Data report · Updated October 2026
How Many Words Do Dogs Understand? The Average Dog, the Gifted Few and a Dog Commands List
The average dog responds to about 89 words and phrases, according to a 2022 survey of 165 dog owners, with a range of 15 to 215. A few rare gifted dogs learn far more: Chaser the Border Collie learned the names of 1,022 objects. Most typical dogs cannot learn toy names at all, even with 3 months of training.
Key findings
- Dogs responded to 89 words and phrases on average in a 2022 survey of 165 owners, with a range of 15 to 215.
- Chaser, a Border Collie trained by John Pilley of Wofford College in the USA, learned the names of 1,022 objects over 3 years, reported in 2011.
- Only 1 of 34 typical family dogs learned 2 new toy names in 3 months of training, against all 6 gifted dogs.
- 7 of 10 gifted dogs learned the names of new toys just by overhearing their owners talk, a 2026 Science study found.
- Of 41 gifted word learner dogs tested in 2023, 23 knew 20 or more toy names; the record was 86, and the mean 29.
- Six gifted Border Collies learned 12 new toy names in one week and picked the right toy in 86.8% of trials.
- After 2 years with the toys stored away, 4 of 5 gifted dogs still recalled between 3 and 9 toy names.
- Dogs with jobs responded to about 120 words in the 2022 survey, against about 80 for dogs without jobs.
- 19 of 35 owners of gifted dogs said their dog learns a new toy name in 5 minutes or less.
How many words can dogs learn?
Most dogs respond to somewhere between a few dozen and about 200 words. In a 2022 study, Catherine Reeve and Sophie Jacques of Dalhousie University asked 165 owners which of 172 words their dog reacted to. The dogs responded to 89 words and phrases on average, with a range of 15 to 215.
Stanley Coren, a University of British Columbia psychologist, gave a higher estimate in 2009. He put the average dog at 165 words, including signals, and the top 20% at about 250. He based it on a review of earlier studies, so it is an estimate, not a count from tested dogs.
A handful of dogs go much further. Chaser, a Border Collie trained by psychologist John Pilley of Wofford College, learned the names of 1,022 objects over 3 years. Rico, a Border Collie in Germany, knew more than 200 items in 2004.
Sources: Pilley and Reid 2011; Kaminski et al. 2004; Coren 2009 (APA); Reeve and Jacques 2022 (owner survey of 165 dogs); Fugazza et al. 2021; Dror et al. 2023; Kőszegi et al. 2023. Methods differ: named dogs were tested, averages are owner reports or estimates.
Show the numbers
| Label | words or names |
|---|---|
| Chaser, Border Collie (tested) | 1,022 |
| Smart dogs, top 20% (Coren estimate) | 250 |
| Most words in owner survey | 215 |
| Rico, Border Collie (tested) | 200+ |
| Average dog (Coren estimate) | 165 |
| Dogs with jobs (owner survey) | about 120 |
| Average dog (owner survey) | 89 |
| Dogs without jobs (owner survey) | about 80 |
| Whisky, Border Collie (tested) | 59 |
| Vicky Nina, Yorkshire Terrier (tested) | 42 |
| Average gifted dog, toy names confirmed | 29 |
| Fewest words in owner survey | 15 |
| Typical dog, object names (owner report) | about 5 |
Embed this chart
| Year | Dog or sample | Breed | Words or names | What the study showed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Fellow | German Shepherd | 68 commands | Early test of a dog responding to spoken commands |
| 2004 | Rico | Border Collie | Over 200 items | Fast mapping: picked a new toy by exclusion in 7 of 10 sessions |
| 2009 | Coren review (APA convention talk) | All breeds | 165 average, 250 top 20% | Estimate of words and signals, not a test |
| 2011 | Chaser | Border Collie | 1,022 objects | Learned over 3 years; understood names apart from commands |
| 2021 | Whisky and Vicky Nina | Border Collie, Yorkshire Terrier | 59 and 42 toys | Learned new names after 4 exposures in play |
| 2021 | 40 dogs (34 typical, 6 gifted) | Mixed | 2 new names in 3 months | Only 1 typical dog and all 6 gifted dogs passed; only these 7 learned 10 or more names |
| 2022 | 165 dogs (owner survey) | 50 breeds plus mixes | 15 to 215, average 89 | Commands drew the most responses |
| 2023 | 41 gifted dogs | 23 Border Collies | 5 to 86 confirmed, mean 29 | Most learned names in play, without being taught |
| 2024 | 5 gifted dogs | Border Collies | 3 to 9 toys recalled (5 to 12 tested) | 4 of 5 recalled names after 2 years with the toys stored away |
| 2024 | 27 dogs recruited, 18 analysed (EEG) | Mixed | Known toy words | Brain signal like the human N400 for wrong objects |
| 2026 | 10 gifted dogs | Border Collies, Labrador and others | New toy names | 7 of 10 learned names by overhearing their owners |
These numbers measure different things. Chaser's 1,022 names were tested under controlled conditions. The 89-word average comes from what owners believe their dog responds to, and the authors do not claim the dogs understand every word.
