Dogs and the human language

I must admit I think they do understand us, not simply the tone but the actual words.  I think CoCo may be responding to you in Viet because she thinks it is a "Working" language.  For example my dogs can be utter goofs when in thier play collars but let me put the show collars on and they know it is time to work.  The entire attitude changes !

Chances are , since she is so darn cute that as a pup you spoke mostly English to her, when cuddling and babying her so she listens in English as a puppy would think "Ahhh it's my mom wanting me to do silly stuff again"  But when you switch to Viet she thinks "Hmmm sounds serious!"

As for the begging , crate her when you eat. I have food driven hounds can you imagine what would happen if I let all 9 out while folks were eating?? They would beg borrow or steal from everyone ! And when the smallest is 60 pounds that can make a meal a problem.

Bonita of Bwana

Absolutely what Bonita says.  Viet has become a sort of "pay attention" thing for her.  The intonations of both languages are very very different. 

But they DO learn words ... and how you say them makes a huge difference.

The other big difference is that you're female and your dad is male ... and men speak in lower tones.  So from the start she's likely going to listen to him because it's a more 'growly' sound to her. 

So YOU need to practice speaking in lower tones to her -- we women have to learn to moderate our tone, some of us more than others, in order to be taken seriously.  Simply take the word "no" or a completely innocuous word like "fence" -- and say it as if you're mad, sad, disappointed, happy, delighted, etc.  Then say it in all the same 'emotions' but say it **quieter**. 

But words are simply commands to them -- they don't think in 'words' they think in pictures for the most part -- but they DO understand a huge range of human words.  Particularly if they are **taught** a wide vocabulary, this is true.

If I say to mine "Billy, Luna, Kee and Mom and Dad are all going beddytimes away" you will get a completely different reaction than if you say "Mom and Dad are going beddytimes away".  If they know THEY are going "with" -- trust me -- they are gonna go nuts!  To my crew "beddytimes away" means a MOTEL.  And that, to mine, is the highest form of entertainment on the planet!!! 

BUT ... if it's just David and I?  Luna will go nuts -- because to her that means SHE gets to go to Miss Emilys Bed & Biscuit -- which is her second favorite place on the planet!!  However, to Billy it means *NOT* with Mom and that is the worst thing ever for him.  So there is a completely individual understanding there.

You might want to have a word that simply means "quit doing whatever you're doing" ... like just use the word "Quit" ("stop" you may want to reserve as in relation to 'halt' or don't go any further).  But every time she does a behavior (like jumping up to be fed) you simply firmly but gently put her on the floor and say "Quit". 

You have to mean it EVERY time you say it tho -- if you come to a point where you no longer want to repeat yourself or if you've done it twice and it's simply become a game, then DO put her in her crate or somewhere secure.  Because to allow her to continue makes your training worthless.  You have to follow thru on your command every single time.

I don't crate mine while we eat.  But I DO make them follow a spatial distance.  Having a target -- like a soft rug that is hers alone -- works well if you use it repeatedly.  Put her in a 'sit' on her rug and tell her to stay there. Gradually (as time passes) move that target further away from where you are eating but be consistent that she has to stay ON her rug til you release her. 

At one time I had a dog who was deaf.  He had been hearing, but because of really horrible ear infections from before we had him (added to some really bad vet care) we had to have his ears removed in a procedure called a bi-lateral ear ablation.  Two separate surgeries almost a year apart.  But when done, he was completely 'stone deaf'. 

However, all during this time I worked with him on sign language.  Muffin didn't just know a few basic signs.  He knew and responded to about 60 -70 signs. 

He didn't just want to know we were going to the "vet" (same as the American Sign Language sign for 'doctor' except with a "V" rather than a "D";).  oh noooooooooooooooo!  Muffin wanted to know WHICH vet!  So we had a separate sign for Dr. Bailey (regular vet), Dr. DiNatale (holistic vet), Dr. Randall (his U of Fl oncology vet), etc.  so I had to do Dr.+B and Dr.+D and Dr.+R ...

He knew the difference between "food" (as in me putting down their food) and "Supper" (as in David and I going out to eat).  But he KNEW they were both ***FOOD***  but he understood the one meant and coupled with Mom + Dad + go  that David and I were going OUT of the house and then he might have a white 'to go' box in his future. 

It was really pretty funny -- because with his knowledge of sign he often knew MORE than the other dogs, because he 'got' the subtle differences (like David and I eating ... but not *here*). 

My point is, they learn whatever you take the time to teach them.  Break your commands in English down into smaller single words  --- rather than saying "you can't eat this" just tell her "no" or "quit" -- she's going to get the idea that she can't have any if you don't GIVE her any, but the immediate behavior you want to change is having her "sit" politely on the floor.

Mine may sit 6' away, but that doesn't quell the hope in the doggie heart that they'll 'get' something for good behavior.  But they KNOW that getting up on Mom's knee will only get them banished.  It doesn't work!

