Dogs Have a Deep Understanding of Words and Their Meanings.

Records of dogs’ brain activity show that dogs seem to understand that words refer to specific objects.

Some dogs can retrieve a variety of objects on command, but few do well in such tests in the lab. Additionally, it is unclear whether dogs understand words as names of objects rather than instructions.

To explore this question further, Marianna Boros Researchers at Eötvös Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary, tested 18 dogs from a wide range of breeds, including border collies, toy poodles and Labrador retrievers.

Owners selected five objects that were familiar to each dog. In the test, they said the name of an object and showed the dog either the named object or another object.

Each dog’s brain waves were monitored using electroencephalography (EEG) to see if there was a difference in activity compared to when the word and object were the same, such as when the dog’s owner said “ball” and showed a stick. Ta.

“The idea was that if dogs understood the meaning of words, their brains would respond differently when presented with matching objects than when presented with mismatched objects,” Boros says.

The researchers found that the brainwave signals were different when the objects did not match, and that the effect was stronger for words that the individual dogs were familiar with. This is similar to results seen in humans and suggests that dogs know that certain words represent certain objects.

“The most important takeaway from this study is not only that non-humans have the ability to understand words referentially, but also that this ability appears to be present in dogs in general as well,” Boros said. says. “This study shows that dogs may understand more than they show.”

No one breed of dog seemed to exhibit better language skills than the other, Boros said.

susan hazel Researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia say their study adds to our knowledge of dog cognition.

“I think both dogs understand more than we realize,” says Hazel. “This study shows that dogs seem to have mental representations of words they know, such as ball. This shows how dogs understand some words. This is no surprise at all to most dog owners.

On the other hand, many dog ​​owners anthropomorphize their pets, ascribing emotions and understanding abilities to them that don’t exist, she says.

“Canine cognition is currently one of the most researched areas in the world,” says Hazell. “I love all the research about dogs, but I’d also like to learn more about the other animals we live closely with: cats, rabbits, horses.”