Which words do dogs understand most? A dog commands list
Commands and the dog's own name top the list. In the Dalhousie survey, commands such as come, roll over and down drew the most responses. Dogs most often responded to their own names.
The 172-word list covered toys, foods, commands, outdoor places and objects. Owners marked the words their dog responded to in a similar way at least some of the time. Of the 165 dogs, 94 were purebreds from 50 breeds.
Working dogs knew more. Dogs with jobs responded to about 120 words on average, against about 80 for dogs without jobs. Herding breeds such as Border Collies and German Shepherds, and toy breeds such as Chihuahuas, responded to more words than hounds, terriers, setters and Golden Retrievers.
Source: Reeve and Jacques 2022, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246:105513, via Dalhousie University. Owners scored responses to a list of 172 words. Job and no-job figures are approximate.
Show the numbers
| Label | words and phrases |
|---|---|
| Fewest | 15 |
| Dogs without jobs | about 80 |
| All dogs (average) | 89 |
| Dogs with jobs | about 120 |
| Most | 215 |
Embed this chart
| Word or phrase | Category | Named as |
|---|---|---|
| The dog's own name | Name | Word dogs most often respond to |
| Sit | Command | Common command |
| Come | Command | Common command |
| Down | Command | Common command |
| Stay | Command | Common command |
| Wait | Command | Common command |
| No | Command | Common command |
| OK | Command | Common command |
| Leave it | Command | Common command |
| Roll over | Command | Basic order |
| Treat | Food | Food word |
| Breakfast | Food | Food word |
| Dinner | Food | Food word |
| Ball | Play | Play word |
| Squirrel | Play | Play word |
For an Indian home, the commands are the same in any language, as long as everyone uses the same word. A family that says baith to one person and sit to another is teaching two words. Our dog training methods report shows why rewards teach commands faster than punishment.
What is a gifted word learner dog?
A gifted word learner is a dog that learns the names of many objects, usually toys, without formal training. Researchers at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest have searched worldwide for such dogs for several years. In 2023 they published tests of 41 of them, from 9 countries.
All 41 picked named toys well above chance in a test watched online by the researchers. 23 dogs (56%) proved they knew 20 or more toy names, 6 knew 15 to 19, 5 knew 10 to 14 and 7 knew 5 to 9. The highest confirmed count was 86 and the mean was 29.
Their vocabularies kept growing. About 2 years later, 16 of 32 owners who replied said their dog now knew over 100 toy names. Eight estimated 50 to 99 and eight estimated 16 to 49.
Source: Dror, Miklosi, Sommese and Fugazza 2023, Scientific Reports. Vocabulary Assessment Test run online by researchers in the owner's home.
Show the numbers
| Label | dogs |
|---|---|
| 5 to 9 names | 7 dogs |
| 10 to 14 names | 5 dogs |
| 15 to 19 names | 6 dogs |
| 20 or more names | 23 dogs |
Embed this chart
Source: Dror et al. 2023. 32 owners replied in March and April 2023, on average 2 years after the first test. Owner estimates, not tested.
Show the numbers
| Label | dogs |
|---|---|
| 16 to 49 toys | 8 dogs |
| 50 to 99 toys | 8 dogs |
| Over 100 toys | 16 dogs |
Embed this chart
| Country | Dogs | Share of 41 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| USA | 17 | 41.5 |
| UK | 9 | 22.0 |
| Brazil | 5 | 12.2 |
| Canada | 3 | 7.3 |
| Norway | 2 | 4.9 |
| Hungary | 2 | 4.9 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 2.4 |
| Portugal | 1 | 2.4 |
| Spain | 1 | 2.4 |
Most of these dogs learned names in play, not lessons. 26 of 35 owners (74%) said they did not set out to teach toy names, and began only after noticing the dog already knew several. 28 owners (80%) played with the named toys daily, and 31 (88%) said a typical session lasted 1 to 30 minutes.
