Live data from Hacker News

Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

nytimes.com

71–80 of 105 posts

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#71
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NYT started blocking incognito windows: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19275283

There's still a trick you can use on Android at least, but it's a little obscure. I'm worried some HN-reading NYT dev will file a JIRA for it if I post though. Play around for yourself, that's how I found it.

I just stick the link into Archive.is

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#72

"Chaser was taught to understand sentences containing a prepositional object, verb and direct object." I would have never believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. A friend has a golden retriever that I was playing with one day, and I asked him to get me a stick. He did, but it wasn't the stick I was thinking of, so I just off hand said, "no, not that stick, the one by the rock." and damn if that dog didn't…

I wonder what would happen if we selectively bred dogs for that type of intelligence rather than for appearance and temperment? What are the upper limits of canine intelligence?

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#73
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a puppy collie/Shepard mix that is about a year old. Do you have any tips/suggestions? Do you regret getting such a smart dog in general?

Genuinely curious - is there any reason why person would potentially prefer a less smart dog? I always thought that, the smarter they are, the better companions they can be, so your comment got me wondering.

I fostered a very smart dog at one point and came away a bit spooked, honestly. If you were hanging out with someone it didn't trust and said that you were going to the restroom, it would immediately walk into there and wait for you, and it could tell the difference between time concepts like 'soon' and 'later'. We never had any real problems with it, but the sense that it listened, understood, and did not speak back was unsettling.

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#74

Dogs have been bred for everything else - I wonder how breeding dogs for intelligence would work out.

Others mentioned a couple of breeds that are generally known as smarter than usual; I'd add Catahoula to that list too. They're not as concerned about human's opinions of how they're doing their jobs as some others; they're doing the job, not waiting for the human's approval for having done it. One of ours can reliably tell time from analog wall clocks. It's her job to put our daughter to bed on time, and she does, u…

Can you explain more about this? What does putting your daughter to bed look like??

It sounds crazy!

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#75
post #21

I'll try not come off as snide but I have to wonder what types of ailments Border Collies are prone to due to the inevitable inbreeding that every AKC dog has--hey they gotta look pretty in the ring. * Our German Short Hair Pointer had seizures which in time led to him having to be put down; despite having him treated at the Animal Medical Center in NYC amongst other places. * Our English Cocker Spaniel (a found dog…

I think your comment is a little off target with border collies to some degree. Of all the pure breds (and I also have problems with 'pure breeding' to some degree) they are probably the least like what you are calling out here. All the other breeds you mentioned are bred for looks. Border collies are bred for behaviour. The definition of a collie is fundamentally personality and behaviour traits, not a look. There i…

"Show lines" for Border collies have been long opposed by those who work Border collies, fearing inbreeding and health problems.

Unfortunately, when things become popular (who wouldn't want the "smartest" dog?) they become lucrative, and the "working dog" heritage that protected them from genetic deficiencies now became a point of sale for them, leading to the inevitable inbreeding.

Whereas before what constituted a Border collie was general physical ability and endurance combined with "the eye", now many regions have show standards for Border collies as well.

So, simply getting a Border collie is no longer a guaranteed way to get away from the "pure breed" mentality and all the problems associated with it.

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#76
post #72

"Chaser was taught to understand sentences containing a prepositional object, verb and direct object." I would have never believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. A friend has a golden retriever that I was playing with one day, and I asked him to get me a stick. He did, but it wasn't the stick I was thinking of, so I just off hand said, "no, not that stick, the one by the rock." and damn if that dog didn't…

I wonder what would happen if we selectively bred dogs for that type of intelligence rather than for appearance and temperment? What are the upper limits of canine intelligence?

Given time and if you are prepared that the end result won't be a dog anymore at least as intelligent as humans.

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#77
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The paywall is easily circumvented by opening a private window.

NYT started blocking incognito windows: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19275283

It always works for me in Firefox.

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#78
post #72

"Chaser was taught to understand sentences containing a prepositional object, verb and direct object." I would have never believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. A friend has a golden retriever that I was playing with one day, and I asked him to get me a stick. He did, but it wasn't the stick I was thinking of, so I just off hand said, "no, not that stick, the one by the rock." and damn if that dog didn't…

I wonder what would happen if we selectively bred dogs for that type of intelligence rather than for appearance and temperment? What are the upper limits of canine intelligence?

Border Collies were supposedly bred for intelligence and obedience.

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#79
post #72

"Chaser was taught to understand sentences containing a prepositional object, verb and direct object." I would have never believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. A friend has a golden retriever that I was playing with one day, and I asked him to get me a stick. He did, but it wasn't the stick I was thinking of, so I just off hand said, "no, not that stick, the one by the rock." and damn if that dog didn't…

I wonder what would happen if we selectively bred dogs for that type of intelligence rather than for appearance and temperment? What are the upper limits of canine intelligence?

Wolves. You would get wolves.

Re: Border Collie Trained to Recognize 1,022 Nouns Dies

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

15 years is on the high side of average, but not an upper limit by any means. 20-year-old Border Collies aren't unheard of, and the world record is nearly 28 years.

world record of 28 years, documented where?

27 years old, actually, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. See “Bramble” at [0].

[0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_dogs

Post reply on HN