There Are Dogs And Then There Are Dogs

 Chaser, a border collie who lives in Spartanburg, S.C., has the largest vocabulary of any known dog. She knows 1,022 nouns, a record that displays unexpected depths of the canine mind and may help explain how children acquire language.

Chaser belongs to John W. Pilley, a psychologist who taught for 30 years at Wofford College, a liberal arts institution in Spartanburg. In 2004, after he had retired, he read a report in Science about Rico, a border collie whose German owners had taught him to recognize 200 items, mostly toys and balls. Dr. Pilley decided to repeat the experiment using a technique he had developed for teaching dogs, and he describes his findings in the current issue of the journal Behavioural Processes. https://www.globalanimal.org/2011/01/18/psychologist-teaches-border-collie-english/28045/#:~:text=Chaser%2C%20a%20border%20collie%20who%20lives%20in%20Spartanburg%2C,Wofford%20College%2C%20a%20liberal%20arts%20institution%20in%20Spartanburg.

Well, you know me. Nobody goes up against me without a fight. I sat down and rang up my Charlie's vocabulary. It's not quite that of Chaser but it's mildly close. Chaz knows food. When he hears that word he sprints to the kitchen. He is alert when it comes to "Let's go for a ride." The word "go" means for him to run. If I tell him to 'sit' it means he expects a treat. If I do say "treat" he jumps around with great exhilaration. "Let's go upstairs" is the signal for bed time. "Let's get the mail" reminds him it's walk time. I screwed up with the word 'up'. It has a myriad of commands applicable. If we're driving and he's in the backseat and I want him with me I'll say it. If I'm on the couch and say 'up' it means I want him on the couch. If I have a treat and tell him 'up' he's supposed to jump. It's no wonder he acts confused. He's not real good at coming to me when I call his name. Sometimes, I need to say "Charlie come" and he does. Other times he doesn't then I have to lower myself and call him by his other name; Charliegodddammit come!

That's about it except when I hold up his brush then he jumps on my lap to be pampered.