Dogs Understand More Than We Think

Behavior Dogs Understand More Than We Think Jul 14, 2025 By Courtney Sexton I was recently at a party where someone told a joke about their dog learning to spell faster than their human children. My friend explained that their dog Zucco got so excited when he heard the word “outside” (sometimes causing quite the ruckus) that my friend’s wife started spelling it instead of saying it. Within a matter of weeks, she only had to get as far as ‘T’ before Zucco got the drift. They gave up on that method and are instead working on some fear-free behavior modification to moderate Zucco’s energetic response, but my friend said he was still considering entering the pup in their kids’ spelling bee. What is language to a dog? Linguists, cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists, and other researchers from across disciplines have long debated the origins of, mechanisms behind, and what qualities define language (Chomsky 2005; Piattelli-Palmarini 1980; Wittgenstein 1958; Hoenigswald et al. 1960; Kravchenko 2007; Poeppel et al. 2012) . Generally, scholars agree that essential components of spoken language include: semantics (meaning), phonemic properties (distinct units of sound that form words), and grammar and syntax (rules for how linguistic elements are combined). When considering written and non-verbal languages, semiotics, or the study of signs and symbols and their use and interpretation, becomes paramount. Some individual components of spoken language, as well as other language-like elements exist in the communicative repertoires of many species. For example, the use of syntax in alarm calls has been documented in vervet monkeys (Seyfarth, Cheney, and Marler 1980) , for example. Gestures are also frequently used by many primates, horses, some birds, and of course, dogs and cats. As anyone who has worked with their pup on button training can attest, dogs are also very good at understanding verbal cues from people. Dogs’ ability to learn and respond to human language words and phonemes is well-documented in the scientific literature, as well (Pilley and Reid 2011; Reeve and Jacques 2022; Kaminski, Call, and Fischer 2004) . Whether dogs can spell is another question altogether, and it’s not likely that they are able to do so, at least not in the same way that we might define spelling in humans. Dogs DO recognize meaningful content among nonsense Similar to how we address infant humans, we often speak to our dogs using what is referred to by dog scientists as dog-directed speech (DDS). It is possible that the rhythms and sounds involved in this kind of excited, delib

erate, and/or exaggerated manner of talking to dogs has as much influence on how they interpret the meaning behind what we are saying as the actual words we speak. A recent experiment put this theory to the test, wherein researchers investigated dogs’ ability to key into relevant bits of human language amid a stream of monotonously spoken, meaningless words (Root-Gutteridge et al. 2025) . In the study, dogs listened to recordings of their people reading an unfamiliar text which included a short phrase that either did or did not have meaning to the dog, such as their name or a preferred activity. These were read either with a monotonous tone or with DDS. To determine word recognition, the researchers measured how often and how long dogs gazed at their people while listening. While dogs in the study were more likely to tune into meaningful phrases in the recordings with DDS, they were also still able to detect the important inclusions to the nonsense text when spoken in a neutral way. From these findings, the researchers concluded that while DDS is indeed helpful for cueing dogs to attention during human-dog interactions, it is not the only reason they’re able to understand us when we speak to them. What does it MEAN? My friend’s wife was not directing her speech toward Zucco when she started spelling the word outside, nor was she using a “meaningful” (at the time) set of sounds. So one would think that he shouldn’t have responded. However, Zucco is a quick learner, and so while he didn’t end up being able to “spell” in the semiotic sense, he was able to connect these new sounds as relevant to the action of going outside after only a short period of time, likely using “fast mapping” . Once that happened, even when he heard the spelled letter sounds amidst an otherwise meaningless conversation, he was able to recognize them for what they were: a signal for something he definitely wanted. References: Chomsky, Noam. 2005. “Three Factors in Language Design.” Linguistic Inquiry 36 (1): 1–22. Hoenigswald, Henry M., Albert Sechehay, Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Bally, Albert Reidlinger, and Wade Baskin. 1960. “Course in General Linguistics.” Classical World 53 (8): 267. Kaminski, Juliane, Josep Call, and Julia Fischer. 2004. “Word Learning in a Domestic Dog: Evidence for ‘Fast Mapping.’” Science (New York, N.Y.) 304 (5677): 1682–83. Kravchenko, Alexander V. 2007. “Essential Properties of Language, Or, Why Language Is Not a Code.” Language Sciences (Oxford, England) 29 (5): 650–71. Piattelli-Palmarini, Massimo, ed. 1980. Language and Learning: The Debate between

Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky. London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC. Pilley, John W., and Alliston K. Reid. 2011. “Border Collie Comprehends Object Names as Verbal Referents.” Behavioural Processes 86 (2): 184–95. Poeppel, David, Karen Emmorey, Gregory Hickok, and Liina Pylkkänen. 2012. “Towards a New Neurobiology of Language.” The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 32 (41): 14125–31. Reeve, Catherine, and Sophie Jacques. 2022. “Responses to Spoken Words by Domestic Dogs: A New Instrument for Use with Dog Owners.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246 (105513): 105513. Seyfarth, Robert M., Dorothy L. Cheney, and Peter Marler. 1980. “Vervet Monkey Alarm Calls: Semantic Communication in a Free-Ranging Primate.” Animal Behaviour 28 (4): 1070–94. Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1958. Philosophical Investigations. Translated by G. E. M. Anscombe. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Biogliography: Courtney Sexton is a Postdoctoral research scientist at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and has a PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology and Comparative Animal Behavior from The George Washington University. Join the conversation at community.fluent.pet! Share Share Reading next From Border Collie to Blind Cats: Morgan Krug’s Multispecies Button Journey Jun 13, 2025 Calvin Docking Meet Quinta & Bunbun—70+ Words and Counting Jul 22, 2025 Calvin Docking Leave a comment This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Name Email Message Submit