Dog Eavesdropping is a Real Thing!

Ever get the feeling you’re being watched? But you look around the room, and there’s no one there… except the dog. Well, a report out of the United Kingdom suggests that he may not be sitting around waiting for treats. Your pooch might actually be listening in – eavesdropping to be precise – and he’s learning some pretty interesting stuff.

In fact, according to the esteemed journal Science, a study of 10 breeds – including but not limited to Border Collies and Labrador Retrievers – suggests that those dogs participating in the study group were able to listen in and actually recall specific words during a conversation between their owner and another individual.

Yes, this is a conversation that did not involve the dog in any way, shape, or form - hence the eavesdropping designation. Here’s how it worked:

The owner is having a conversation that includes a reference to a new toy the dog is unfamiliar with. For the study purposes, it was an Armadillo and a Stingray toy. You get the picture. The point is, the conversation is between the two individuals; at no time do they “introduce” this new toy to the dog.

Now, many of us have pets who will immediately seek out and retrieve their favorite toy the moment we tell them to run off and fetch it. But this is different. You see, the pet owner isn’t talking to the dog and asking him to respond to their request to “go find ”. They’re talking to another individual about a new toy the dog has never seen. They mention it by name, ensuring the test subject (dog) is within earshot.

Much later, the dog is asked to go and fetch the toy by name. In the study, seven out of the ten dogs tested were able to identify and retrieve the toy in question because they had overheard the name being used during the conversation. In fact, the researchers found the response level was directly in line with when a dog was asked to fetch a familiar toy of his own.

Now, this “skill” isn’t something all pets possess, but it’s more common in certain breeds. It’s also not unique in the animal kingdom because apes and parrots are already exhibiting this ability to absorb and respond to a wide range of words and cues. But what it does suggest is that some of our four-legged buddies actually have behavior patterns that mimic young children. They’re quick to pick up words simply overheard, in addition to those they are taught.

The study’s author, Shany Dror, with Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary and Austria’s University of Veterinary Medicine, states, “This is the first time that we see a specific group of dogs that are able to learn labels from overhearing interactions.” In other words, the cognitive process in dogs may be more complex than first imagined. They listen and reason rather than simply responding to commands. And that’s something to remember when we think no one is listening in on our private conversations!