Yea, I think they begin to associate words to the point of understanding. For example, my dad's dog hates the vaccuum, but he just SAYS to his dog, "I'm going to vaccuum", he will run and hide.
Everytime I say "I love you" to one of my boys, he automatically licks my nose.
Dogs... they're the best.
2007-02-14 04:29:27
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answer #1
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answered by doggiemom 5
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I think that most experts believe that cats and dogs associate the sounds that humans make with certain things. When a human says "Dinner" then that means it is time to eat.
Also, animals can pick up on the tone. Go to a cat or dog and scream "I love you" in the most brutal and murderous tone you can muster. That critter is gone out the door. Try the opposite, say "I am going to kill you" in the most gentle and pleasing tone you can do. The cat or dog will probably not react badly to that.
The same can work in reverse. Some people can hear the sound their dog or cat makes and associate that with past observations. Have you ever heard a cat make a meow when they are upset and later you heard that meow and knew that your cat was upset. It is not that you have unlocked the meaning of that particular meow, you just associate it with an upset cat. Hopefully, that is what it means to the cat as well.
Cats and dogs are not dumb. If they figure a certain noise means a certain thing, then they will try to use that knowledge to their advantage. A cat or dog mimicing a sound to get in the house or to get a treat does not mean that the animal actually understands what the sound means. They just know that it will get them what they want. Like a password.
2007-02-14 12:32:02
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answer #2
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answered by A.Mercer 7
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I think they understand about as much as a 1-2 year old. They definitely can learn commands and phrases, but I think they pick up a little more than that. One time, I threw my dogs stuffed rabbit over the open door instead of out the doorway, she was looking for it and I said to her "It's behind the door," and she went and got it. She was never taught that and had no reason to know what I was talking about. Also, I put a mirror on the floor, moving my room around, and she looked behind it too see if there was another dog there.
2007-02-14 13:05:40
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answer #3
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answered by FlowerChild 5
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I think that to a certain degree, yes animals can understand human speech. They associate phrases like "do you want a treat?" with something they like, like a cookie. When the cat meowed back to you it was just probably trying to say hello back.
2007-02-14 12:38:20
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answer #4
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answered by ~*Jackie*~ 2
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I think that animals can recognize some words and relate or associate these words with the action. Just like humans some animals are more capable to recognize (or understand) words, they can also read and understand body language better than we do.
2007-02-14 12:27:51
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answer #5
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answered by flora_pr48 2
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No , They Only Understand Commands And Phrases
2007-02-14 13:39:28
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answer #6
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answered by dO yOu wanna piece Of me :-D[8]? 3
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yes they do without a doubt,i once had a dog that would not eat his salad w/out Dorothy Lynch dressing. I know this cuz he looked at me then the bottle and as soon as i put it on he ate!
2007-02-14 12:29:55
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answer #7
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answered by Butterfly100 2
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They don't understand our language, but they understand inflection and movement. That's what the cat is reacting to. My cat talks to me, too.
2007-02-14 13:01:40
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answer #8
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answered by jframeisu 3
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Dogs understand the commands and phrases they are trained to respond to.
What a dog hears:
blah blah blah , blah blah Good Dog, blah blah blah, Go for a walk? blah blah blah Treats?!
2007-02-14 12:30:18
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answer #9
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answered by Yo LO! 6
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after a while, cats and dogs do learn fragments of our speech.
thats how a dog learns its name or obedience tricks like 'sit', 'roll over', 'talk'. about the cat incident, that how my cat reponse when i make a noise, the cat probably meant "i heard you"
2007-02-14 12:29:44
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answer #10
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answered by Kitten 2
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