Your dog could be a genius - check with these three signs

This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the University of Portsmouth (UK) and Friedrich-Schiller University Jena (Germany).

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, was the first to study in detail what distinguishes so-called label-learning dogs - dogs that recognise a huge number of objects by verbal labels. Such animals are able to choose a named object among many others without prompting. Such ability is extremely rare and, according to the researchers, is an innate individual property.

The authors of the work, Dr Kaminski and Dr Breuer, found 11 such dogs in five countries. Before being included in the study, the animals were given a test: they were asked to choose the correct item on command without seeing their owner or other people, in order to exclude non-verbal cues.

Since the dogs lived in different countries, the experiments were conducted in the format of "citizen science": the owners were instructed by the scientists to conduct eight cognitive tests at home, recording them on video. A control group - dogs of the same age, sex and breed, but without tag recognition skills - underwent similar testing.

The results showed that "geniuses" among dogs are characterised by three traits:

- High curiosity - intense interest in new objects.

- Strong concentration - a pronounced preference for certain objects.

- Ability to inhibit impulses - the ability to suppress habitual reactions and choose an object according to the task at hand rather than personal preference.

According to Breuer, not surprisingly, impulse control proved important. She cited the example of her own dog, who was not involved in the study, "She loves the ball so much that she will never bring the ring if the ball is lying around."

The scientists plan to find out if these qualities are innate or shaped by environment and training. The researchers suggest that, over time, such data could help develop something like a "puppy IQ test" - an early assessment of a dog's suitability for learning large numbers of words. This could be important when selecting dogs for service and rescue organisations.

One of the participants in the study was Harvey, known as one of Britain's smartest dogs: he knows the names of 203 toys. His owner notes that his inquisitiveness really helps the dog memorise names - Harvey's toy collection already exceeds 220 items.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth became interested in the cognitive abilities of dogs almost 20 years ago, after studying the case of the famous Border Collie Rico, who understood about 200 words. Since then, the centre has taken the study of dog behaviour to a new level: scientists have shown for the first time that animals have developed additional muscles around their eyes to communicate more effectively with people - the very gesture of "puppy eyes".