Budapest have long studied the mental abilities of dogs, and as part of this study, they decided to find out how long animals can retain in memory information learnt earlier.

The authors reported their findings in a paper recently published in the journal Biology Letters.

Earlier experiments showed that some pets can remember the names of dozens of objects. This time, scientists tested how long dogs can remember these names. The experiment involved five Border Collies, which have previously shown exceptional ability in learning words.

The study began in December 2020, when owners trained their dogs by teaching them to remember the names of 12 toys. Initial tests were conducted one month and two months after training. The toys were then hidden for two years, only to be retrieved again in 2023 for a new series of tests.

When the toys were returned, owners conducted the tests at home by calling out the names of the toys and the dogs had to fetch them. On average, the dogs were successful 44 per cent of the time and some were successful 60 per cent of the time. This proves that their ability to memorise objects goes beyond chance.

Although the results showed that some dogs can memorise objects for years, the scientists emphasise that this does not mean that every dog is capable of doing so. However, they did note that the success of these animals was due to owners spending a lot of time training them.

The more time you spend with your pet, the better the relationship and the more opportunities for learning," notes lead researcher Shani Dror.