Canine psychologist Stanley Coren estimates that an average dog understands around 165 words or signals, while the smartest 20% of dogs can exceed 250.
The absolute record belongs to a border collie named Chaser, the subject of a study published in 2011, who learned the names of more than 1,000 distinct objects – confirmed through controlled testing, not just an owner’s impression.
The huge gap between the average dog and Chaser actually shows how much consistent training matters – Chaser was systematically tested daily, for years, by researcher John Pilley.
The basic capacity exists in any dog – the difference mostly comes down to how much time gets invested in it.
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