do dogs have a universal language? or do they need to learn different languages too?

Question

i live in a border community and know the importance of being bilingual. but i always wondered if the same could be said of dogs. i live maybe two miles from the international border to Mexico, so i learned spanish to better communicate and understand when spoken to in spanish. now, would my dogs also need to learn "spanish - dog" in order to speak and understand a dog from the other side of the border?

Answer 1

A r s e sniffing is globally understood

Answer 2

Dogs do not have a spoken language at all - but since 90% of our (humans) communication is through body language, then it is a minor aspect of letting people know how you feel.

Language only becomes important when you need to communicate and idea or data. Bees use only body language to tell the rest of the hive where the next source of nectar is.

Dogs do have some verbal sounds, but they are very limited, and thus communicate in body language.

It is only universial if the dog has been raised for a period of time by another dog, when dogs are abandoned by thier parents, they have to learn how to socialise from scratch. Dogs also use this ability to learn to react to humans.

Dogs do not understand Spanish or English, but the tone of the voice talking to them, and the body language of the individual using that command. Dogs who seem un-trainable, are a product of a human who does not use consistant voice tone and language to tell them whAT THEY want, thus the dog get confused, and shouted at, which adds to more confusion...


If you wan't to test this out, then travel to a culture that has different body language to your own, and thier dogs will behave diffently to you than they would to other mmbers of that society.

Ie In parts of south east asia, where eye contact is considered rude, the dogs also look down when they approach you.

I don't know why, but in Europe, the worse behaved pets I ever saw were in Poland, where the flats are small, the dogs huge, and all of them seem to be singualy untrained to the point of embarresment

Answer 3

A sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication instead of sound to convey meaning - simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts. Sign languages develop in deaf communities, which can include interpreters and friends and families of deaf people as well as people who are deaf or hearing-impaired themselves. When people using different signed languages meet communication is significantly easier than when people of different spoken languages meet. Sign language in this respect gives access to an international deaf community.

Answer 4

Dogs don't have language barriers ie. a growl is a growl and a tail wag means the same wherever , however if a spanish person said sit in spanish then this would make no sense to your dog if he only understood english.

Answer 5

dogs communicate with other dogs more by body language than by vocalisation. This body language is universal and this goes for dogs, wolves, african wild dogs, dingoes etc. All will be able to understand each other simply by reading vody language.

Answer 6

To answer your question: no, dogs do not need to learn a new "language" in order to speak with dogs from other countries. When a dog barks, it is a form of verbal alert, be it to alert it's owner it needs to go outside, or in order to tell another dog to back off. a dog barking in america is not going to be any different from a dog barking in france or japan.

each bark does not mean an individual word, but different barks do have different meanings. a loud bark that sounds forced, accompanied by snarling and growling is related with "get away" "I'm protecting something" "I don't like you" "i'm going to attack" or something to that affect. If a dogs bark is higher and has a whine to it, it could mean "I need to go outside" "something's not right" or something distressful. the "regular" bark is typically a greeting or an invitation for play.

There are different barks that mean different things, but they are based on sound and the emotion behind the bark. when in other countries, the bark does not change, just as if you were to scream at someone from a different country, they'd get the fact that you were conveying something negative.

Answer 7

I live in Tenerife and the most common language here is Spanish but I only speak limited Spanish at the moment - we have 3 dogs which we have acquired since moving here over the last 4 years - All the dogs were (we have been told) Spanish owned and then came to us to hear only English and they understand. There are also other dogs near us who have moved here from UK and the dogs all "chat" without any problems - so......maybe they are more adaptable than us. lol

Answer 8

Sort of. The japanese have invented a translator that puts barks into english, but it has to be set differently for each kind of dog. basically, they do speak the same language, but they've all get very strong "accents" depending on their breed.

Answer 9

We tend to think of dog training as a series of steps for teaching particular behaviors. To teach a dog to stay in a particular position, you reward her as she remains in place for gradually longer times, at gradually greater distances, with gradually increasing degrees of distraction. Read more https://tr.im/uwPmA

Now, this is fine, training does involve teaching dogs specific behaviors with a step-by-step approach. This week, though, I’m going to discuss three mental habits that will not only enable you train more effectively but also make life pleasant for both you and your dog.

Answer 10

Well, I think when a human speaks, they mostly go by tone of voice, hand directions, but I am sure language matters too...

I had a German Rottie that loved dog movies, but only when they had German breeds in them (he loved K9, hated Turner and Hooch)...it was pretty funny...

Answer 11

dogs go by tone rather than words but yes a dog brought up by for example french people who only spoke french would learn the commands in that language.....