Do animals understand what we are saying?

Question

One time when i was eating breakfast my sister said to my dog awww u itty bitty poochie coochie coochie coo then my dog made a face like she didnt understand my sister

Answer 1

They can understand what you are saying, though not all of the words. They often get the intent of what you are saying, or can even figure out things about you that aren't in your words, as they will respond to multiple cues including the words you use, the tone of your voice, your body movements, etc.

As far as understanding specific words, there is enough documented evidence to say yes. They have a decent memory and can recall many words with training. Some dogs can learn hundreds of words with training. But they don't learn grammar beyond their name followed by a verb and a noun.

Like others have said, they also instinctively respond to your voice and tone of voice. If someone is yelling angrily, you know it. So does the dog, and that's why it will put it's tail down and run away (or raise it's hackles and bite) if some mean sounding stranger shows up.

As for your sister, the dog most likely thought what she was saying made no sense at all. There was no context for her words or the tone of her voice, and he wasn't sure if he should care or not. He clearly couldn't figure out why this human was wasting his time with nonsense when it could have been stuffing it with treats.

Answer 2

A dog can potentially understand you when you say words that are repetitive. My 10 month old german shepherd understands me when I tell her sit, stay, come, etc and also things like kisses, left, right, speak. When I have to go to work, I always say ' I have to go now' and my dog will go to her kennel without me putting her in there. They do not understand a conversation that humans would have. If you repeat the same thing again and again and teach them what it means...they may or may not learn. To say ' awww u itty bitty poochie coochie coochie coo' the dog will of course sit and stare at you guys like your nuts!! To them, its just noise.

Answer 3

I think they try to read your expressions and tone of voice.
I would expect the tone of voice in saying 'awww u itty bitty poochie coochie coochie coo' would be confusing to your dog.

Answer 4

Dogs neither speak or understand English, or any other language. The associate certain sounds with concepts/action. In fact, this gives the behaviorist wing of dog training the mistaken idea that dogs only learn by association. Not true! Dogs evolved, artificially, but evolved to " read " human intention and body language very well. There noses tell them a great deal of information they would not pick up other wise. So, though your dog did not understand the syntax/semantics of what your sister was saying, the dog certainly picked up much from the body language, facial expressions and smell, enough to put somethings in context.

Answer 5

Dogs can learn a few words.... or at least the sound of the word, if not its actual meaning. But, from that they learn what the word will represent. For instance, when I offer my dog a tidbit to eat, she will grab it enthuastically. But when I offer a bite and say 'hot' she will be careful and take it cautiously. At one time or another she took a bite and was burnt... then learned to associate the word 'hot' with how it felt to her. Many dogs know a list of words, the most common might be 'bath,' 'go,' and words that you use on a regular basis. When I say 'work' she knows she can't go and won't even act antsy when I get ready to leave the house.
Funny when they learn to spell words... like B. A. T. H. or V. E. T.
You can just see their little wheels turning... they know more than we often give them credit for. I'm not sure if its actual intelligence, or just a instinctive response, but either way, the more I talk to her, the more she seems to tilt that little head. Lord, I'm glad they can't talk back!

Answer 6

I think animals understand a large part of what we say to them. Some animals understand more than others. As they get older they understand more. I have an 11 year old cat and she understands almost everything I say to her. She doesn't follow commands like a dog but she looks at me with such understanding and does do some things that I tell her. I have a 5 month old Bichonpoo who I see more and more understanding in every day. She senses my moods. She understands when I ask if she wants to visit certain people and mention their name. As she gets older I am sure she will understand even more of what I say to her. Animals are smarter than most humans give them credit for.

Answer 7

Personally, I do not blame the dog. What your sister said to the dog was complete nonsense. Dogs understand more than many people realize, but everything is contextual. If you sister says something nonsensical, don't you look at her funny?

Dogs also read more into your body language and tone of voice than you would imagine. People do not realize how much they communicate in that manner to their animal- and other people for that matter- so forget this is a means of the dog understanding you.

Answer 8

Mine do.
It's really weird at times when I tell one or the other to move and they seem to know which direction I want them to go in.
Both of my dogs have lots of toys that are kept in a laundry basket in the living room.
I dump the basket and ask for a certain toy and they can tell the difference between the big ball and little ball and the squeeky ball,the baby and the sqeeky baby and the big squeeky baby.If I just ask for the squeeky they bring me a plastic dumbell.If I ask for a ball I get a tennis ball.
If I ask for a drink of water they go to the refridgerator and look at me but if I say do you want a drink they go get one from their bowls.
They are always ready to go bye-bye but if I tell them I'm sorry but you can't go this time they both lay down to wait.

Answer 9

Dogs most definately understand what you are saying. I believe that I read somewhere that most dogs have a vocabulary equal to a human 6 year old. My dogs CLEARLY understand the words present, turkey, pizza, "find", kiss, the basic commands and a bunch of other words.
Here is a web site with a fun IQ test to take with your dog.
http://abc.net.au/animals/dog_test/test1.htm

Answer 10

Dogs understand basic commands like sit, stay, heel, etc. If they didn't understand these commands, dogs couldn't be trained.

My dog understands the word treat or cookie and barks at the treat jar. He understands when I tell him to go to the kennel. He gets excited when we ask him to go for a ride or outside to work.

So the answer is yes.