A dog must be very smart to make the news. But when you’re the smartest dog in the world, that’s what you do.
According to 60 Minutes, Chaser has been called the “smartest dog in the world.” She is a border collie owned by John Pilley, a retired psychology professor. Chaser and Pilley are inseparable. And, he considers her more than a pet, she’s like his child.
Chaser is a loved member of the family and comes first. She has also been taught as though she were a human child. Pilley has spent five hours a day, every day, training Chaser and says she has the learning capacity of a two-year-old.
Chaser has learned the names of over a thousand toys, which means she has that many that she can identify by a unique name. Pilley has even cataloged the toys and when Chaser is asked to find them, she can pick out the correct toy from the pile 95% of the time.
But Pilley’s knowledge doesn’t stop there. She has also learned nouns and verbs and can perform basic commands such as take, touch, and many more. She can combine her verbs with the name of a toy to perform behaviors when asked, such as touching the ball or picking up the block.
Chaser is a brainiac wonder dog. Her breakthrough came when she realized that objects have names. Once she made that mental connection, her ability to learn new things was unstoppable.
Chaser has been studied by scientists and a book has even been written about her. She has shattered the canine glass ceiling of sorts because she showed the world that dogs can achieve a level of thinking called inferential reasoning, which prior to studying her, was before
This type of thinking is shared by humans and not all animals can do it. It’s very special to dogs and Chaser has a very developed brain due to her training. Her intelligence has resulted in much more research and studies on what makes dogs tick and how they love.
Because of Chaser, dogs are much more understood. Scientists now know that dogs also have an emotional connection with their owners that goes much deeper than just a desire for their basic need for food and water.
It has been proven that dogs share a deep bond with their owners and that when they make eye contact with their owners, they both release the love hormone, oxytocin. When a dog looks at you, it’s as if they hug you.
Most owners believe their dog loves them and the feeling is mutual. But thanks to the advancement of studies on dogs, there is much more going on than once believed and some assumptions about them have been wrong.
So, is Chaser a wonder dog or can all dogs learn? Chaser is an intelligent breed of working dog, but she has learned a vast amount due in major part to the investment of love, time, and training Pilley has invested in her.
Chaser wasn’t ‘special.’ She was chosen just like anyone would choose their dog. What came after was a dedication to her and her learning. Because of that, Chaser was able to show the world just how truly special dogs are.
Sadly, Chaser’s love and intelligence couldn’t hold with us forever. Like all dogs, she left the earth too soon and passed away on July 23, 2019, a year after her beloved owner. We hope you enjoyed this amazing story. As always, please feel free to share with your friends.
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