Of course, everyone was bragging about how many words their dog understood. Some lady was estimating her dog must know 500-600 words and everyone else thought their's was on the same level.
I just watched. I know I have smart dogs but I am pretty sure they don't know a whole lot of words. My three dogs, two black Labs, and a Border Collie are a source of joy for me. So I thought I'd test them to see how much they do know.
My big male Lab, Charlie, went first. Now, the boy loves his Daddy and wants to do good all the time. He is a sweet boy who listens intently, but he's kind of slow. He's just not the best mind to try something like this on. But I figured he knows about 50-75 words and that's good for him.
Suzie, the Border Collie, came next. Now, she is really smart and knows a lot of words. I figured she must know around 150-200. She's always eager to please and she knows a lot.
Last was my small female Lab, Casey. She was lying on the futon when I went at her. She looked up at me. She has some looks now. You have to understand dog to understand my Casey. She gave me that, "Look, I know a couple of hundred words, but I am not going to let you know which ones I know" look. She's right on that.
I figured I better quit the conversation with all my dogs. Besides at this point they were all looking at me. They didn't have to know the word eat! They were all sitting around looking at me with that, "Look, we are not going to show our vocabulary skills for you right now. Just get in that kitchen and get us something to eat" look. I don't know how many words they understand when I talk, but they can sure make me understand several hundred words when they "talk".
outside
lets go