“Britain’s smartest dog” - border collie who knows the names of all 231 of his toys from punching bags Watch Video

⏲ Duration: 4:35
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✓ Published: 14-Mar-2024

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Meet “Britain’s smartest dog” - a border collie who knows the names of all 231 of his toys. <br/><br/>Martin Morris, 48, has been teaching seven-year-old Max the names of his toys since he was 12 weeks old. <br/><br/>Along with his wife, hospital cleaner Helen, 49, Martin has spent £1,115 on toys for Max - and now claims he can recognise every single one. <br/><br/>They shout the name of a toy - such as 'Hector the hedgehog' - from another room, and Max can root through seven bags of toys to find the correct one.<br/><br/>Martin, a taxi driver from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, said: “Max is a very talented boy - we think he should be famous.<br/><br/>“We’ve got seven wash baskets, overflowing with toys. We’re at 231 now, and he knows every one of their names.<br/><br/>“You can test him all you like - even with toys that haven’t seen the light of day in a while. He’ll still recognise it.”<br/><br/>Martin and Helen adopted Max - born from two working sheepdogs - from a farm in Manchester.<br/><br/>The “name game” has become a nightly ritual ever since - and the couple insist it keeps the pup sharp. <br/><br/>Martin said: “It’s taken us seven years to get to this stage - we read about the US collie called Chaser, who knows the names of 1,022 toys. <br/><br/>“But I don’t think any dog in the UK has managed to surpass 231 - making our boy the smartest. <br/><br/>“We’d buy Max a toy pretty much every week - Hector the Hedgehog, Sophia the Squirrel and Deeno the Dino, to name a few.<br/><br/>“And every night, before we go to bed, we play the name game.”<br/><br/>The “name game” involves Martin and Helen calling to Max from their bedroom, after lining a selection of his toys up on the floor.<br/><br/>They shout a name to him, and he has to run and identify the toy. <br/><br/>Martin says the hound has always been able to do this without treats, or any other incentive. <br/><br/>“We’ll go, ‘where’s…’ in an exaggerated voice - and then say the name of the toy. <br/><br/>“And off he’ll pop, looking for toys on the floor.<br/><br/>“He’ll smile at us afterwards, with this big smile that looks like a human’s.”<br/><br/>The couple have no plans to stop testing Max any time soon - and still buy a new toy for him every week. . <br/><br/>Martin added. “His favorite is Leo the Lion - he’s the first one we ever bought for him, and he still remembers him.”