Border Collies dominate the group, but the skill is not limited to one breed. The 41 included Labradors, Pomeranians, a Shih Tzu, a Pekingese and a mixed-breed dog. Our smartest dog breeds ranking has the breed breakdown and where these breeds sit on Coren's list.
How fast can a dog learn a new word?
Gifted dogs can learn a name in minutes. Rico, the Border Collie tested by Max Planck researchers in Leipzig in 2004, picked out a new toy placed among 7 familiar ones in 7 of 10 sessions. He did it after hearing the new name once, using exclusion to work out which toy it meant.
In 2021, the Budapest team tested Whisky, a Border Collie who knew 59 toy names, and Vicky Nina, a Yorkshire Terrier who knew 42. Both learned new names after hearing each one 4 times while playing with their owners. Both failed when the new name was taught by exclusion instead.
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Known toy names checked at random | 37 of 40 correct |
| New toy placed among 7 familiar toys | Correct in 7 of 10 sessions |
| Same new toys after a month away | Correct in 3 of 6 sessions |
| Vocabulary at the time | Over 200 items |
| Age | Nearly 9 years |
Source: Dror et al. 2023, questionnaire of 35 owners of gifted word learner dogs; the paper reports answers for 34.
Show the numbers
| Label | owners |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes or less | 19 owners |
| Up to 10 minutes | 2 owners |
| 15 to 30 minutes | 4 owners |
| 1 or 2 days | 9 owners |
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| Dog | 6 new toys in 1 week | 12 new toys in 1 week | Recall after 1 month | Recall after 2 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max | 12/12 | 23/24 | 17/18 | 12/18 |
| Whisky | 12/12 | 23/24 | 13/18 | 13/18 |
| Gaia | 12/12 | 21/24 | 12/18 | 15/18 |
| Rico | 10/12 | 19/24 | 13/18 | 10/18 |
| Squall | 8/12 | 19/24 | 8/18 | 5/18 |
| Nalani | 7/12 | 20/24 | 3/18 | 7/18 |
| Group mean | 84.72% | 86.81% | 61.11% | 57.41% |
In a separate test, 6 gifted Border Collies had one week to learn the names of 6 new toys, then 12. They chose the right toy in 84.7% of trials for 6 toys and 86.8% for 12. Chance was 25%.
Owners of gifted dogs agree that learning is quick. 19 of 35 said their dog learns a toy name in 5 minutes or less, and 9 said it takes 1 or 2 days. Daily play time varied: four of the six 2021 dogs played the naming game for half an hour or less a day.
Do dogs remember words for long?
Gifted dogs remember new toy names for months and, in most cases, years. In the 2021 study, the 6 dogs recalled toys learned in one week with 61.1% accuracy after a month and 57.4% after two months. The owners did not use the toys in between.
Five of those dogs were tested again 2 years later, reported in Biology Letters in 2024. As a group they chose correctly 44% of the time, against a chance level of about 20%. Four of the five performed above chance and retrieved between 3 and 9 of the old toys.
Sources: Dror et al. 2021 (6 dogs, chance 25%) and Dror et al. 2024, Biology Letters (5 dogs, 2-year test, chance about 20%). No rehearsal between learning and memory tests.
Show the numbers
| Label | % correct |
|---|---|
| 6 toys in a week | 84.7% |
| 12 toys in a week | 86.8% |
| After 1 month | 61.1% |
| After 2 months | 57.4% |
| After 2 years | 44% |
Embed this chart
| Dog | Toys tested | Toys retrieved at least once | Correct trials | Above chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaia | 12 | 9 | 13/24 | Yes |
| Max | 12 | 8 | 10/24 | Yes |
| Whisky | 12 | 7 | 10/24 | Yes |
| Squall | 11 | 4 | 5/22 | No |
| Rico | 5 | 3 | 6/10 | Yes |
Gaia, the best performer, retrieved 9 of 12 toys at least once. Squall retrieved 4 of 11 and did not beat chance. Rico, a different dog from the 2004 study, was tested on only 5 toys and got 6 of 10 trials right.
Can every dog learn the names of toys?
Probably not. In a 2021 study, 34 typical family dogs and 6 gifted dogs had 3 months of training to learn the names of 2 new toys. Only 1 of the 34 typical dogs passed, against all 6 gifted dogs. Only those 7 dogs learned 10 or more new toy names over the 3 months.
