Does your dog recognize certain words?

"bath" sends Cairo racing to my bed to shiver and quake pathetically []
 
He also knows my boyfriend's name and will run to the door and whine if I say it.  He also knows the names of a lot of my other pets, mainly the rats and the cats.  I used to have a rat, Tiri, who would chase Cairo all over the place, so whenever I asked Cairo where Tiri was, he'd get really twitchy and look around in all the places rats would likely hide.  It was pretty cute   He knows Nikki's name very well and will run up to her if I ask him where she is.  Actually, he knows a lot of names: mine, Daddy, Mommy, Dave...
 
They both know "Lake" which is what we call our lakehouse.  They know "home", "dinner" of course...[]
 
I'll probably think of more later.

"Whats that?" He will start looking around with his hair up, thinking they'res someone/something coming.
 
"Wanna go for a ride?" And he'll run to the truck, sit on the ground next to his side, and wait for me to open the door.
 

Shadow knows the difference between English, Spanish, and German.

When I get home and he is at the double gate doing his husky wiggle, I usually say, "Is that my big boy?"

He goes tearing off for the sliding glass door.

Once, I came home and asked, "Esse mi Pero grande?"

He cocked his head with that quizzical look. Then I said it in English and he tore off for the back door.

Another time, I came home and said "Ist das mein grosse Hund?"

He sat and looked at me patiently. Then I said it in English and he tore off for the back door.

When DW is at work in the evening, he will walk by her place on the double recliner/sofa and look. I will tell him she's working but will be home in a while. Then he'll lay down some more. I can ask, "Where's the ball?" and he will actively look for it.

Dani - "run run run" "cookie" "eaties" "daddy"
Nixon - "look" "cookie" "eaties" "daddy" "bird" and all obedience commands (whether he chooses to obey them is another story)
Stormy - "cookie" "eaties" "daddy" "big tall creepy guy" (my stepson is over 6'3" and she's afraid of him [sm=lol.gif])
Amber - "dog show" "races" (she LOVES the drag races) "cookie" "eaties" "daddy" "stormy" "dani" "nick (for Nixon)" "squeaky" "critter" "walkies" "potty" - You never know exactly WHAT she understands but it's probably a lot more than most people I know - she's a scary dog
 
I like to carry on conversations with them - I'll ramble on and on about something and throw in certain words just to see if they're listening - they are [sm=lol.gif]. Their ears will come up and they'll wag their tails when they hear a word that they know. It's fun to do when there's nothing on TV.

Max knows the basics - sit, down, shake, walk, park & treat.

Joyce

Wrigley knows cookie, treat, dinner, hungry?, out?, Daddy, Mommy, Mouse (our kitty), crunchies (kibble), cubby (favorite toy), and walk.  I am sure that he knows these because even if said to DH in a normal adult talking voice, he will get excited and either ready to eat, or ready to take a walk.  If I say, "where's mouse?" he will seek out the cat to play with him.  If I say, "get cubby!" he will start looking for this toy and bring it to me. 

Babe knows, sit, stay(doing it is an entirerly different thing though), down, heel, speak, house, yard, porch, off, ball, cheese, chips, peanuts, altoids, come, shake, you are so grounded, kiss, and when I say HEY it usually means she is free to chase a cat that is doing something naughty!
 
Dawn

Buddy knows "ball" and "rope".  I'll send him to "find your rope/ball" while we are playing and off he goes.  Most of the time he will find them and bring them back to me to play with. 
 
Sue

Giz seems to understand me but when she's not feeling like it she just ignors eveything I say even the command I know she knows like sit, stay and the such. She really likes the word "treat" but she also reconizes "go", like when I'm going somewher I'll say to my boyfriend "let go to..." and and soon as she hears that she sits by the door and wites for use to go, it works well becaue often I feel sorry for her a take her with us. She also know the sound of the keys means go and when I get dressed that ually means I'm going somewher so she find her sopt at the door before I'm even dressed.

Despite their ages I've had none of my current crew longer than 2 years.  Billy (he's 6-7 but has been here 2 years) has developed an astounding vocabulary.  He's not where Foxy or Muffin were but he's learning by leaps and bounds. 
 
Luna's learning -- she's been here just over a year, and she was WAY better at communicating with dogs than other humans -- this has been a whole new idea for her to be 'social' with humans.  She's always been good and sweet but the "wow - you're talkin TO me" thing was a new thing for her.  But she too is developing an extensive vocabulary.
 
Kee's a foster -- she's older (somewhere between 10 - 16) and has never EVER been talked 'to'.  It took her 3 months to truly "get it" when we gave her very elementary commands and expected her to "listen".  This has been tough for her because she's not trusting -- humans have let her down sorely in the past so "don't get attached -- they'll dump you" is her motto.
 
But yeah -- they understand language and 'words'.  Words become just like commands to them.  I talk to them JUST like I'd talk to people.  "Excuuuuuuuuuuse ME???? *I* don't think so!!!" (they're devastated!!!) 
 
Just now, in fact, they've moved part of the fence of my back yard up about 12 feet so my back yard is 12' wider at one point.  Luna went out and discovered immediately she could run LAPS!!!!
 
I said "Hoooooooooooooooooooooo HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Run LAPS, Luna!!" and she did it again!  A new 'word' was born -- and trust me -- she's gonna remember "laps" and when I tell her to go run some LAPS she's gonna know that means work off some energy and run in circles around the yard.    It was a perfect place to teach her a new 'word'. 
 
