Can a parrot really call a dog by name?
Yes, and that is the whole problem. African Grey parrots learn what a name does, and a trained dog comes when its name is called. In this episode of Our Next Collar, a parrot from a Hollywood-adjacent animal training facility explains the most reliable bit in history: he called a very famous dog, by name, and the dog came. Every time.
History remembers the famous. Their pets remember the person. On Our Next Collar, a brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee reaches the pets of history, and one of them tells what they really saw. This is the Other One format: history remembers one name, and we found the other one. True, surprising, and great for curious kids and the grown-ups listening with them.
This episode is fully scripted and has passed the Talking With Pets accuracy review. The recording is in production. The audio player and the full transcript will appear right here the day the episode goes live. Join the founding list below and we will write to you when it does.
From the episode
[Somewhere in the distance, a dog barks. Confused. Then closer.]
Roxie: (very quietly) Are you doing the thing right now?
The Parrot: I'm being interviewed.
Roxie: You're doing the thing during the interview.
The Parrot: The interview happens to be occurring at a time when I am also doing the thing.
[Prince MoRee writes a note. The note has a name on it. He underlines it.]
African Grey parrots really do learn hundreds of words and use them, as Irene Pepperberg's work with Alex showed, and Hollywood's trained dog actors really came when called. This parrot is ours.
Sources and further reading
- African Grey parrot cognition: functional language use, name recognition, learned associations. Irene M. Pepperberg, The Alex Studies (Harvard University Press, 1999); research record of Alex the Grey, 1977 to 2007. alexfoundation.org
- Grey parrots' documented capacities: hundreds of words and phrases, object identification by name, counting small numbers, basic color and shape concepts. Peer-reviewed avian cognition literature building on and independent of the Alex studies.
- Hollywood animal training facilities, 1940s to 1960s: professional trained animal actors, including dogs whose behavioral repertoire was built on correct response to cues and name-calls. Trainer and facility accounts; film and television animal unit history. americanhumane.org
All historical claims above were checked in the Talking With Pets accuracy review, most recently the full editorial pass of July 2026.
Can a parrot really call a dog by name?
Yes. African Grey parrots are among the most cognitively complex birds known to science. Research shows they can use words functionally, not just mimic them: they learn what a name is for and what happens when they say it. A trained dog, whose whole job is responding correctly to calls, comes every time. Source: the Alex studies of Dr. Irene Pepperberg.
Who was Alex the parrot?
Alex was an African Grey parrot studied by Dr. Irene Pepperberg from 1977 to 2007. He learned about a hundred words, identified objects by name, counted small numbers, and understood basic concepts of color and shape. His research record is the most famous documentation of functional language use in parrots. Source: The Alex Foundation; Pepperberg, The Alex Studies (1999).
Is this episode of Our Next Collar a true story?
It is a composite, and the episode says so. Both halves of the bit are documented: African Grey parrots really do learn names and use them functionally, and mid-century Hollywood facilities really did house trained dog actors built to respond to calls. The specific parrot, the specific facility, and the specific famous dog are a composite rather than one documented animal. The show tells you which is which.
Why does the episode never name the famous dog?
On purpose. Because the episode is a composite, naming a real famous dog would claim more than the record supports. The Parrot stays cagey, saying only that it was a very famous dog, possibly the most famous dog at the facility, and the comedy works better that way.
What is Our Next Collar, and is it good for kids?
Our Next Collar is an educational history podcast for curious kids ages 6 to 10 and the grown-ups listening with them. A brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee reaches the pets of history, and one of them tells the true story of the person they knew. Every episode lists its sources and says plainly which parts are real and which are ours, which makes it a quiet lesson in how to weigh sources. It is a podcast from Talking With Pets.
Our Next Collar Ā· the true stories only the animals saw.
Chaco, Roxie, Moose, Prince MoRee, and Armando are getting the pilot ready. Join the founding list and we will write to you when the first episodes go live. Listen with someone you like.