RUFUS
Most of us pet lovers will agree heartily with the study's conclusions. I've had dogs living with me for my entire life except when I was in the service. Some were smarter than others but all responded and minded me speaking to them in a calm conversational voice. They understand the meaning of a large number of words. Of course, my current French Bulldog mix seems the smartest.
I had to spell in front of one of my Golden Retrievers. When she became deaf in her later years, she taught herself sign language. We didn’t even realize that she was deaf. One of my neighbors pointed it out to me.
Dogs prefer belly rubs over treats
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3464120/posts
They understand intonation, but words? Huh uh.
I was talking to a French Poodle, but he didn’t understand American.
So I says, “Oui! Oui!” and he peed on the couch.
Our late dog, awake or asleep, would jump up and run to the door when she heard me say “grass?”.
All dogs need is opposable paws.
I had some dogs a while back. I had a Lab-Golden mix who was a fetching genius, but I’m pretty sure he could distinguish about 3 dozen words, and of course he was sensitive to intonations. I used to try to experiment with toneless pronunciations of things like “walk” “outside” “cheese” and so forth. He knew.
Many people claim much wider vocabs for their dogs. I estimated that in a non-verbal way, he was about as smart as a toddler, obviously without the developmental potential.
Well, i guess they know the answer to “who’s a good boy?” now don’t they? They always played along, I think, for entertainment value.
My dogs know exactly what the word “chicken” means.
Dogs don’t understand words or language. As fellow mammals, they share enough of our life experience that they can easily tune in to our feelings and wishes.
It will soon be no go zones for dogs due to muzzie sensibilities.
the question has never been whether dogs and cats understand humans or not. they do. in spades.
the question is whether humans can learn to understand dogs and cats (or whether they’re just too damned dumb to learn how to communicate with such higher-level life forms?)
So do cats. They just don’t care what you think.
I used to think I was hearing voices, but then I realized it was just the dog talking.
My two are not the brightest but they certainly understand both phrases and intonation.
For example, if I ask, “What do you want?”, they stop what they are doing, look at ‘dad’ and raise their ears in rapt attention. If I ask, “Do you want to go out?”, they immediately start barking and explode toward the door.
The younger dog does not especially like the outdoors and is soon scratching at the door to get in. I let her in then ask her mother, now lying down by the door, if she wants in. I get such a sad, disappointed look from her, so I close the door. About 30 seconds later, I hear her excited bark, begging to come in. They have me well trained!
My neighbor and I will do some porch sittin’ in the evenings. His dog will look up the street 3-5 minutes before his wife pulls up. He can hear her car from miles away. I wish The Good Lord had given them longer lifespans.
They sense our moods without any verbal cues.
My Briard was stunner! But not as fas this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDf9lpbmaZ8&feature=youtu.be
