Our dogs might be familiar with understanding phrases such as 'sit', 'walk' and 'catch', but new research has found that our pups can understand more human language than we thought.
A study conducted by the University of Sussex has discovered that our canine companions were able to identify the difference between words such as 'hid' and 'had'. They also found that pups can understand different dialects and accents around the country.
What the study found...
As part of the research, dogs were given different words to listen to through a speaker. Various voices, both male and female, spoke simple words to see how the dogs would respond.
They found that...
- The dogs responded strongly to the first word they heard, looking at the speaker
- As different people repeated the same word, the attention span of the dogs drifted
- When the word changed slightly (from 'hood' to 'had' for example) the dogs showed more interest again
- Scientists explained that the dogs were able to recognise short words spoken by various people
An author from the study, Dr Holly Root-Gutteridge, told the Daily Mail: "These results show they have more advanced language skills than we give them credit for, and I actually know dogs that can respond to 75 different commands.
"Dogs probably gained the ability to distinguish between the barks of other dogs so they could work out their size, and then they started paying attention to our language after we domesticated them.
What to Read Next
The study explains: "Our results indicate that the ability to spontaneously recognise both the same phonemes across different speakers, and cues to identity across speech utterances from unfamiliar speakers, is present in domestic dogs and thus not a uniquely human trait."
Elsewhere, earlier this year, one dog in North Carolina was able to identify more than 1,000 toy names and was able to fetch them when his owner asked. While not all dogs may not obey everything their owners say, this shows that pups are indeed intellectual animals.
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Lisa Joyner is the Deputy Daily Editor at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening, dog breeds, pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market. Previously, she has written for Conde Nast Traveller, House & Garden and Marie Claire magazine. Lisa studied at University For The Creative Arts, where she completed a BA in Fashion Journalism.