A second 2021 test gave 20 typical dogs the same 4 playful exposures that worked for Whisky and Vicky Nina. None showed any sign of learning the names. A 2023 study of 20 more typical dogs, whose owners said they knew about 5 object words, found a weak group effect but only 1 dog reliably above chance.
Sources: Fugazza et al. 2021, Scientific Reports (3 months of training, 34 typical and 6 gifted dogs); Fugazza et al. 2021, Scientific Reports (20 typical dogs, 4 exposures); Kőszegi et al. 2023 (20 typical dogs, known words).
Show the numbers
| Label | % of dogs |
|---|---|
| Gifted dogs, 2 new names in 3 months | 6 of 6 |
| Typical dogs, known object words | 1 of 20 |
| Typical dogs, 2 new names in 3 months | 1 of 34 |
| Typical dogs, new names after 4 exposures | 0 of 20 |
Embed this chart
Typical dogs still link words to things in their heads. A 2024 study in Current Biology recruited 27 dogs and analysed brain recordings from 18 as owners named a toy and then showed it. When the toy did not match the word, the dogs' brains showed a response 206 to 606 milliseconds later, similar to the human N400.
The effect was larger for words the dogs knew better, and it did not depend on vocabulary size. So an ordinary dog may understand that a word stands for an object, even if it cannot fetch that object on request.
Do dogs understand words or just your tone of voice?
Both matter, and dogs process them separately. A 2016 fMRI study in Science found reward areas of dogs' brains lit up most when praise words were spoken in a praising tone. A praise word in a flat tone, or a neutral word in a happy tone, did less. Science published an erratum to the paper in 2017.
Dogs also notice language. In a 2022 fMRI study of 18 dogs, brain activity differed between a familiar and an unfamiliar language. The difference was larger in older dogs, which suggests that exposure counts.
Sound quality matters too. A 2025 study tested 17 dogs in Japan on trained action words played through recordable talking buttons, a loudspeaker and live speech. Dogs did best with live speech and worst with the buttons, and 7 gifted dogs fetching named toys showed the same pattern.
The newest finding goes further. In the 2026 Science study, 10 gifted dogs watched their owners talk about a new toy with another person, without speaking to the dog. Seven of the 10 learned the toy's name this way, a skill seen in children from about 18 months.
Researchers know of about 50 gifted word learner dogs worldwide, the AP reported in January 2026. They are rare enough that the team still asks owners to come forward if their dog knows the names of 5 or more objects, NPR reported.
How to teach a dog words: what the data suggests for Indian homes
Teach through play, keep sessions short and use one word per thing. Gifted dogs learned names while their owners played with a toy and said its name. 80% of their owners played with named toys daily, mostly for 1 to 30 minutes.
- Agree one word per command across the family, whether Hindi, English or another language.
- Say the toy's name while playing with it, as Whisky's owner did 4 times per toy.
- Expect a typical dog to learn commands, not hundreds of toy names: only 1 of 34 typical dogs passed a name test after 3 months.
- Reward the right response with play or praise; reward-trained dogs obeyed the first cue more often in a 2020 trial.
- Live speech beats recorded buttons: dogs responded worst to sound buttons in a 2025 study.
Breed shapes what to expect. The Border Collie made up 23 of 41 gifted dogs, and the German Shepherd and Pomeranian also appear. Our Labrador Retriever guide scores the breed 5 of 5 for beginners, and a Labrador named Augie was among the 2026 gifted dogs.
A Shih Tzu and a Pekingese were among the gifted 41 too, so small breeds can surprise you. The Indian Pariah Dog, which scores 4 of 5 on our beginner rating, has not been tested in word studies. For classes, see our dog training and grooming cost report.
Frequently asked questions
How many words can a dog understand?
The average dog responds to about 89 words and phrases, according to a 2022 survey of 165 owners, with a range of 15 to 215. Stanley Coren estimated an average of 165 words and signals in 2009.
What is the most words a dog has learned?
Chaser, a Border Collie trained by John Pilley of Wofford College, learned the names of 1,022 objects over 3 years, a 2011 study reported. Her trainers stopped because of their own time limits, not hers.
What are the basic dog commands?
Sit, come, down, stay, wait, no, OK and leave it were among the common commands in a 2022 study of 165 dogs. Dogs responded most often to their own names.
Can dogs understand Hindi and English?