Billy, on the other paw, looked up at me and said "you don't mean ME do ya?" and I said "nope -- that's a Luna thing -- SHE can run laps!  YOU stay with Mommy!" and he sat and did exactly that. 
 
When he was in the hospital up at Gainesville I printed off his "posts" and "emails" every day and faxed them up there and his student actually READ them to him.  Did he understand every word?  nope.  But he KNEW "email" -- he knows people talk to each other on the puter that way and that it was FROM MOM and BUDDIES.  Eric marveled every day at the names Billy would recognize and how excited he got when Eric came to read to him.  Yep -- he READ to a dog.  and Eric said he quickly got over any feelings of feeling dumb simply because Billy loved it so much and understood it was 'news from home'.  It motivated him in a big way and kept him from being depressed no matter how long he was up there (which was a week at a stretch a couple of times).
 
My dogs ALL understand "beddytimes away" (meaning a night spent away somewhere) and trust me -- they TOTALLY understand the difference between "Mom, Dad, Billy, Luna and Kee are all going beddytimes away" -- BIG HUGE excitement and they are esctatic all the while I'm doing preparations. 
 
However -- in 10 days I"m gonna be planning a different beddytimes away -- David and I are going to visit my folks up North.  Luna and Kee are going to Miss Emily's Bed and Biscuit (Luna's second home - she did doggie daycare there constantly before David and I took her), and Billy's going to stay with my vet at his home (cos he can't go where he might encounter sick dogs because of the whole IMHA thing). 
 
Whole different kind of excitment -- because we're all going in different directions and they WILL understand that (because they know "Miss Emily's" and "Dr. Bailey's" and know they are different places).  They'll all have a good time, but it's NOT the 'fun time' that it would be if we were all going together.  "Beddytimes away" has a very very specific meaning for them and they understand if it's a family time or NOT. 
 
They also have a rudimentary idea of numbers and the passage of time.  When I get stuff ready for them to go to Miss Emily's and Dr. B's I will package their food for each day.  And they KNOW when they run out of packages MOM WILL BE HOME.  I will also pair that with a number of fingers because I want them to understand it's a finite time -- not that they are being abandoned. 
 
I mate words with "time" -- "going to work" means I"m gonna be gone all day long and I'll be home before supper.  They know Firecracker Day.  They know "Christmas Tree day".  Valentines, Easter -- these mark time for them.
 
My point is - your pup will know whatever words you TEACH them.  Mine understand the difference between Dad's home, and when he PHONES.  (cos just because he phones doesn't mean he's on his way home, but sometimes it does!!)
 
It gets as sophisticated as you want it to.  And another thing -- your VOICE also communicates.  Like when I said above that mine know "Excuuuuuuse me?? I don't THINK so!!" -- do they understand those individual words? No .. they understand my inent -- because when I say "Excuse me Pardon me!!" that means move your buns outa my way!! 
 
And yeah, when they move I say "thank YOU!!" and they know that means a job well done but something I expect TO be done so there's no huge effusive praise due. 
 
They are like a blank page and they will learn all you teach them. 
 
I also teach mine sign language from the instant they come in here.  So I can say "I love you!!" from 100 feet away and get wriggles and wags!!  I can also say "SHHHH" and have them shut up!!
 
Signs and words -- they are just more commands, just more language.  They learn what they are taught so they can better communicate with us.
 
But do your dog a favor -- learn to listen to THEM too.  Watch their ears, their head, their body language -- they WILL talk back to you .... if you listen. *smile*

I was just thinking about this, today. Emma understands about a zilliondy thousand words. I've had her almost three years, and I haven't stopped talking to her, yet. She understands when I'm going to work, and if I try to leash her to go with me, she plays "dead dog". She HATES going to be groomed! She knows that "other work" means something entirely different (the health food store, where her buddies pet her and feed her treats). She understands lots of places. She knows "beach". She knows "ice cream". She knows different friends' houses. She knows the difference in "go pee" and "go poop". She comprehends the meaning of "no". Put "no" in front of any word that she understands, and she gets it.

She knows what chamomile is, and she knows that it makes her tummy better. I always tell her about her medicines. She takes them without a fuss.

She's a smart kid. I think it has to do with how much I've talked to her.

Penny knows about a zilliondy words, as well. She's been with me for nearly 11 years and I'm always talking to her. It's hard to say when she knows a word and when she just knows what the tone means, but I know for sure she knows my name, my pet hare's name, the name of my ex-housemate's dog, the names of the dogs she lives with now, and also bed, walk, can I have that?, give it to me, get it!, go for a swim, shake, have a roll, stop, wait, leave it, sit, stay, down, this side, bicky, stop licking me, where's... (your toy, Kit, Pyry, Jill, Melissa, your bone, Raz)?, I'm gonna get it!, I'll give it to... (Kit, Pyry, Jill, Raz).

That's all I can think of for the moment. Penny also knows that her name is Pen and Miss Penelope. She's a pretty cluey dog and often surprises me with what she understands.

Absolutely! "WALK" being the most important.
Trigger also cocks his heads when he hears "sausage" & "grandma".

Max knows what school is for sure. He also knows bone, food, cookie, and chicken wing that I can think of off the top of my head. I have no idea what Millie understands.