How many words can a dog learn?

[PedanticPanda]

So there are the obvious ones they learn to respond to; their name, no, sit, stay, etc, but they can build on it and respond to ball, a Childs name, or 'gran' as my childhood dog used to go bananas for.

If you keep building on commands and words, how many could a dog learn?

There is a dog called Chaser that apparently knows 1000 words. It's a border collie and it's owner is a retired psychologist who spends hours a day training her. You can see her here and on youtube videos like

I dont think ours knows very much but he does know ball because we tell him to find it and he brings it back.

I think my oldest GSD understands a lot of words, different tones of voice obviously, my guess for him would be around 20 specific words. But my baby GSD probably knows a lot more. He understands names, we can tell him to go to specific people and he does (could be luck), and I can tell him to fetch me the kong/stick/ball etc (items he is obsessed with) and he can differentiate and bring me the right item. But it takes practice. The big thing I notice with my dogs is they recognise people and remember them, even if it's been ages. They independantly decide who is friend or foe. That's pretty clever.

mine know sit, get down, oi, and fuck off their names

oh and "wheres your lead" we have to spell walk and cats.

SarahJessica - GSD are so intelligent aren't they, we had a GSD and she knew way more words than our present boxers will ever do.

GSD knew:
sit,
stay,
down,
stop,
no,
come here,
do you want your tea ( she would go and stand by the cupboard where her food was)
where's your lead (if she hadn't been for a walk by 3pm she would go and nudge her lead)
find xxxx( cats name)
find yyyy(other cats name)
wheres xxxx (child 1)
wheres yyyy (child 2)
wheres zzzz ( DH)
bring your toys in (would bring toys in from garden)
take it in the kitchen (packets and boxes from car/anywhere else in house)
give this to xxxx (a toy, a yoghurt pot, a cd case etc to said person)
Do a shake (when having a bath)
and others I've probably forgotten,

She also knew when DH worked away she could sleep on the bed with me, and when DH was at home made no attempt to go upstairs at night.
She waited until she heard the bedroom light switch off then clicked the baby gate open in the kitchen so she could sleep on the sofa.
You could also tell by her bark whether a visitor was family or a stranger.

My boxers know:
do you want your tea,
do you want to go for a walk,
sit,
stay,
down,
find a toy,
who is it ( said to get them to actually bark at anyone ringing the doorbell/knocking because they just could not be arsed otherwise)
Anything else is just rewarded with that mushed up slobbery face that heard, 'come here and jump all over me while trying to lick my face with your big slobbery tongue'.