Dogs learn the sound of a word, not a language, so either works if the family is consistent. A 2022 brain scan study of 18 dogs found different activity for a familiar and an unfamiliar language.
Do dogs know their names?
Yes, in most cases. In the 2022 Dalhousie survey of 165 dogs, the dog's own name was the word dogs most often responded to.
Can any dog learn the names of its toys?
Most cannot. Only 1 of 34 typical dogs learned 2 new toy names in 3 months of training in a 2021 study, against all 6 gifted dogs tested.
Which dog breed understands the most words?
Border Collies dominate: 23 of 41 gifted word learner dogs tested in 2023 were Border Collies. Herding and toy breeds also responded to more words in the 2022 owner survey.
How long do dogs remember words?
Gifted dogs can remember toy names for at least 2 years. In a 2024 study, 4 of 5 such dogs recalled between 3 and 9 old toy names after the toys had been stored away for 2 years.
Do dogs understand words or tone?
Both, processed separately. A 2016 brain scan study found reward areas responded most when praise words were spoken in a praising tone.
Methodology and limitations
We read the full texts of the open-access studies through Europe PMC on 16 October 2026. They are Fugazza 2021 (two papers), Dror 2021, Dror 2023, Dror 2024, Kőszegi et al. 2023, and the 2025 sound quality study. Figures come from their tables and results sections.
For paywalled papers we used PubMed abstracts and named news reports. Rico's results come from the 2004 Science release reprinted by ScienceDaily. Chaser's come from the PubMed abstract and Elsevier's 2011 release. The 2022 survey figures come from Dalhousie University's release and the 2026 overhearing figures from AP and The Scientist.
Shares such as 56% of 41 dogs were computed in Python from the published counts. Breed scores are dogeats.in editorial ratings from 1 to 5, compiled from our breed guides, October 2026.
Sources
- Pilley and Reid, Border collie comprehends object names as verbal referents, Behavioural Processes 2011;86(2):184-195, Chaser, 1,022 object names over 3 years
- Dror, Miklosi, Sommese and Fugazza, A citizen science model turns anecdotes into evidence by revealing similar characteristics among Gifted Word Learner dogs, Scientific Reports 2023, 41 gifted dogs, vocabulary test counts, countries, owner questionnaire
- Dalhousie University, on Reeve and Jacques 2022, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246:105513 (17 December 2021), 165 dogs, 172 words, 89 average, 15 to 215, jobs, breed groups
- Also consulted: Fugazza et al., Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance, Scientific Reports 2021, Dror et al., Acquisition and long-term memory of object names in a sample of Gifted Word Learner dogs, Royal Society Open Science 2021, Dror, Miklosi and Fugazza, Dogs with a vocabulary of object labels retain them for at least 2 years, Biology Letters 2024, Fugazza et al., Rapid learning of object names in dogs, Scientific Reports 2021, ScienceDaily, on Kaminski, Call and Fischer, Word learning in a domestic dog: evidence for fast mapping, Science 2004;304:1682-1683, Elsevier via ScienceDaily (January 2011), on Pilley and Reid 2011, American Psychological Association via ScienceDaily (10 August 2009), Stanley Coren, Boros et al., Neural evidence for referential understanding of object words in dogs, Current Biology 2024;34(8):1750-1754, Eotvos Lorand University, Department of Ethology news (March 2024), Dror et al., Dogs with a large vocabulary of object labels learn new labels by overhearing like 1.5-year-old infants, Science 2026;391(6781):160-163, Associated Press, Some gifted dogs can learn new toy names by eavesdropping on owners (8 January 2026), Kőszegi, Fugazza, Magyari, Iotchev, Miklosi and Andics, Investigating responses to object-labels in the domestic dog, Scientific Reports 2023, Cuaya et al., Speech naturalness detection and language representation in the dog brain, NeuroImage 2022;248:118811, Andics et al., Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs, Science 2016;353:1030-1032 (erratum 2017), Higaki, Farago, Pogany, Miklosi and Fugazza, Sound quality impacts dogs' ability to recognize and respond to playback words, Scientific Reports 2025, NPR via WLRN, These dogs can learn new words just by eavesdropping (8 January 2026), StudyFinds, on Reeve and Jacques 2022, Science News, Dogs know words for their favorite toys (March 2024), The Scientist, Some dogs can learn new words just by eavesdropping (January 2026), Fugazza, Sommese and Miklosi, Dogs extend verbal labels for functional classification of objects, Current Biology 2025.
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