I do believe--know--they know or can learn many many different words.  For a while my first Irish Setter had an on going ear infection and I had to clean his ears daily and put drops in the.  He was not crazy about this.  But he loved to hae his ears rubed.  I could sit on the sofa and say "Fix ears" and he would go get under the table.  I could sit on the cosfa and say in same tone of voice "Rbu ears" and he would come running.  Just the different words, fix and rub, and he knew.     That is just one example.

I tell the girls night night and they trot back here to the bedroom.  Put a leash and say walk and they go straight to the street.  Say ride andthey go to the car.  They respond to hungry and eat the same way--head right fo the kitchen. I mo0stly use sentences--Want to go for rdie, Want to go for walk, Are you hungry, Dp you want to Eat, and I think they are responding to the main word--eat, hungry, ride, etc.

Also I say "Time to go night-night" and they come to the bedroom.  But if I say "Time to go do business, they go to the back door.   As above I think they are responding to night night and business, not the entire sentence

My 2ed Irish Setter got to where he knew certain words we spelled.  We could just be taking about riding to town and he would get all perked up.  We started spelling and I guess he finally connected  r-i-d-e with us leaving in the car and that got to where it didn't work.  I also had to spell walk and several other words and darn if he didn't cath on to them also.  Yep, I think they do understand many words.

It's a really interesting question, and all the posts have some fascinating examples. 

On the one hand, if a dog's brain doesn't have a "language ability" as advanced as a human's, maybe it's similar to a young child who can't talk yet.  I was babysitting a toddler yesterday (about 20 months old).  She doesn't do any speaking, just "Da-Da" and "Ba-Ba," etc.  However, she clearly understood me when I said, "Go pick out a book to read" (without pointing to her bookcase).  She walked over and chose one, brought it to me and climbed in the chair for reading.  If I told her to hug her teddy, she hugged him, or when I said, "Pick a flower for mommy," she picked the dandelion.  So, maybe the dogs do something similar by recognizing words and what they mean???

On the other hand, the tone and inflection of a sentence might be all it takes.  Tonka would come running from anywhere in the house when we called out:  "Do you want some broccoli?" (or noodles, or carrots, whatever we were preparing).  He was very food-motivated.  However, we used to crack ourselves up by calling out in the exact same manner:  "Do you want some gobble-dee-guk?" Or some other nonsense word.  He'd bolt right to the kitchen to find us laughing.  We're easily entertained! 

I guess it's a combination of both tone and the vocabulary itself.  Pretty amazing that they do so well in our world without speaking our language!

Examples of Molly are

We tell her to (look for kitties on the deck) no matter what she is doing at the time she runs to the deck doors to see if any stray cats are on the deck to bark at of course.

When the dog next door is outside we tell Molly (Harley's outside) and she runs to the window and looks out at his yard to find him.

When DH turns the corner a block away up I tell Molly (Daddy's home) she runs to the front door and waits for him to come into the house.

If I tell her to (go get a toy) she brings me a random toy.

If I tell her to (get a ball) she brings me a ball.

When we tell her (wan`t go bye-bye) she runs to the door and waits for us take her for a ride.

Again no matter what she is doing or where she is if you say (wan`t a treat) she drops everything and is by your side to get the treat in a flash. I know treat is the golden word here.

DH sits in his recliner and says ( I sure could use a kiss) Molly jumps up and runs and jumps up on his lap and gives him a big lick.

If we tell Molly (listen) she stands like a statue and really listens for any noise.

There are more but

The only one that she did get a treat for doing was the kiss thing at first but no more so maybe that had something to do with that one.

I do not in my mind would say that these are tricks as she got no treats but she does knows a lot of one word tricks like sit, jump, shake, sneeze, hunt, smell, growl, lay down, etc. that she did get treats to learn.

I have a book How to speak dog by Stanley Coren which I haven`t gotten read yet but on the back cover it say that he demonstrates that the average house dog can differentiate between 60 and 140 words.

   Kaz is a young guy, just shy of a year.  Any phrase with the word "here" in it to him means "who's here".  That means time for a couple of barks, since he has assigned himself the job of watchdog, and investigate who is here.  So when the wife tells me "put it here", of course someone must be here.  If he thinks someone is here don't dare tell him nobody's here, to him it means someone is.  If you tell him it's all good, or we're ok he realizes nobody is here, but don't dare tell him nobody is here on a windy night when outdoor things are making noise.

  I'm sure he'll figure it out, we're working on no speak, since he knows speak, and quiet, which he seems to like.  Quiet is just a soft little"bff" of a bark.

Thanks so much for your thorough and thoughtful answers...

I dont know, syntax and sounds intrigue me.... but I'm going to have to disagree with you TACRAN about how a young's child's brain isnt as advanced as a more mature's person's brain in terms of language... (Forgive me if I'm wrong, I THINK that's what youre saying too right?)  As I learned it, a young child's brain is actually MUCH sharper than an adult's brain in terms of "languages" since it is one of our VERY few natural instincts left... ie. fight or flight, grasp and suck, and socialization.... we're naturally social creature... stick two babies on an island... and even though they've never heard language before.... they'll "make up they're own" languages to communicate with each other to...

