Some species know more than 200!

If you are like most pet owners, you may spend a full day talking with furry friends, but have you ever wished your pet could talk back? Your daydreams may not be as far away as you think. A new study published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science by researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada shows that dogs can understand an average of 89 words and phrases. Researchers Catherine Reeve and Sophie Jacques wrote in the magazine: “Our goal is to develop a comprehensive list of words Make different and consistent responses." 

The team surveyed 165 dog owners who are pet parents of several different breeds. The owners reported different words and phrases that their pet seemed to understand, as well as their dog's breed, age, gender, and training background. Participants reported that their dogs answered an average of 89 words—78 of them were from the list provided by the researcher, and 11 were added by the pet owner. However, the dog with the worst response only responded to 15 words, while the most sensitive pet knew as many as 215. 

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When counting the words that the dogs actually knew, the study authors only counted the words or phrases that caused each dog to raise its head, whine, run, wag its tail, or perform tasks related to the word (such as sitting or lying down). Most known phrases are commands, such as "sit down", "come over", "come down", "stay", "wait", "no" and "leave." Some dogs also know words related to food and toys, including "inviting", "breakfast", "dinner" and "ball."

According to the research team, the most sensitive dog breeds include Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, German Shepherd, Bichon Fries, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Chihuahua. The breeds with the least vocabulary are beagles and boxers. However, the researchers pointed out that a dog's response to a word does not mean that they really understand its meaning. Furry animals may have learned to associate certain human voices with subsequent events-for example, receiving hospitality after being told to "sit down." The team wrote: "Through additional research, our tool can become an efficient, effective and economical research tool for mapping some of their abilities, and may help predict the potential of individual dogs early."