Word Recognition?

[Guest issy]

I know this probably completely depends on the dog, but how long would you say it's taken your hounds to understand certain phrases? Enzo's been here about 3 months, and so far he has yet to catch on to anything I've said. I use the same phrases each time for each different activity. I'm not complaining, I'm just curious...you'd think "treat" would come pretty easily, right? Especially since it happens about 10 times a day...

 

I had bostons who would run grab their leashes when I spelled w-a-l-k in a conversation, and would look into the sky if I said "airplane." Different brains, I guess

[Guest mbfilby]

I dunno.. our hounds know lots of words and phrases, The obvious ones like walk, treats, food, go outside etc, as well as some more obscure ones like move, watch TV, and our children's names.. As for length of time to learn, I have no clue. We didn't set out to train them. Our poor Cy who is very handsome (but not so bright) knew most phrases by his first gotchya day..

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I think Jayne started punching me in the gut when I dared to say the W word in her presence at about four months. She caught on pretty quickly to words and phrases I made an effort to teach her, such as sit, shake, go potty etc.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

So your Bostons would do what you describe at the ripe ol age of 3 months? You need to realize that your greyhounds are the equivalent of a puppy, they have never been in a home, have never been a pet. Please don't make the same mistake so many new adopters do and compare a greyhound to a dog that was raised in a home for years and think because the age is similar, the behavior/knowledge level should be the same.

 

As far as recognation, of course each hound will be different, but I have been able to teach my hounds and all my fosters simple commands in less than a week. Simple commands being sit, their name, "go upstairs", "go downstairs", sit. Leave it, and stay are commands that take a bit longer as it requires self-control in the hound, something that is very difficult to train during the first months that a hound is trying to learn everything else about being a pet. I do have help though, I have three of my own hounds, so some of the commands are learned by watching my hounds (such as, go upstairs, stay, etc.).

 

Chad

Edited January 6, 2011 by Greyt_dog_lover

[Guest KsFrets]

I think it makes a big difference when there are already dogs in place that know the words. I would say it took Magnus and Maggie (adopted a moth apart) about 2 months or so to learn our every day phrases. However, we have noticed that the same words (Walk, Cookie, Peepee, etc...) are picked up by the fosters within just a few days, because they see the reactions of the others. Magnus and Maggie came from their prison program already knowing how to sit and shake. It took us about two weeks to get Lisa up to speed on sitting and shaking (she came right from the farm).

Edited January 6, 2011 by KsFrets

[Guest Sunset123]

Arrisa is pretty clever, but she's better with words when I give her a physical signal along with them, at least at first.

 

For example, she's not understanding "outside" 100% of the time yet, but if I put my hand on her leash and ask her, "outside?" she's very good at telling me yes (by jumping straight up in the air and wagging her tail) or no (by looking bored). With time, she's getting better at understanding "outside?" without the physical clue.

 

I start all of our tricks with hand cues, too. She seems to respond better to them.

[Guest sheila]

My Jane is a smart girl but she has one phrase she just can't seem to understand. She has this habit of coming up to me from behind and sticking her nose.......where she ought not to. Since day 1 I have reached behind me with a swift swat and loud, 'NOSE IN A$$' to no avail. It gets quite distracting at times. Sweet Billy understood it right away, Calamity Jane is recalcitrant.

[RobinM]

Well, cookie was learned within a few days!!!! Wanna g out was a few weeks. He probably knows, he's just doing the greyhound thing, ignoring you!!!

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Are you sure he doesn't speak Spanish?

[TwiggysMom]

My Jane is a smart girl but she has one phrase she just can't seem to understand. She has this habit of coming up to me from behind and sticking her nose.......where she ought not to. Since day 1 I have reached behind me with a swift swat and loud, 'NOSE IN A$$' to no avail. It gets quite distracting at times. Sweet Billy understood it right away, Calamity Jane is recalcitrant.

 

Try "NOSE OUT OF A$$!" instead - she's probably thinking you're doing really good at figuring out what she's doing

 

Edited b/c my first part was clearly not helpful to OP. Usually, I find that if the word and behavior or action is consistent and clear enough, most get it within a few days; however, some of my fosters have been sharper than others. My current guy just seems to go against the grain. The more I want him to go one direction, the more he wants to go the other.

Edited January 7, 2011 by TwiggysMom

[GeorgeofNE]

I've often wondered if George understands another language.

 

Chad, the dogs get spoken to as puppies, at the farm, in training, at the track. I'd wager to say most of them come to use knowing at least a few things--kennel up, dinner time--stuff like that.

 

I happen to think George understands plenty, but as a hound, his nature is to be independent and do his own thing. He has learned cause and effect quite well--train goes by, he gets a treat. Now all it takes is hearing the train and he expects a treat. Go lie down? Forget it! He knows good and well what it means. He chooses to ignore it most of the time.

 

Big difference between not understanding and not caring!

