Maggie Fox
Reuters
Friday, 11 June 2004
Rico, the border collie, has learnt to retrieve 200 objects by name (Image: Susanne Baus)
A clever border collie called Rico that can fetch at least 200 objects by name has re-ignited the debate over whether language is unique to humans, researchers say.
The German researchers say the dog's ability to fetch a newly introduced object when asked, even if he has never heard the name of the object before, may be living proof that dogs truly understand human language.
The researchers publish details in today's issue of the journal Science.
"We wonder what prevents animals from speaking. The limitations are not their capacity to hear or understand," said co-author Dr Julia Fischer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig.
Rico's abilities seem to follow a process called fast mapping, seen when young children start to learn to speak and understand language, the report said
Fast mapping allows children to form quick and rough hypotheses about the meaning of a new word the first time they hear or see it.
The 10-year-old dog, which beat human competitors to win a popular German TV talent show five years ago, lives as a pet with his owners Witold Krzeslowski and Susanne Baus of Dortmund, western Germany.
Baus said Rico developed his skills while laid low for nearly a year after a shoulder operation, as she tried to engage his mind and let his body rest.
"I discovered this talent and told my husband, who thought I was mad. At the start it was three to four objects, but it's risen to 200 or 250," she said. "I don't know what the limit might be."
In their report, Fischer and colleagues wrote: "He was reported by [the owners] to know the labels of more than 200 items, mostly children's toys and balls, which he correctly retrieved upon request."
http://abc.net.au/sc...es/s1129608.htm
Show me a dog that can do my taxes, then I'll be impressed.