So where are all the people who apparently think that pets can't understand basic vocabulary? It's treated like some wild revelation when it comes up in articles like this, but anyone who's ever had a dog or cat knows what the reactions are like when words like "walk" or "bath" or "tuna" get mentioned. For particularly attentive dogs you can even end up with the euphemism treadmill from "walk" to "W-A-L-K" to substit…
Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
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Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#12Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#13Hmm, I'm not that sure. I did a month of quiet Yoga (no talking whatsoever) and brought my dog with me for the ride. I came to realize that the words are mostly there to help me, she doesn't care. If I switch the word and say it with the same energy/body language, the result is the same. I don't even need words anymore, body language is more effective with my dog.
Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#14Most dogs are well-attuned to both positive and negative emotions. In particular, when a human starts yelling and throwing things, they get the hell out of dodge. So it's obviously not a surprise that a dog would beat a hasty exit when their human emits a flurry of exasperated expletives.
However, our dog took it a bit further. Before kids, my wife and I had a habit of swearing in our normal, neutral conversations. It took a while before I noticed the pattern but eventually I found that even a light and airy "well, fuck" essentially inaudibly under my breath would quite reliably cause our dog to sigh heavily, get up, and saunter out of the room with considerably more than a whiff of indignation.
Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#15So where are all the people who apparently think that pets can't understand basic vocabulary? It's treated like some wild revelation when it comes up in articles like this, but anyone who's ever had a dog or cat knows what the reactions are like when words like "walk" or "bath" or "tuna" get mentioned. For particularly attentive dogs you can even end up with the euphemism treadmill from "walk" to "W-A-L-K" to substit…
One of the PhD students was amazed that if you threw a ball over the fence the dog knew how to go around the fence and through the gate to get the ball.
Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#16So where are all the people who apparently think that pets can't understand basic vocabulary? It's treated like some wild revelation when it comes up in articles like this, but anyone who's ever had a dog or cat knows what the reactions are like when words like "walk" or "bath" or "tuna" get mentioned. For particularly attentive dogs you can even end up with the euphemism treadmill from "walk" to "W-A-L-K" to substit…
Possibly by the time he could have learned it, he was pretty old.
My current dog knows the basic ones like, "walk", "outside", "lunch", etc.
Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#17Hmm, I'm not that sure. I did a month of quiet Yoga (no talking whatsoever) and brought my dog with me for the ride. I came to realize that the words are mostly there to help me, she doesn't care. If I switch the word and say it with the same energy/body language, the result is the same. I don't even need words anymore, body language is more effective with my dog.
Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#18Hmm, I'm not that sure. I did a month of quiet Yoga (no talking whatsoever) and brought my dog with me for the ride. I came to realize that the words are mostly there to help me, she doesn't care. If I switch the word and say it with the same energy/body language, the result is the same. I don't even need words anymore, body language is more effective with my dog.
The researchers aimed to rule out variables such as a dog responding to their owner's cues — like, the owner putting on shoes to go outside — the identity of the human saying the word, or memorizing the location of buttons on the board.Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#19Re: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right
#20So where are all the people who apparently think that pets can't understand basic vocabulary? It's treated like some wild revelation when it comes up in articles like this, but anyone who's ever had a dog or cat knows what the reactions are like when words like "walk" or "bath" or "tuna" get mentioned. For particularly attentive dogs you can even end up with the euphemism treadmill from "walk" to "W-A-L-K" to substit…