[Guest issy]

So your Bostons would do what you describe at the ripe ol age of 3 months? You need to realize that your greyhounds are the equivalent of a puppy, they have never been in a home, have never been a pet. Please don't make the same mistake so many new adopters do and compare a greyhound to a dog that was raised in a home for years and think because the age is similar, the behavior/knowledge level should be the same.

 

 

Of course I don't think that. I'm not making "the same mistake" and to assume that I've never adopted a dog that hadn't before been a pet isn't a correct assumption. Do you honestly think that I'd expect my 3 year old fresh off the track greyhound to know the same phrases as a dog that's lived with me for 3 years? Spare me the drama.

 

My point was Enzo's a bit slower on the uptake than I've really ever experienced. We began clicker training, and we've been at the same first steps for a few weeks, and Enzo still doesn't associate "click" with "treat." I've trained several dogs with this method, and he just hasn't caught on with short, fun session. We haven't even begun with down, stay, etc, though we use "wait" a lot.

 

Arrisa is pretty clever, but she's better with words when I give her a physical signal along with them, at least at first.

 

For example, she's not understanding "outside" 100% of the time yet, but if I put my hand on her leash and ask her, "outside?" she's very good at telling me yes (by jumping straight up in the air and wagging her tail) or no (by looking bored). With time, she's getting better at understanding "outside?" without the physical clue.

 

I start all of our tricks with hand cues, too. She seems to respond better to them.

 

I could definitely see how physical cues would help with learning and associating. I should be more consistent with that!

 

Well, cookie was learned within a few days!!!! Wanna g out was a few weeks. He probably knows, he's just doing the greyhound thing, ignoring you!!!

 

 

Ignoring Treat?! :eek Haha. Sometimes I wonder.

 

Are you sure he doesn't speak Spanish?

 

:lol I should try a few words.

 

My Jane is a smart girl but she has one phrase she just can't seem to understand. She has this habit of coming up to me from behind and sticking her nose.......where she ought not to. Since day 1 I have reached behind me with a swift swat and loud, 'NOSE IN A$$' to no avail. It gets quite distracting at times. Sweet Billy understood it right away, Calamity Jane is recalcitrant.

 

Try "NOSE OUT OF A$$!" instead - she's probably thinking you're doing really good at figuring out what she's doing

 

Edited b/c my first part was clearly not helpful to OP. Usually, I find that if the word and behavior or action is consistent and clear enough, most get it within a few days; however, some of my fosters have been sharper than others. My current guy just seems to go against the grain. The more I want him to go one direction, the more he wants to go the other.

 

This is what this feels like here... I love my baby so much and I'd never want him to be any different, I just hope he catches on for his sake (and I get his drift as well) so we're all able to live a bit more harmoniously and not bumble over each other all the time with miscommunication.

[Guest issy]

I've often wondered if George understands another language.

 

Chad, the dogs get spoken to as puppies, at the farm, in training, at the track. I'd wager to say most of them come to use knowing at least a few things--kennel up, dinner time--stuff like that.

 

I happen to think George understands plenty, but as a hound, his nature is to be independent and do his own thing. He has learned cause and effect quite well--train goes by, he gets a treat. Now all it takes is hearing the train and he expects a treat. Go lie down? Forget it! He knows good and well what it means. He chooses to ignore it most of the time.

 

Big difference between not understanding and not caring!

 

This made me laugh, thank you. Enzo is snoozing and I said "dinnertime"...no response. Kennel up got me a glance, and he continued on with his nap. So maybe he DID recognize that one - haha. Who knows.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Most of my hounds know "In" and "Out" from the track (like in and out of the door, into the pen/yard/gate, etc). The girls no "up" or "load up" and some of the boys do. Most of them come knowing their names, though not all seem to grasp this. I try to use words I know they're used to hearing. I think it takes time for them to learn new things and new routines, but some are faster than others.

[Guest longdoglady]

Anna came to me straight from kennels recognising only two words "Anna" and "pretty"

She responded very well to body language but showed little interest in listening to words. She is very bright but it took about 6 months before she started tuning in to individual words rather than just tone of voice. I'm sure she only bothered to learn human when she realised I was too dumb to learn dog.

[galgrey]

Purebred dogs are selectively bred for certain physical characteristics and skill sets. Sighthounds haven't "needed" or been selectively bred for their receptive language skills like some other breeds. They can all learn but the learning curve is different IMHO. And, of course, within a breed you'll have some individuals that are quicker to learn new things than others.

 

I've now had 5 retired racers in my life and the "smartest" by far is Princess. She is incredibly social and oriented to words and cues - more so than any of the others I've lived with. She makes intense eye contact everyone and seems to actively listen to what you say to her. She's the only greyhound I've had that does this. Everyone that meets her, especially other greyhound owners, comments on it. Her eye contact reminds me somewhat of my beloved weimaraner, Hannah.

