2006-11-06 08:37:24 · 22 answers · asked by i love ben 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
They know the tone and sound to it!
2006-11-06 08:44:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Its called 'the association of ideas'.
If you ring a bell every time you feed your dog, his mouth will water when you ring a bell; because he will be expecting food.
Your voice saying your dogs name is just a sound to your dog, its a sound that means you want his attention. Or like the sound you make 'sit' that means you want him to do a certain action.
Your dog doesn't understand the concept of a name; but he can link two things in his mind and know that one event follows another. So he can learn that if you say 'where's Mike' he has to go to a certain person.
2006-11-06 17:53:07 · answer #2 · answered by sarah c 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They listen for the pitch and rough sound of your voice, My mum has a dog called jack, but if you shout zack or pack he would still come. She also has a horse called Jetti and sometimes when she shouts for the cat Jessie, Jetti starts whinnying. They just get used to the fact that when you make that sound it means they are to go to you. The same applies with us, when your dog starts barking you know it probably means there is something or someone outside. If you spend time and listen to your animal you will realize that you understand more of their language than you originally thought.
2006-11-06 17:02:23 · answer #3 · answered by Aquila 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't speak it, but they can understand some of it. Studies in animal intelligence have shown that dogs can learn about 150 words, while cats can learn about 50-60.
2006-11-06 16:42:07 · answer #4 · answered by Gallifrey's Gone 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The same way little kids learn their names--you just keep using it whenever you're around them. Soon, they learn that you're referring to them, and they know that you want them when you make that sound.
We can learn to recognize different animal vocalizations in the same way. Horses, cats, dogs, and other animals have different sounds that they make for each thing that they want to communicate--hunger, anger, fear, curiosity, urgency, sadness, happiness, friendship, love, et cetera. We don't know EXACTLY what they're saying, but we can interpret their feelings and wants.
2006-11-06 19:39:34 · answer #5 · answered by The Logophile 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably the same we do when we are babies. We don't actually hear words, we hear sounds. We associate different sounds with different meanings. I have also found something VERY interesting: tone of voice has a lot to do with it. You can call them horrible names in a happy voice & they will wag their tail. You can offer them treats in a nasty voice & they will cower.
2006-11-06 16:45:41 · answer #6 · answered by Sparky 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They get used to the sound of our voice. The same as we know what a cat wants and needs from it's various type miaows.
2006-11-06 16:39:44 · answer #7 · answered by Dragon Empress 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well how would they also learn things like sit, jump,out..... they learn it all if u look at it and say a word consistantly 2 thm. Just like if u say 2 a dog, u want ur dinner it will wag its tale/jump/bark or whatever.
2006-11-06 16:44:34 · answer #8 · answered by Lou 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with previous answers - it's the tone of your voice they respond to. In my experience you can say just about any word to your dog in a certain tone of voice, and it will respond as if you're saying its name.
2006-11-06 16:47:58 · answer #9 · answered by mad 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Repitition keeping calling them by there name they catch on very quickly , especially if it is youre own Dog.They probably wont
come over to a stranger even if they call it by there name anyway.
2006-11-06 17:39:13 · answer #10 · answered by janus 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't speak our language but since you're going to say it's name a lot it'll know that's how you get his attention and he'll respond to it just like he will do to sit and stuff.
2006-11-06 17:06:09 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