I think dogs can “read”. I watched Dogs Decoded and there was a dog who could look at a picture of a toy and then go into another room and bring that toy back. That is just a step away from reading. If the toy had a word on it, like “ball” and then they would gradually fade out the outline and color, I believe the dog would be able to look at the word “ball” and go choose the ball from among the other toys. My son was reading the newspaper when he was a year old and I had never really “taught” him to read. He picked it up from road signs, store signs, his alphabet blocks, etc. I don’t know that there was any huge advantage in it though.
Thank you for your post 21. Sorry to be so tardy in responding. I just now signed back on again.
That’s a fascinating story about the dog “reading” an instruction. They are fascinating creatures, aren’t they? Our two provide Mrs. OP and me with enormous pleasure. I cannot imagine a world without them.