Do you talk to your dog? Surely yes, because you feel that he understands you. If that’s you, science now backs that idea up with real evidence. Dogs understand several words, according to recent research.
The study pointed out that the dog’s brain can understand, in itself, the meaning of names. And they associate it with those images that they appreciate. Researcher Marianna Boros (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary) detailed it. “Dogs have always had this ability. “This completely changes what we think is unique to humans.”
Neural evidence
This topic has always excited scientists. A 2022 survey found that dog owners believed their pets could respond to between 15 and 215 words. In 2011, a border collie was studied who knew the names of more than a thousand objects.
Boros invited 18 owners along with their pets to the laboratory. They brought with them five objects that the little animals knew very well; like balls or shoes.
Once in the lab, owners were instructed to say a word before showing an object, regardless of whether it matched the word or not. The owner might say he had a ball, but he was actually carrying a Frisbee. This experiment was repeated more than once.
The brain activity of the dogs was monitored. There were different patterns of activity when the objects matched the words or not. Bigger jumps were seen in the words the owners believed the dogs knew more about. In an article in Current Biology, scientists confirmed it. It would be the first neural evidence that animals can know about language.
Disobedient
“It’s interesting to see these results, because I doubt this started at the time of domestication.” explains the doctor. “Perhaps this is a new discovery in the evolution of language.”
Dogs understand several words. But if this is so, why do they not tend to listen to our orders? “Maybe dogs aren’t as enthusiastic about playing fetch the way we’ve trained them. “He will understand what you tell him, but he doesn’t want to act,” adds the doctor. An attitude not so different from that of cats.
