Dogs understand more than you think

New research suggests that dogs are not only clever enough to follow simple commands like “sit” and “stay”, but they can also understand words related to their favourite toys, such as “fetch the ball”.

A study conducted in Hungary discovered that dogs could learn to link words with specific objects, a skill called referential understanding. This means that when dogs hear the name of an object, they can conjure up a mental image of it in their minds. This suggests a deeper level of language comprehension than previously thought possible for dogs, similar to how humans understand language.

Dogs reacted to words.

The research, which was published in the science journal “Current Biology” and involved 18 dogs, used a non-invasive EEG procedure to measure brain activity. Dog owners played audio clips saying the names of their dog’s toys, then showed the corresponding objects. The study found that dogs reacted differently in their brain patterns when the object matched the word compared to when it didn’t, indicating an understanding of the words.

While some experts have praised the study, others remain sceptical. Professor Clive Wynne from Arizona State University believes that the study only demonstrates dogs’ ability to respond to stimuli, rather than truly understanding the meaning of specific words.

Overall, the research sheds new light on dogs’ language comprehension abilities, suggesting that they may have an innate capacity to understand words without the need for special training. However, the exact origins of this skill in dogs remain uncertain, despite their long history of companionship with humans.