Vladimir,
We already knew
that dogs are sentient beings who feel love, pain, joy,
and hope. Now we know they can also be capable of a
complex language skill called "label learning."
In fact, a new study shows that some dogs have language
abilities comparable to 18-month-old human
children!
While "label learning" is a
rare talent, it still showcases the incredible
abilities our pets can have. This latest research,
published in early January 2026, suggests that dogs can
build large human vocabularies, including learning the
name of specific items which the animals can recognize
and retrieve on command.
But that's not all. The
most surprising part of this research wasn't just how
smart dogs can be. It was also incredible to see
how dogs learned these objects' labels.
Their understanding didn't only come from direct,
explicit, one-on-one training. Dogs also learned the
names of objects from eavesdropping on humans,
picking up context clues, and indirectly inferring which
objects were which.
Yet in many places, dogs
are still treated like furniture, "things" that are not
worthy of adequate consideration. That's why we must
demand robust laws that properly emphasize pets'
sentience and need for proper treatment.
Sign the petition to demand
that the 5 U.S. states with the worst laws — North
Dakota, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, and Mississippi — pass
stronger animal welfare laws now!
