If you think this is a story about a talking dog, you’re wrong. This is a groundbreaking story about what researchers at Duke University are calling “the most scientifically important dog in over a century.” If you want some trivial video about a talking dog, click here. If you want something more substantial – read on..

Chaser is a 9 year-old border collie with a bit of a penchant for vocabulary. Through years of intense and specific training, Chaser has managed to memorise 1,000 words, and thereby attain toddler-level cognition through learning the basic elements of language.

Proud owner, educator and emeritus professor of psychology, John W. Pilley:

For me, the most crucial common characteristic of dogs and toddlers is that they both learn best through play. I made games and other playful interactions with Chaser the basis of an ongoing conversation, speaking to her throughout the day in simple words and phrases just as I would to a toddler.

 

[Source : Time]