 

Hannah was often too smart for my own good! She learned a couple of new words or phrases every day even into her senior years. It didn't take her long to recognize familiar words when I spelled them and not only did she know her name (no big feat I know), but she knew the other dogs' names! When I would say their names, she would look at them and then back at me and then back at them! I was talking on the phone to a friend one day about my new next door neighbor and her two dogs & said their names. She jumped up and ran to the window and looked out at their house wagging her tail furiously hoping to see her friends. I was amazed that she knew what I was talking about! Combined with this intellect was a tremendous amount of energy and stamina that needed channeling constantly or she would find something to get into in order to entertain herself. I adored her beyond words, but in my older age, sighthounds are more my speed.

Edited January 7, 2011 by galgrey

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Issy,

When you make the short, under-explained statement that you made, I HAD to make assumptions, I didn't have any other information to go on. "Do you honestly think that I'd expect my 3 year old fresh off the track greyhound to know the same phrases as a dog that's lived with me for 3 years? Spare me the drama." Yes I do believe that. I am an adoption rep and I have seen so many people expect so much from their greyhound that they have had for a whopping month, you would be very suprised. Just take a look around at some of the posts from the new adopters that post here and you will see a trend- new owners that have experience with "other" breeds for 10, 20, 30+ years and they have never had this much trouble with "x" or "y". People seem to think that greyhounds are just another dog and since they know dogs, they know greyhounds.

 

George,

I didn't make any specific claims about the hounds upbringing, just a simple comparison to a puppy. You have to admit, these hounds come to their first home with the same experience level about being a house-pet as a very young puppy.

[BootsyCollins]

Chad, I think you're being a tad defensive. I'm sure you're frequently frustrated by adopters who have unrealistic expectations of their dogs, but the OP clearly stated that she's just curious and is wondering about others' experiences.

 

Bootsy understands the words he wants to understand.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

If I am being overly sensitive I apologize.

[Guest simile]

Tip behaved a lot like your pup in the first few months. It took more than six months before he started to reliably respond to words (though he did get "treat" right off the bat ). He's far from slow, though. In fact, he might be the smartest dog in the house. For those first few months he watched everything, like he was assessing all that was going on - what I was doing, what the pack was doing, how I responded to the pack and vice versa. I could see the wheels turning in his brain. After he figured out and was comfortable with everything, he started responding directly to me. It was fascinating to watch. He'll still do that to a degree in new situations.

 

Our racing greys come from an environment that is (I believe) much more structured and consistent than our homes, so when they come in to a new home some of them (like Tip) take a little longer to figure out the new structure and schedule. Since our home schedules can be more erratic than at the track, they may not be willing to try new things until they figure it out. I have a regular schedule (wake up time, feeding, leaving for work, etc.), but there are things that happen that aren't on any schedule - I might take one of the dogs to work with me, we might go to the dog park, or I'll take one to the groomer for nails. While all of those things happen regularly, they don't happen with the same dog(s) at the same time of day on the same day of the week.

 

After Tip settled in, he became the fastest learner of the bunch (as long as the reward is something he really wants - he is a sighthound, after all ). He's shaped my husband's behavior to get Good n' Plentys, and he learned after the first time that if he doesn't get a Kong in the morning, he's coming to work with me. He's a very smart boy, he just had to be comfortable and confident in his new situation .

[rschultz]

I've often wondered if George understands another language.

 

Chad, the dogs get spoken to as puppies, at the farm, in training, at the track. I'd wager to say most of them come to use knowing at least a few things--kennel up, dinner time--stuff like that.

 

I happen to think George understands plenty, but as a hound, his nature is to be independent and do his own thing. He has learned cause and effect quite well--train goes by, he gets a treat. Now all it takes is hearing the train and he expects a treat. Go lie down? Forget it! He knows good and well what it means. He chooses to ignore it most of the time.

 

Big difference between not understanding and not caring!

[Guest cwholsin]

We have a trainer friend who told us that a dog's word recognition ability depends on how they were raised. If you have a dog that was spoken to frequently while growing up, word recognition shouldn't be an issue. If your dog wasn't spoken to much while growing up they will always struggle more with word recognition. I guess it's similar to children--if you miss the critical period for speech, it will never develop past a certain point.

 

Hermes has done alright with word recognition, but he responds much better to hand signals compared to our friend's dogs. These other dogs were all raised in households and were presumably spoken to very frequently and don't need signals to go with verbal commands. Hermes has, however, shown an aptitude for training and was picking up words the first day we brought him home.

 

I do love my greyhound and appreciate how special he is, but greyhounds ARE still just dogs. There are minor differences between greyhounds and some others which are mostly due to upbringing and breeding (ie. the work the dog has been designed to do). The mistake that people make (myself included when Hermes came home) is determining what stage of development to expect from your dog, not expecting greyhounds to respond like other dogs. The training and behavioral advice and tips that our trainer and behaviorist friends have given us still very much apply to our dog even though he's a Grey! I haven't trained greyhounds other than Hermes, or all other dog breeds--but the response to training, etc. seems to depend more on individual temperment than breed. Some greyhounds love training, some don't. The other dogs that I've met in my life have really been no different in that respect.

Edited January 8, 2011 by cwholsin