Project Pawsible

Do you say “lets go for a walk” before taking your dog out?
Do you ask “do you want to go for a car ride?” before doing so?
Does your dog get incredibly excited every time you do so?

Unless you’ve actively been training your dog about “lets go” “walk” “want” and “car ride”, your dog has been learning the same way that human toddlers do–by listening and associating words with concepts.

In the article “Some Dogs Are ‘Gifted Word Learners’ That Learn Language by Eavesdropping–Just Like Human Toddlers“, published in the Smithsonian on January 2026, asserts that dogs may learn by repetition and association new words that you may (or may not) want them to learn.

Dogs are highly social animals, and we’ve been breeding them for generations to focus on us humans as part of their families. Doing so means that while we’ve been learning their communication, they’ve been learning right back.

What does that mean for training your dog?

Classical, or Pavlovian, conditioning means associating a stimulus with a reaction (or another stimulus). You pick up your dog’s leash, they associate it with a walk, so they get excited. You say ‘walk’, they associate it with the leash and going for a walk. We’re learning this goes even farther. If you reliably say “Are you hungry?” before feeding your dog, if you ask them “Are you…?” your dog will get excited because they’re anticipating the word ‘hungry’. It goes farther if you reliably ask your dog exciting things by starting with “Are you…?”, they’ll reliably get excited when hearing “Are you…?” (ex: “Are you hungry?” “Are you ready?”). Same with the phrase “Do you want…?” (ex: “Do you want to go for a car ride?” “Do you want to go for a walk?” “Do you want a treat?”).

It means you’re training your dog, even when you aren’t meaning to–which is important! Communication is important, and making sure your dog understands you will make your life much easier. When you’re working with your dog, remember to use the same phrases each time. Be consistent. Your dog is learning a second language, and learning behaviors to go along with that language.

You dog will need to learn how to learn if they’re more shut down. Teaching a dog how to learn, thankfully, can be very straightforward.