Many dog owners have taught their dogs commands like “sit,” “stay,” and “fetch.” What if I told you that there is a dog who has been trained to understand 1,022 words along with several simple sentences. The above picture shows this amazing dog with her cherished collection of toys. Chaser is able to identify each toy from her thousand plus toy collection. Furthermore, when asked to fetch an unfamiliar toy that is mixed in with toys she knows well, she is able to fetch the unknown toy by process of elimination.
Dr. John Pilley, a retired psychology professor from Wofford College in South Carolina is Chaser’s owner. For the past seven years, John has been training Chaser for several hours a day. John and Chaser have enjoyed their training sessions as they are filled with fun activities and lots of love. John, along with Dr. Alliston Reid, published their research on Chaser in 2011. Since then, Chaser has become quite the celebrity. She has been appeared on a “NOVA Science NOW” documentary, “The Today Show,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “ABC World News Tonight.” Chaser has also featured in several magazines and newspaper publications throughout the world.
Learn about dog intelligence in this “CBS News Online” video featuring Chaser.
To view more videos of this brilliant dog, you can visit John Pilley’s facebook page: Videos of Chaser.