In all the language classes I've taken, I think the most theory that intrigues me is this Language Acquisition Device all humans have.... that as a young child, our brain are able to distinguish between all the clicks and sounds ANY languages can make.... Come puberty, and that LAD is suddenly shut off.... making it harder for an older child to learn a language than a younger child... I mean.... take me and Spanish... I had SEVEN years of it... But when I'm pronouncing a word, it SOUNDS the same to MY EARS, but to a native Spanish Speaker?  My accent is WAY OFF.  However, because I learned both English and Viet as a young child, I can speak both fluently with the correct accent to sound native.  (When I speak English, most people think I sound like I"m a "Valley Girl" when I speak Viet, a Vietnamese person can right away pick up where I'm from in Vietnam) 

I dunno.. this intrigues me because I always wondered about why some people, like ie. some of my extremely smart double pHD professors, who obviously have a better grasp of the English language than I do... still speak with a heavy accent... whereas others don't?  Then this theory makes perfect sense to me...cause their ears can't differentiate between the different "sounds" anymore.  (Want to know something more interesting?  The -TH sound is EXTREMELY hard for foreigners to pronounce in English... simply because the sound actually comes from TWO seperate parts of our vocalization.... the -TH sound in THAN is formed SOLELY on our tongue, whereas the -TH sound in the word THE actually comes from our voice box.... to test this out.. simply put your hand on your throat as you say THAN and THE... notice when your hand vibrates, and when it doesnt....)

Anyways.... maybe dogs have a better understanding of languages than we think?  Because they're able to hear a more variety of sounds than our ears are used to?

I try not to talk to my dogs as much as give them hand or body signals. However over time and through experience they do learn a lot of words. Its also funny that a lot of owners take for granted that their dogs learn words the owner never intended, even if they sometimes interpret them differntly then we mean, LOL.

For example my friend has a 1 yr old Vizsla named Chief. The other day we were hanging out in her back yard, it started to cool down and she asked if she should build a fire in her fire pit? Chief heard that from across the yard and high tailed it over to the wood shed where he starting picking up small kindling and dropped it at the fire pit, LOL. Needless to say he LOVES to lay by the fire.

I also just read a article about a man who thought his dog knew his friend George by name because everytime he'd say "where's Geaorge" the dog would run to the window to to find George heading up the walkway. Until one day George was in the kitchen already and the owner said "where's George" and the dog ran to the window, LOL. So it wasnt George the dog knew, George to him was someone is coming over!

I think dogs learn words via experience and deduction. Over the years I take for granted what Rory knows and never realized it until Primo moved in with us. Primo had no idea what the heck I always yell about but Rory knows.....

move  out  backyard  frontyard  load up (as in get in the car)  inside  outside  off 

gentle   slow   stay-close (heel)   behind me   this way (like if we are walking around a pole or I take a seperate path)   shut-up  exscuse me (means stop whatever you are doing right now)

and the vasic commands obviously!

 The first one Primo had to master was "Primo's bed"....they know the difference of eachother's bed and I can tell Primo to go lay on his bed and have to tell Rory seperately to go lay on hers.

Oooohhhh yeah.  Harry knows the word "lunch" even though I never purposely taught it to him.  He hears that word and runs like a dart to his food bowl.  LOL.

I doubt it matters what language you use for specific commands, but what Bonita said is interesting about how the dog interprets English and Viet.  Very cool stuff.  My BF spoiled the word "down" as the "lay down" command because he said it constantly meaning "off" (off the couch, etc), so I had to come up with another word for lay down.  "Lay" I thought sounded too much like "stay," so I use "baja" for down (my BF said was the Spanish word for down, I dunno if it is, but oh well).  Now that I think of it, inflection does make a difference I think.  I've been trying to teach Harry to spin as a trick, and sometimes he'll sit instead.  I think it's because it's a similar word, so then I thought, I'm using the same inflection for both words, so I have to make an effort to use a different inflection when I say "spin."

dogs certainly do learn the meanings of words and phrases, but they are much more "in tune" with body language than with verbal language. They don't seem to be able to really grasp language,  though; they just memorize patterns of sound. It's not uncommon for dogs to say, understand the meanings of words when said in a high-pitched woman's voice and be totally clueless when a deep-voiced man says the same words. Also not uncommon for dogs to understand commands given in a calm, cheerful voice and totally not understand their owner when the owner freaks out and screams the commands- they sound totally different to the dog.

When people talk about "dogs don't understand English" what they are usually referring to are people who think an untrained dog will somehow automatically understand the meaning of commands. You know, the idiot who gets mad when the pup ignores his repeated Sit! Come! demands when he hasn't made any effort to teach the dog the meaning of these words.