IF you own a particularly playful dog it could be a sign that your furry friend is actually a genius.

Experts studied a bunch of Border Collies classed as gifted and compared them to a group of ordinary dogs.

Border collies are known for being quite smart

1

Border collies are known for being quite smartCredit: Getty

Gifted dogs tend to be able to learn the names of stuff very quickly and can remember it for a good two months or so.

Border collies are the most common breed known to be gifted when it comes to word memory.

So researchers asked owners to complete a questionnaire analysing their pup’s personality.

The results identified one major difference between gifted dogs and typical dogs – playfulness.

Why humans face a dog-less future on Mars and cats could reign on planet
Instagram stars are CLONING their dogs so death doesn't end pet profile fame

“We restricted our investigation to Border collies because most of the Gifted Word Learners belong to this breed,” Claudia Fugazza, from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary told Inverse.

“This study finds a relationship between extreme levels of playfulness and giftedness in word learning.”

But scientists still don’t know why this is.

Establishing the cause is “difficult”, Fugazza said.

Most read in Tech

One possible explanation experts guess could be the environment where dogs learn words.

More research is needed to prove it though.

I got DNA test results back after finding out girlfriend might be my SISTER
I’m sick of people giving my kids junk for gifts… I want cash instead

Another interesting observation is that playful dogs tend to establish eye contact with humans a lot faster as well.

“It could be a genetic trait or this extreme playfulness could be environmentally enhanced by the frequent playful interactions with the owner,” Fugazza added.

All you need to know as a dog owner

Find out more about science

Want to know more about the weird and wonderful world of science? From the Moon to the human body, we have you covered…


We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]


This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

A New Chatbot Tries a Little Artificial Empathy

Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant can set a timer, play a song,…

I Am Not a Soldier, but I Have Been Trained to Kill

1. ‘Our Numbers Grow Every Year’ On a misty November morning just…

Is Steam down? How to check problems and updates

STEAM continues to have technical difficulties into 2022. The social media app began experiencing…

10 Best Sound Machines and White-Noise Machines (2023): Cheap, Night Lights, Lullabies

I cannot sleep in total silence. I need the hum of a…