Canine Language Capabilities
Most dog owners will agree that their dogs understand familiar words. Say, “Sit” and your dog will collapse upon his haunches. Say “Let’s go for a walk” and he’ll run to the door and grab his leash. Say, “It’s time to eat” and he’ll head for the food bowl. It appears that they understand the words sit, walk, and eat leading us to believe that dogs learn to associate specific words with specific actions or objects.
Our dogs may get what we say, but what we say is only part of the equation. How we say it impacts how much a dog comprehends. Dogs interpret human spoken language as well as human body language in their effort to understand us. There are debates regarding just how much each factor (what we say and how we say it) plays in canine communication.
Some people think how we say something can be more important than what we say. Dogs read more into our tone and body language than our actual words. They focus on us and observe our physical clues to determine what we want them to do or not do. They watch our facial expressions, posture, and body movements. They listen to the tone of our voice. They combine all of these observations to determine our meaning.
If you smile and excitedly say “Let’s go for a walk!”, your dog will likely wag his tail and prance around enthusiastically. If you utter those very same words in a gruff voice with a scowl on your face, he may cower and whine.
Making these observations led many scientists to feel that dogs respond much like human infants in understanding our language. In fact, dogs may have basically the same cognitive ability as a 6-12-month-old human infant. Think about this. Both a dog and a human baby quickly grasp the meaning of “NO!” when grabbing a crumb from the floor and trying to pop it in their mouths. Do they really know the difference between “yes” and “no” or do they respond to our commanding tone of voice and anxious body language?
Could it be a combination of learned vocabulary and observation of body language and tone? With repetition, both dogs and babies will associate certain words with certain objects or actions. That’s why we say, “Sit” over and over while prompting the dog to actually sit. Eventually he associates the word with the action. It’s also why we say “dog” to our baby while pointing to the dog. Eventually the little human understands that this furry creature is called “dog”.
Even though many scientists agree that dogs understand specific words, some believe they don’t comprehend full sentences. They feel that saying “trees, birds, grass, walk” invokes the same meaning as, “let’s go for a walk”. While the dog may not understand every word in the sentence, he gets “walk”. And if you say those words with enthusiasm in a sweet voice, your dog will bolt for the front door! Body language, tone, and words are all involved in effective canine communication.
Despite a limited vocabulary, dogs and babies communicate with us. They may not be verbal creatures, but they manage to “speak” back to us. Even without an extensive vocabulary, they make us understand their whines, cries, and coos especially when combined with their own special body language.
Now let’s focus on what we say. Some scientists believe that dogs understand the actual meaning of many words unrelated to the tone in which they are delivered. Here’s how this theory took root.
Researchers trained dogs to lie in an MRI machine. The scientists monitored the dogs’ brain activity while speaking to them. They learned that dogs process language much like humans do. The left side of the brain processes word meaning while the right side interprets intonation. Dogs, like humans, integrate the function of both sides of the brain to arrive at a clearer meaning.
Some dogs fully activate the brain’s left side learning words regardless of how they are spoken. Case in point—Rico. A border collie named Rico was featured in a 2004 article in Science Magazine because he could “fast map” new words. Rico learned the names of over 200 different items. He could grasp a word’s meaning after hearing it only once, much like young children during their years of language development. Rico also retained the meaning of the words 4 weeks after learning them. This illustrates the dog’s uncanny ability to learn words independent of intonation.
Biting: This a sign of play among dogs, especially because they are careful not to bite sensitive areas on their playmate.
There are many different signs on your dog’s face that indicate their feelings to you or other dogs
Paw Slap: This is a dog’s way of greeting another dog and showing that they trust the dog.
The way a dog hangs their neck and head can say a lot about how they’re feeling to other dogs.
Studies show there are thousands of different barks that dogs use to communicate. Different pitches and volume indicates the level of emotion in the dog.
Can dogs talk to each other?
If you run into another canine while taking your pup for a walk, your dog may greet them in a variety of ways, ranging from curious sniffing to friendly barking to outright aggression.
If they aren’t afraid or otherwise trying to steer clear of the other dog, then the first thing your pup will likely do is to sniff the other dog. Dogs, which have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites, use smell to communicate in interesting ways. For example, they can use scent to recall whether they’ve met a dog before — and catch up on old times with them.
When dogs are positively communicating with each other, they tend to demonstrate certain friendly gestures, according to the American Kennel Club. These gestures may include:
But many of the gestures used in play fighting — good — and real fighting — not good — can overlap. The warning signals can include:
Dogs tend to greet each other head-on when on leashes, which can feel unnaturally aggressive to some pooches. As a result, your dog may try to avoid another one by barking or growling — essentially, telling the other pup to back off.
But if your dog is sneezing, that’s actually an indication that they want to play with the other pup. Dogs often sneeze to show they are in a good mood and are a tell-tale sign that they have a desire to romp around.
When in doubt, err on the side of caution and keep your dog separate from other dogs until you’ve sussed out the situation, and importantly, listen to your dog, not your own desires.
But even when communication seems to break down between humans and canines — we are different species, after all — know that your dog is trying to communicate with you. It just might not be in the way that you think.
Why Do Dogs Bark? | Secret Life of Dogs | BBC Earth
Well trained dogs oblige their masters. They sit, stay, and come when asked. Our faithful companions respond when we speak directly to them. Do they also understand when we talk to other people? Do they grasp our private telephone conversations? Do they comprehend our dinner table discussions? Are our dogs eavesdropping on us?