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Dogs can understand humans much better than we thought, new study finds
�Any dog owner will tell you that their canine companion can understand them when they talk, particularly with words like sit or fetch, but new research has found that dogs can understand more than just simple instructions.
A study conducted by researchers at E�tv�s Lor�nd University in Hungary recorded brain activity in a group of dogs which revealed that they know that certain words stand for certain objects.
Study into dogs ability to understand object words explained
In order to understand more about dogs ability to understand words, researchers fitted a sample of 18 pooches with non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) devices to monitor brain activity.
The owner of each dog was instructed to bring in a selection of five objects that were familiar to their pets, such as different toys.
Each owner would then say the name of the toys to their dog and present the objects in question. But while they would sometimes present the same toy that corresponded with the name, on other occasions, they would say the name of a toy but present the wrong item.
For example, an owner would say, Zara, look, the ball, and would present the object while the dogs brain activity was recorded.
The findings of the study revealed that the dogs brain patterns would be different when shown a matching object versus a mismatched one, seemingly proving that they are able to understand the names of certain items.
Researchers discuss their findings
Speaking in a news release about the studys findings, lead author Marianna Boros�of the Department of Ethology at the E�tv�s Lor�nd University said: Dogs do not only react with a learned behavior to certain words. They also dont just associate that word with an object based on temporal contiguity without really understanding the meaning of those words, but they activate a memory of an object when they hear its name.
It doesnt matter how many object words a dog understands, known words activate mental representations anyway, suggesting that this ability is generally present in dogs and not just in some exceptional individuals who know the names of many objects, Boros added.
Another co-author of the paper, Lilla Magyari also of E�tv�s Lor�nd University and the University of Stavanger in Norway added: “Your dog understands more than he or she shows signs of. Dogs are not merely learning a specific behavior to certain words, but they might actually understand the meaning of some individual words as humans do.
Following their discovery, the researchers involved in the study are now curious to explore whether this ability to understand referential language is specific to dogs or if other mammals possess this attribute as well.
