Research on Dogs' Long-Term Memory Draws Attention: Remembering Toy Names from 2 Years Ago

Hungarian Researchers Experiment on 5 Border Collies
Up to 60% Memory Retention... "Not All Dogs Are Like That"

A study has found that some pet dogs can remember the names of toys for several years, drawing attention. However, the researchers emphasized that not all dogs have this ability.

On the 4th (local time), the British daily The Guardian reported that Hungarian researchers published the results of this study in the scientific journal Biology Letters.

In December 2020, the researchers asked dog owners to teach their pet dogs (a total of 5 Border Collies) up to 12 toy names each.

Later, the owners put the toys away and then took them out again after two years, asking their dogs to bring the toys by name. The researchers observed the experiments conducted twice for each dog online through video recording devices.

Border Collie. The photo is not directly related to the article content. [Image source=Pixabay]

As a result, the average rate at which the dogs correctly brought the toy named by the owner was 44%, with a maximum of 60%.

Four out of the five dogs demonstrated high ability, remembering the names of 3 to 9 toys.

Shani Dror, the first author of the paper and a researcher at E?tv?s Lor?nd University in Hungary, explained, "This greatly exceeds the level expected by chance."

However, the researchers stated that the factors behind the memory are unclear, adding, "Just because some dogs can remember object names does not mean all dogs can."

Researcher Dror emphasized, "The talented dogs had owners who spent a lot of time bonding with their pets. The more time and effort you invest in your dog, the more you can gain from your relationship."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.