In a groundbreaking study published in the renowned journal Current Biology, researchers have uncovered new evidence that certain dogs possess the remarkable ability to categorize objects not merely based on physical appearance, but by their functional use—a cognitive feat once thought unique to humans. These “Gifted Word Learner” (GWL) dogs demonstrated an advanced understanding of verbal labels associated with everyday objects, extending these labels to novel items that shared a similar purpose despite lacking obvious physical similarities. This research offers profound insights into the cognitive evolution of language-related abilities and suggests a more complex mental representation in dogs than previously recognized.
Language acquisition in humans is a sophisticated process that intertwines sensory perception, memory, and social interaction. From infancy, humans naturally connect words to objects, concepts, and categories based on functional or contextual relationships. Transposing this capacity to non-human animals, especially dogs, which have co-evolved alongside humans for tens of thousands of years, introduces a fascinating investigative frontier. Prior studies have mostly highlighted dogs’ capability to associate specific labels with familiar objects or commands. However, this research pushes the boundary further by showing that dogs can generalize learned verbal labels to entirely new objects based on their functional classification, even without explicit training regarding these new items.
Led by Claudia Fugazza of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, the team conducted their experimental inquiry within the dogs’ familiar home environments, emphasizing naturalistic settings over traditional laboratory conditions. They employed a methodology focused on playful interaction, where owners introduced their pets to two distinct categories of toys: those primarily used for pulling (tug toys) and those used for fetching. Crucially, the toys in each category varied widely in shape, size, color, and texture, intentionally removing uniform physical cues to test whether dogs relied on function rather than appearance for categorization.
Initial phases involved owners associating verbal labels, “pull” and “fetch,” with these toy categories through daily play sessions over approximately one week. The dogs’ responses affirmed their ability to recognize and remember these functional labels through contextual play, revealing a rapid learning curve and consolidated memory retention. The pivotal test came when owners presented the dogs with previously unfamiliar toys from each category but deliberately refrained from vocalizing any labels during interaction. Remarkably, the dogs applied the learned verbal categories autonomously, pulling or fetching the appropriate novel toys consistent with their functions, without any direct prompting.
This spontaneous generalization suggests that these dogs were not simply memorizing label-to-object pairings but had constructed a mental representation of toy usage that transcended sensory features. The dogs’ cognitive process arguably mirrors that of human semantic categorization, where function serves as a chief organizing principle. This challenges existing perspectives on animal cognition, especially regarding non-human species traditionally presumed incapable of sophisticated abstract thought processes linked to language.
Underlying this ability is the dogs’ formation of enduring memories associated with object functions, indicating an integrative system that binds verbal labels, tactile experience, and motor activity within a singular mental schema. While previous research has focused on dogs’ memory for command words or object names, this study significantly advances the understanding of how dogs relate language to object utility and conceptual grouping, highlighting parallels between canine and human cognitive architectures. It also underscores the role of social interaction and naturalistic learning environments in fostering complex cognition.
These findings open new avenues for investigating the evolution of language-related cognitive traits, suggesting that the roots of such abilities might not be exclusively tied to the human brain but potentially shared among other species through convergent evolution or shared environmental pressures. The ability to categorize objects functionally through verbal labels may have provided evolutionary advantages in communication efficiency and problem solving, contributing to the co-adaptive relationship between humans and dogs.
Moreover, this research points to exciting future inquiries: Do all dogs possess this categorical ability, or is it exclusive to the “Gifted Word Learner” subset? Can non-verbal associative mechanisms produce similar functional classifications absent explicit labeling? Such questions could redefine working dog training and inform the development of artificial intelligence systems modeled after animal cognition.
Fugazza emphasizes the naturalistic aspect of the study, underscoring that the dogs learned and generalized these labels without extensive or artificial training regimes. This mirrors everyday interactions between pets and owners, suggesting that everyday play and communication can foster high-level cognitive processing in domesticated animals. The study also hints at a previously underestimated breadth of canine communicative competence, potentially expanding how researchers, trainers, and pet owners understand dog intelligence and emotional engagement.
Beyond scientific curiosity, practical applications emerge from this research—for instance, improving assistance dog training by harnessing dogs’ natural capacity for functional categorization, thereby enhancing task flexibility and accuracy. Additionally, these insights may influence the design of enrichment activities that promote mental stimulation and well-being among domestic dogs, contributing to better animal welfare practices.
In conclusion, the discovery that dogs can extend verbal labels for the functional classification of objects demonstrates a noteworthy cognitive parallel with humans and advances the interdisciplinary understanding of language-related skills. By situating this capability within natural home environments and emphasizing voluntary, playful interaction, the research elegantly bridges laboratory findings with realistic contexts. As the scientific community continues to unravel the layers of animal cognition, studies like this not only illuminate our understanding of dogs but also have broader implications for fields such as comparative psychology, linguistics, and evolutionary biology.
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: Dogs extend verbal labels for functional classification of objects
News Publication Date: 18-Sep-2025
Web References:
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01079-6
http://www.cell.com/current-biology
References: Fugazza et al. “Dogs extend verbal labels for functional classification of objects,” Current Biology, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.08.013
Image Credits: Claudia Fugazza
Keywords: Dogs, Verbal communication
Tags: advanced dog training insightscanine cognitive evolutioncognitive representation in dogsdogs and human co-evolutiondogs cognitive abilitiesfunctional understanding of toysGifted Word Learner dogslanguage acquisition in animalsnon-human language comprehensionobject categorization in dogsunderstanding unfamiliar toysverbal labels and object recognition
