Due to the social distancing necessitated by the current pandemic, dogs have become more valuable than ever for their devoted companionship. I have enjoyed owning a number of dogs throughout my life—observing a remarkable range in their intelligence, even within the same breeds. However, I doubt that even the smartest of my canines ever came close to six genius dogs now competing for this world championship in Budapest. They qualified by knowing the names of at least 10 objects. The winner, to be crowned later this month, will need to identify 12 toys with only a week of training.
This feat of memory and recognition seemed impressive by my meager experience with dogs (and limited talent for training them). However, it turns out that a Border Collie named Chaser, who passed away a year ago, knew over 1000 nouns. Incredible! In 2018, he and his owner and trainer, John Pilley, were put to a randomized test (with a surprising twist!) for PBS Nova by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Watch the 6-minute video: You will be amazed.