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Speaking Your Dog’s Language
Posted by Ingrid Newkirk at 5:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
In 2005, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig revealed their findings after having studied a little dog named Rico. The researchers came to the conclusion that dogs can understand more than 200 spoken human words without any specific instruction whatsoever!
That’s more words than I know in French despite eight years of special tuition. …
So, what are the words dogs understand?
Well, anyone who has decided to do something about the condition of a dog who has just rolled in horse manure or who has fallen down after trying to climb a tree after a squirrel knows that B-A-T-H and V-E-T have to be spelled out or our angels will disappear into the woodwork. In fact, in those cases, most adult dogs can do the spelling, too, and you have to write the words on a slip of paper and pass it along to anyone else who needs to get out the hose or know where you’re off to.
Linda Miranda confirmed this when she adopted Toad, a greyhound found abandoned at a racetrack. In time, she says, Toad learned an impressive human vocabulary, and it became necessary to spell certain words or turn up the radio to hold a conversation about anything involving him. …
“Want to go for a walk?” and “Dinnertime!” are shoo-ins too. Other words dogs quickly cotton on to relate to toys and food and other subjects that interest them mightily, given that most of their lives involve sitting and waiting for permission to have treats or go outside to smell the world. They also remember not only the smell but the names of people and other animals of their acquaintance.
Dog expert Jayn Meinhardt says, “We expect dogs to understand our language, yet we fancy ourselves the more intelligent ones and cannot understand theirs. We all need to be more attuned to these wondrous, intelligent beings and their needs as they have to try so hard to fit into our world and we have too often not given them the world that they deserve.”
Then there are the words all dogs-from those who are carried underarm in padded bags to those whose whole lives consist of being so neglected that they are stuck outside on a heavy chain more suitable for hauling a tractor-trailer than anchoring a dog-ache to hear. The words that make a dog’s ears stick up intently, eyes sparkle, and lips curl back in a big, fat grin (not to be mistaken for a growl).
Those special words include your dog’s own name spoken with deep affection, and all imaginable words of love and praise, including your favorite special love names for your dog-like “angel cakes,” my personal favorite-the terms of endearment that you would no doubt be embarrassed to hear over the office intercom.
Originally published in Let’s Have a Dog Party by Ingrid E. Newkirk.
How about you? What words do your dogs understand?
Posted to Family & Friends | Posted to Tags: Animal Behavior, dog, language
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Laura says...
January 22nd, 2009, 4:24 pm
Hi Ingrid,
I am totally cracking up reading your blog. How true! Favorite dog word in our house is “lunch”. And it doesn’t mean our lunch, it means lunchtime at my husband’s woodshop. The shop is in our backyard, complete with lunch-eating employees. Lucky and Gracie yelp with joy and race down the path when we tell them it’s time for lunch! The guys know the dogs are vegan, actually so are most of the guys, so they all hang out together happily munching away. Lucky and Gracie are in heaven, their favorite routine of the day. And I think the guys have finally gotten used to it too!
Louise says...
January 22nd, 2009, 8:08 pm
My dogs are bilingual, they understand French and English: sit (assis), go in your box (panier) come (viens), let’s go (on s’en va, on va marcher), nice puppy, beau Puchi, beau Lancelot, treat, gourmandise, fromage, croquette, poulet, go, allez, Christou, minou, Sarah, Scruffy, Kindy, Brutus, Cesar, cherche, en bas, up, coucher, (beau cou-couche, beau dodo) take nice, no, non, n’a plus, stay (reste), ok, c’est assez, …
They even understand words that we have created just for us, like “restipouille” (stay) ))
Anne Good says...
January 22nd, 2009, 8:35 pm
Over the years my dogs have been trained to understand a handful of useful commands: kennel up, time to walk, night-night are a few of the favorites. They also get excited when I mention the names of certain family and friends.
Fun stuff!
kerry says...
January 23rd, 2009, 1:45 pm
not only can they understand words, but they can tell time, too. My dogs wake me up to feed them breakfast by jumping on my head at the exact same time every morning ,and they start barking and jumping around exactly at noon in anticipation of their noontime walk. I lose track of the time, but they NEVER do.
Gary says...
January 23rd, 2009, 5:42 pm
Great Post Ingrid…!
I have a Friend whose Doggie Michael (RIP) was watching the Olympics with her, and everytime Michael Phelps name was spoken it caused a frantic search to begin for the “Phelps”.
As his name was spoken so often, it became necessary to select an object and present it to Michael and call it “the Phelps”. After that, he diligently retrieved it upon hearing the name and deposited it in front of the TV.
Thank You,
Gary
Gary says...
January 23rd, 2009, 7:10 pm
Oh… I forgot…
My previous Doggie knew how to spell S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L…
What a riot…
Thanks again Ingrid,
Gary
Olga Zaric says...
January 23rd, 2009, 7:14 pm
Amazing!
I really liked Louise’s comment! Since I teach French, I’ll share it with some of my coworkers. I’m sure they’ll love it!
Gabriela says...
January 23rd, 2009, 10:02 pm
hallo; totally agree with the article, I used to have my female dog (Mathilda who , unfortunately, passed away 3 years ago) and she was able to recognize her multiple names , nicknames, actually I used to call her, and a huge number of words; my current dog’s ,Cassiel, favorite word is “vamos” (let’s go); since he loves going for walks, he’s so funny…
I love deeply my dogs and knowing there are many people out there who share these feelings towards our pet-friends is a gift!
zoae says...
January 24th, 2009, 2:41 pm
This info is REALLY true. My dog Wizard never hesitates to jump and run when we even mention the name “bath”. He also understands alot of other words too. It’s just too cute when I see him perk his ears up when I say something that he takes interest in. Thanks for the little article.
easyVegan.info » Blog Archive » easyVegan Link Sanctuary, 2009-01-24 says...
January 24th, 2009, 4:18 pm
[...] PETA Prime: Speaking Your Dog’s Language [...]
Dawn Lauryn says...
January 24th, 2009, 10:50 pm
I’ve said the same myself for ages. Our companion animals (dogs & cats) have the capacity to be multi-lingual, yet people actually think they’re not intelligent? What’s up with those people? Are they arrogant or just plain stupid?
karen wall says...
January 26th, 2009, 11:03 pm
My mom and I speak someJapanese to my dog, Riley and he understands. He knows when I spell too. I can even say a word or spell it silently and he sees how my mouth is moving and knows what I am saying. He even speaks back on cue sometimes. That is the most amazing part for me!
Christy Summerfield says...
August 15th, 2009, 11:49 am
So true! My dogs and cat recognize every “pet” name I have for them and they clearly love to hear them. At one low point in my life, I was working two jobs and had to put my little guys in cages because I had a throw-away guy who’d lived on the street and liked nothing better than to lift his leg. He even taught my other two little guys how to do it. I tried everything but could never break him of the habit so I learned to live with it. I was simply outdogged. When I had to leave for work, I’d say, time to get into your little houses and all three would go right in. I really hated the cages but it was kind of necessary. I found calling them “little houses” made me feel better and they knew exactly what I was talking about. I occasionally dog-sit for some friends who insist their dog be kenneled at night. It’s almost too sad for me to take, because my own three dogs and the cat all curl up in bed with me. I do keep the kennel right next to the bed. All three of mine recognize my walking shoes and know the minute I get them out that we’re going for a walk and get very excited. Anyone who thinks dogs and cats don’t understand what we say, is welcome to come to my house and talk to my dogs and cat anytime.