After training thirteen dogs to lie perfectly still in an fMRI brain scan scientists were able to observe how a dog's brain reacted to hearing their person's voice. The scientists who conducted this study recruited thirteen dogs of all different breeds and sent them, one at a time through an fMRI brain scanner where when inside they would play recordings of the dog's master saying phrases such as "well done" that were commonly directed towards dogs, they also used words such as "if" and "however" that pets rarely have said to them. They saw major activity in the scans when the dogs heard "well done" especially if it was paired with a high pitched excited voice, it would activate the same activity in the brain as if the dog was being given a treat or a pat on the back. The scans showed significantly less activity when "if" and "however" were played despite the tone of voice there was still little to no reaction.
The article also taught about how dogs learn words and phrases very similar to how humans do although they do not assign meanings to their own sounds they can learn a lot of what are sounds mean. The author also mentioned that studying animals with similar brain hemispheric activity could reveal clues about how ancient language-processing mechanisms are.
I found this article truly engaging because I have always adored dogs and have been very compelled by how they interact and communicate with their masters. I do believe in general that dogs are extremely smart. I would like to know more about why police dogs can be trained to sniff out a very specific kind of drug while my dog doesn't even understand his own name. Although this study does not explain that I can assume it's the training and it is still very intriguing to learn more about what they do understand.
-Sidney A
I'm not a dog person at all, but they would never be able to do this study on a cat.
ReplyDeleteA. Wardell
I was reading an article that reminded me of this post. There may be a similarity in the genetic variation in the genome of social dogs that may be able to help us understand social behaviors in humans. "Linköping University. (2016, September 29). Genes underlying dogs' social ability revealed. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 10, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160929092603.htm".
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Sidney did the article say anything about any other experiments they did? Like they said other words in a high pitch? I have always wondered if it the words had any meaning at all. I remember when I had my dog I would test this out and take to her in a high pitch and where I said "good girl" or "I hate you" in a high pitch her tail always waged. It might have waged more when I said good girl but I can't be for sure unless I do this experiment mentioned in the above article. But when I would say "I love you" or something else in a deep tone like your mad she would go quiet. I was wondering if the article mentioned anything about this? And I wanted to know your thoughts on it.
ReplyDelete-Joshua B.
I have wondered this too. Maybe they are better able to identify our tone of voice, rather than the words we are actually speaking.
Delete-Ashley B.
Joshua B.,
DeleteFrom my experience training my two dogs, words have minimal meaning and tone is everything. The study shows that dogs do understand learn words or commands, like "good job", "sit" or even things like "speak". I have found that dogs really are more tonally aware though. Like you said, you can say terrible things to a dog but if done in the right tone, they think you are praising them. With my dogs, I have taught them commands but also noises or tones that mean certain things. That is why whistling with dogs works so well (I whistle to my dogs as a recall command). There aren't any words, just a tone and they know what that means. Dogs are awesome.
- Alex G.
I was interested in this topic because I have a dog of my own and before I had this dog I did not know that dogs could be so smart and interact similar to what humans do like for example they will look at you when they know you are taking to them, and wiggle their tail at you to show you they are listening. Or pay attention to your expressions. To me it is very interesting how they can learn to do things you want them to do without knowing what you are saying because they can recognize the words but they don't know the meaning of words. Dogs just go off of clues like when you show excitement for them doing something right, your tone of voice, or the fact that they get treats for doing something right. Also knowing more about police dogs would be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteSteph S.
So based on this study if I am understanding it correctly, dogs do not understand words but really only understand the sound of the syllables and the sound of the word? That's really interesting. They primarily listen for the tone of our voice whether it is high pitched and excited or low and angry. I have noticed this in my own dogs. If you start getting excited no matter what you're saying, they will get excited! But I don't think we give dogs enough credit! They can sense and hear things we cannot! Like you said in your post, a lot of it is training but I also think it's because dogs really are smart and they feel/sense things that we don't! This is one reason dogs are able to find bombs and drugs. Good job on your post!
ReplyDeleteB.N.K
I believe it has something to do more with the frequency as opposed to the tone. We already know that dogs can hear differently frequency levels and also can explain why police dogs can learn to smell a specific smell. When I was in the military I was station as a special guard at an entrance for a base with a small unit of service animals. When we have a unique vehicle requesting permission to enter we often would can the K9 to sniff the vehicles. The trainer would use commands for the K9 but it wasn't as clear as what we might use for our regular pets, often there was even clicks, whistles, and yelps to make the K9 search. This is why I believe it has something to do with particular type of noise being heard rather then the tone it self. -D.D.
ReplyDeleteI find it kind of funny reading this post, because my mom used to tell me growing up that my dogs didn't understand the actual words I was saying, that they only understood the tone of voice being used. I was never really sure I believed this, so it is cool to know that there have actually been people who have researched this topic, and I as well, would like to learn more about this, and about how dogs are trained in various aspects.
ReplyDelete-Mindy C.
I really enjoy this post because I trained my old dog to do tricks and realized how much dogs pick up on tone of voice. I also find it interesting that dogs react differently to certain words, I always thought it was solely based on tone. A.M
ReplyDeleteCould this study be done on other animals or are dogs the smartest animal around in regards to understanding humans? I am asking this because I have been told in the past that monkeys are the smartest animals in regards to understanding humans. A.M
ReplyDeleteI don't exactly know which animals understand humans the most. But I found a video that definitely supports what you've heard about monkeys. It's a Gorilla to be precise but the video shows him speaking sign language and actually communicating with his owner/friend. I definitely think similar studies can be and are done with other animals. Lions are trained in circuses, Dolphins are trained at sea world :), and dogs are trained pretty much everywhere. It's proven that many animals can understand us to some degree. The fMRI scan just sheds light on how aware they really are.
DeleteCB
Here's the link https://youtu.be/SNuZ4OE6vCk
DeleteHere's the link https://youtu.be/SNuZ4OE6vCk
DeleteDo dogs learn human tone of voice better at a young age than an old age? I am asking this because I know humans learn new languages easier at a young age and am curious if this is the same for dogs. A.M
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. This is just my thought but having trained dogs from a young age and old it is something that they can learn when ever. Although when you have a dog and you train it with another they do learn faster then alone.
Delete-H.S
There's also a study that says cats understand us but they just don't care.
ReplyDeleteJH
So it isn't so much that dogs understand us, they can just assign meaning to a specific word or action. So then could dogs get offended? how much of a negative emotional impact could certain words have on dogs? KH
ReplyDeleteSo dogs do not really memorize the words and hold meaning to them, but base it off of frequency. This frequency can also explain why trained dogs can react to specific smells. This might be done through specific sounds such as whistles, rather than actual words. However, it is super interesting to know that the skies the limit with dogs, that if effort is put in training dogs can learn a lot.
ReplyDelete-Summer R.
I am not much of a dog person myself but my mother always has been, for awhile she showed dogs. I would go with her to these dog shows and it is amazing how well trained and smart these dogs were. It is interesting they learn words somewhat in the same way people do. -D.B.
ReplyDeleteDogs are very emotionally intelligent animals. They know when they're getting praised or scolded, just based on tone of voice obviously- But I didn't think they actually could understand the actual words being said! I'll have to try this out on my own pups.
ReplyDeleteHW
as a dog trainer and a vet assistant, I can tell you that they are amazing creatures that understand more then they need to. and a lot of us are misusing that possibility of knowledge. some dogs pick up on more subtle signs then tone of voice each pet is different, leading to a unique life. loved reading your insight! sb
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