krsna 3 Report post Posted June 11, 2004 German collie makes Lassie look like slow learner By Sheila Halloran Friday, June 11, 2004 A border collie from Germany is impressing the world with his extensive 200-word vocabulary and proving that dogs can grasp the human language. A study recently released in Science magazine studied a 9-year-old family border collie named Rico who learned the names of unfamiliar toys following new word-toy combinations. Rico would fetch an unfamiliar toy by eliminating the names of the toys he knew. German researchers tested Rico's 200-word vocabulary in a series of controlled experiments in which he correctly retrieved 37 out of 40 items from his toy collection. ``Never underestimate a dog's ability to learn a wide vocabulary,'' said Gail Miller, director of media relations for the American Kennel Club. ``From showing and training dogs for obedience, I think it goes even well beyond words. Dogs' perception of human behavior is extremely intricate and complex.'' Rico's retrieval rate is compared to that of language-trained apes, dolphins, sea lions, parrots and even 3-year-old toddlers, according to the researchers. ``I'm very impressed with this study,'' said Miller, ``and I definitely believe it's true.'' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Govindaram 1 Report post Posted June 21, 2004 You've met my sister. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
