They remember the names of their toys for years: scientists have discovered an interesting fact about dogs

Research into the cognitive abilities of dogs suggests that they can retain the names of objects in long-term memory. Dog owners may sometimes struggle to remember the names of their pet's toys, but they remain in the dogs' memory, researchers have found.

Some dog breeds, such as Border Collies, have an amazing ability to memorize more than 1,000 items, scientists said. Others have the ability to remember the name of a toy, even if they haven't seen it in years, The Guardian writes.

"The results of the study showed that these dogs retain the names of objects in their long-term memory, rather than simply having their owners refresh their memory by frequently playing with the object," explained Szényi Dror from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, first author of the study .

The scientist added that the discovery could have implications for understanding the evolution of human language, given that memory is one of its many components. "Why is language exclusively human? To understand that, we need to understand what parts of language are available in other animals that don't have it," she said.

The scientists said they conducted the study with five dogs that had learned 12 new toys in previous studies. These toys were subsequently put away for two years. In the new study, the dogs' owners brought in the shelved toys. Three dogs had all 12, another had 11 toys, and one dog had only five toys because some were lost.

After allowing their dog to examine the objects, each owner placed five or six "test" toys in one room of their home along with eight of their dog's other toys. The owners then moved to a second room and asked their dog to take each of the test toys, one at a time. To minimize obstacles, the owner only replaced the selected toys when there were only three test toys left in the pile. The researchers observed online using video recording devices.

The experiment was conducted twice for each dog, and was repeated for four dogs using their remaining test toys.

The results show that overall, the dogs chose the correct toy an average of 44% of the time, with some having success rates as high as 60%. These figures, the researchers add, far exceed the level of random selection.

The results were due to the skill of four dogs, with these dogs memorizing the names of between three and nine test toys.

The team emphasizes that just because some dogs can learn the names of objects, not all dogs can do so, and the underlying factors behind this skill are still not clear. However, the expert notes that dogs with talent often have owners who spend a lot of time socializing with them.

"The more you invest in your dog, the more you will get out of the relationship," she said.

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