By Niamh Kirk
Dogs often surprise us with their quirky character traits and fun tricks - but "Britain's smartest" pooch has skills that would make any furry friend envious.
Adorable Max has been sharpening his IQ since he was a puppy, as proud owner Martin Morris has been teaching his canine the names of all 231 of his toys since he was just 12 weeks old.
Martin, 48, has forked out a whopping £1,115 on toys for his beloved border collie, and he claims Max knows the name of every single one.
Martin and his wife Helen believe they own the smartest dog in the UK, as Max instantly springs into action when his owners shout the name of any toy from his vast collection, diving through the overflowing bag of toys to find the right one.
Martin, a taxi driver from Shrewsbury, can shout "Hector the Hedgehog" and Max will bring the correct toy to him. He explained: "Max is a very talented boy - we think he should be famous. We've got seven wash baskets, overflowing with toys. We're at 231 now, and he knows every one of their names.
"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.
Martin and Helen adopted Max from a farm in Manchester, and say the "name game" has become a nightly routine as they want to keep their beloved dog "sharp".
"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 but I don't think any dog in the UK has managed to surpass 231 - making our boy the smartest," Martin proudly revealed.
But it's not been a cheap activity to keep up with, as Martin would purchase new toys constantly when building up the haul. He said: "We'd buy Max a toy pretty much every week - Hector the Hedgehog, Sophia the Squirrel and Deeno the Dino, to name a few. And every night, before we go to bed, we play the name game."
Martin says his dog has always been able to identify his toys without needing a treat or incentive. "He'll smile at us afterwards, with this big smile that looks like a human," he beamed.
The couple have no plans to stop putting Max to the test and will continue to buy him new toys every week.
Proud dog dad Martin revealed Max's favourite toy is Leo the lion - the first ever toy bought for Max who he still remembers well.
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