CLEVER CANINE COMMUNICATION SOME PETS SHOW ABILITY TO LEARN WORDS.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer Brooke hasn't figured out that ``D.P.'' means ``dog park'' and cheese-lover Lulu doesn't seem to understand when her mistress speaks of the ``C-H word.'' No, these two pooches are not quite as bright as Rico, a brainy brain·y adj. brain·i·er, brain·i·est Informal Intelligent; smart. brain  i·ly adv. border collie border collie, breed of medium-sized, sheepherding dog developed in the British Isles. It stands about 18 in. (45.7 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 30 to 45 lb (13.6–20.4 kg). in Germany who has mastered more than 200 words and learns new ones as quickly as a 3-year-old child can. But most of the time, Brooke and Lulu apparently know what their humans are talking about, unless, of course, the key words are spelled. ``I can say, 'Go get Tweety,' and three out of five times, Kodi will get the Tweety toy,'' said Davida Mintz, 35, of Reseda about her dog. ``The other two times, he'll ignore me and not get any of his stuffed animals.'' Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology is a research institute for evolutionary anthropology based in Leipzig, Germany founded in 1997. It is part of the Max Planck Institute network. The Institute currently employs three-hundred and thirty-four people. in Leipzig report that their work with Rico - whose vocabulary puts him in a league with apes, dolphins and parrots - may indicate that some parts of speech comprehension developed separately from human speech. Pet owners at a Valley park Thursday said their dogs were no match for Rico - but they were not surprised by the researchers' findings. ``(Brooke's) pretty smart. She knows when people are upset,'' said Candace Hayward, 22, of Sherman Oaks, referring to her Labrador-pit bull mix. Hayward said Brooke's intelligence is more intuitive, especially when Hayward and her fiance, Ryan Hoke hoke tr.v. hoked, hok·ing, hokes Slang To give an impressive but artificial, false, or deceptive quality to: hoked up some phony allegations. , 23, have a disagreement. ``If we're fighting, she'll get between us and try to make us laugh,'' Hayward said while walking Brooke at Lake Balboa's off-leash pet area. She's careful to refer to it only as the ``D.P.'' - Brooke gets overly excited when she hears the term ``dog park.'' Sally Cruikshank Sally Cruikshank (born 1949) is an American cartoonist and animator; her notable works include the Sesame Street children's television programs for Children's Television Workshop (1989–2000). , 54, of Northridge described her chow chow named Lulu as having a ``primitive brain,'' noting the animal apparently does not understand the concept of ``fetch'' and had a hard time learning basic obedience commands. But even Cruikshank has to watch her words around her dog. When Lulu is around, she must refer to cheese as ``the C-H word.'' Because cheese is the dog's favorite treat, the word is useful when Cruikshank needs to lure Brooke away from the chickens. ``I often wonder what the neighbors think,'' Cruikshank mused. ``I'm out there in the middle of the night yelling, 'Cheese! Cheese!' But I have to back it up, or it loses its effectiveness.'' Researchers think Rico may have an edge over other dogs because border collies are known primarily for their herding abilities. Sandy Madigan, owner of Baird Creek Border Collies, a Temecula-based breeder of border collies, said she also has a client whose border collie can pick out dog toys on command. ``They are absolutely scary in their intuition,'' Madigan said. ``The only one smarter than a border collie is a wolf.'' Still, dog owners of other breeds should not be discouraged. ``I wouldn't say there are dumb dogs ... . Some dogs are more willing to learn,'' said Gail Miller Gail Miller (died January 31, 1969) was a 20-year old Canadian nursing assistant, who was murdered and raped on January 31, 1969 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, by Larry Fisher. , a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club American Kennel Club (AKC), national organization in the United States devoted to the advancement and welfare of pure-bred dogs. It is comprised of approximately 500 autonomous clubs. in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Miller said the research on Rico confirms what all dog owners already know. ``Dogs can definitely understand our language, our words, our facial expressions and our emotions.'' Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. contributed to this story Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) A 9-year-old border collie in Berlin named Rico can understand about 200 words, German scientists report. Fritz Reiss/Associated Press (2) At Encino's Lake Balboa Park Balboa Park is the name of several municipal parks, including the following:
(3) Sally Cruikshank of Northridge brought her chow chow named Lulu to the off-leash dog park at Lake Balboa. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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