A citizen science model turns anecdotes into evidence by revealing similar characteristics among Gifted Word Learner dogs.
Sci Rep
; 13(1): 21747, 2023 12 14.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38097634
ABSTRACT
Dogs that have a vocabulary of object labels (Gifted Word Learner dogs-GWL dogs) have great potential as a comparative model for studying a variety of cognitive mechanisms. However, only a handful of studies, with a small sample size of 1 or 2 dogs, have examined this phenomenon. GWL dogs appear to share many of the same distinctive characteristics, but due to their rarity, it is not clear if these similarities are only anecdotal or indeed reflect characteristics that are similar in these rare individuals. Here we present the first study conducted on a relatively large sample of 41 GWL dogs that were recruited and tested using a citizen science model. After testing the dogs' receptive vocabulary of toy names, we asked the owners to complete a questionnaire about their and their dog's life experiences. Our findings highlight several characteristics that are shared among most GWL dogs, such as their learning speed, their large vocabulary, and that they learned the names of the toys spontaneously, without the explicit intent of their owners. Our findings validate previous anecdotal evidence on common characteristics of GWL dogs and supply additional support to the hypothesis that these dogs represent a unique group of dogs.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Vínculo Humano-Animal
/
Ciencia Ciudadana
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Hungria
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido