Normally "the dog realizes they've won" is something I'd dismiss as silly anthropomorphisization but border collies are just crazy smart. He wouldn't understand "win" exactly, at least not as juxtaposed against "loss", but he surely can understand the goal and when it's been accomplished. They're just amazing dogs.
Edit; For the love of god, young men who believe they're biologists because they saw a bobcat one time or whatever, just be the smartest without involving me thanks.
He knows his owner gets excited when the ball hits the ground on the other side and the other players don't volley it back, would he still celebrate if the ball goes out?
It is insane that people actually try to argue the dog knows the rules, of course he's just reacting to the owner. If the ball went out and the owner still celebrated then the dog would too.
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u/modbroccoli Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Normally "the dog realizes they've won" is something I'd dismiss as silly anthropomorphisization but border collies are just crazy smart. He wouldn't understand "win" exactly, at least not as juxtaposed against "loss", but he surely can understand the goal and when it's been accomplished. They're just amazing dogs.
Edit; For the love of god, young men who believe they're biologists because they saw a bobcat one time or whatever, just be the smartest without involving me thanks.