How Many Words Can a Dog Learn?

Veteran canine researcher and dog trainer Dr. Stanley Coren analyzed a dog’s ability to learn human language in his book The Intelligence of Dogs, concluding that the average canine can learn around 165 human words. However, Coren found that the most intelligent dogs (including breeds like Border Collies, Poodles, and German Shepherds) can learn closer to 250 words with excellent training. In terms of language comprehension, most dogs can understand the same number of words as a two-year-old child.

Psychologist Dr. Stanley Coren conducted a detailed survey on dog intelligence, sampling the responses of over 200 obedience judges to name the top ten most intelligent breeds. The Border Collie was named number one in intelligence, followed by the Standard Poodle, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, and Doberman Pinscher. As such, these dog breeds are likely to have the easiest time learning words.

However, a smart dog with poor training will still struggle to learn any task. A dog’s ability to learn human language ultimately depends on their owner’s ability to teach them efficiently.

Follow this step-by-step guide to help your dog understand new words.

1. 1. Teach your dog some basic commands. Learning words will be easier for your furry best friend if they already know some basic commands. Before attempting to teach a pooch non-traditional words, dog owners should first train them in general commands (like “sit,” “down,” “stay,” “come,” “heel,” “no,” and “find it”) by using positive reinforcement and rewarding them with treats for the desired response. Once your dog responds to each command regularly, gradually stop using treats as motivation and begin teaching your dog new words. Check out these basic dog training tips.
2. 2. Start with nouns. Nouns are the easiest words in the human language to teach dogs because you can associate them with physical objects.
3. 3. Obtain an object that represents your word. If you want to teach your dog the word “hat,” find an actual hat that you can use during the word-learning process.
4. 4. Play hide-and-seek while repeating the word. Show your dog the object (a hat, in this case) while saying the word you want them to learn. Next, hide the object somewhere nearby in plain sight, like peeking out from under a rug. Tell your dog “find hat” and continue repeating the phrase. When they find the object, praise your pooch with positive body language and an excited tone of voice by saying, “Good dog! Good dog!”
5. 5. Make it harder to find the object. Continue playing hide-and-seek with the object for five to ten minutes at a time, at least twice daily, gradually increasing the difficulty of the hiding place as you go. Repeat the name of the object as your dog hunts for it. During these training sessions, remove all other toys and objects from the floor to avoid any confusion.
6. 6. Test your dog’s comprehension. Once you believe your dog knows the object’s name, test their cognition. Place the object in a lineup on the floor with at least five other things. Tell your dog to “find [object name]” to see if they can successfully differentiate it from the other items. If your pooch is successful, repeat this step several times but swap incorrect alternate items into the lineup. If your dog fails during any phase of this process, go back to the hide-and-seek step to better implant the word into their mind.
7. 7. Move on to different words. Once you’ve taught your dog one word, set that object aside and choose new items to add to your dog’s vocabulary. Repeat all the above steps for every new word.
8. 8. Test your dog’s memory. After you’ve taught your dog multiple words, it’s important to regularly test their retention of all the words they’ve learned. To test your dog’s memory, create an object lineup consisting only of words you’ve already taught them. (For example, if you’ve taught them ten words, place all of those objects in the lineup.) One by one, ask your pup to find each object. If your dog does not retrieve an object successfully, re-teach that word using the hide-and-seek game to refresh their memory.
9. 9. Re-test your dog’s memory monthly. As you keep teaching your dog new words, continue performing the memory test monthly to make sure they retain their vocabulary.

Your dream of having a dog who understands words like “sit,” “stay,” “down,” and—crucially— “no” is just a MasterClass Annual Membership away. The only things you’ll need to train up a well-behaved pup are your laptop, a big bag of treats, and our exclusive instructional videos from superstar animal trainer Brandon McMillan.