- Oct 7, 2000
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Can dogs understand when we talk to them?
- Thread starter ElectroVibe
- Start date
Cool Video. I have spent a lot of time training my current rescue pooch, "Lucky Dog". My wife and I made up a list of over 200 commands and phrases Lucky will respond to. When we leave Lucky at a friends when we are out of town, we also leave that list with the friend. The first time we did that, our friend was almost speechless when we returned to pick Lucky up. He had no idea that dogs good have that big of a vocabulary.
Anecdote: My mother's 7 year old corgi is just about the dumbest dog I've ever seen. It knows 4 (possibly 5) words.
My mother is good with dogs, knows how to train them, and has had some very smart dogs in the past.
Even though she got this dog as a puppy and tried her best, it just couldn't seem to learn much.
Just like people, I guess. You work with what nature gave you.
My mother is good with dogs, knows how to train them, and has had some very smart dogs in the past.
Even though she got this dog as a puppy and tried her best, it just couldn't seem to learn much.
Just like people, I guess. You work with what nature gave you.
I pretty much agree with your comments. Prior to our current dog, we had a white Lab which I trained from a puppy and she was fairly smart. Later, we fostered a very senior black lab for over two years and he probably knew ten words at best. Our friends called them Salt and Pepper. I am not sure, but his limited vocabulary was because he was not so smart or perhaps this was because he did not get much attention from human contact prior to us taking him into our home. That said, dumb or not, we gave him a lot of comfort and love in his last few years of life.
My mini schnauzer knows quite a few words considering we never did formal training with her, and she can perform a number of tricks. She definitely seems to understand emotions and her behavior will change depending on the behavior of my fiancé and I.
My dog is a beagle. Sweet dog. Fun to wrestle with. Gentle with my girls. But STUBBORN. IF his nose tells him something, nothing I say will stop it.
That said, there are a FEW speech patterns he "gets". When he comes in from the outside, and it's wet, I say "Stay on that towel" (which is waiting just inside the door). He knows to sit on the towel on the floor and get ready for another towel to dry him off (which he loves).
I can also say "wheel" any time and he'll run to his little bed in the living room and anxiously await what is nes. We have this little thing that looks like a small tire that you can jam a treat "disc" into. It takes awhile to get it out. So he not only gets a treat, but something to "work on" for a little while.
I could list a few more. There aren't many. But the ones he knows, he really does "understand".
That said, there are a FEW speech patterns he "gets". When he comes in from the outside, and it's wet, I say "Stay on that towel" (which is waiting just inside the door). He knows to sit on the towel on the floor and get ready for another towel to dry him off (which he loves).
I can also say "wheel" any time and he'll run to his little bed in the living room and anxiously await what is nes. We have this little thing that looks like a small tire that you can jam a treat "disc" into. It takes awhile to get it out. So he not only gets a treat, but something to "work on" for a little while.
I could list a few more. There aren't many. But the ones he knows, he really does "understand".
Years ago I had a cat who I taught to sit, stand up, lie down, roll over, shake hands, turn around in a circle ... operant conditioning - I was taking a psych course at the time, training rats, and figured that if a rat can learn stuff like this, then surely a very bright cat can learn. So I gave him food pellets when he approximated the behavior I was teaching, and with "successive approximation" required him to more closely enact the desired behavior over time, or no food pellet. Used hand signals to indicate which trick (cats don't seem to respond to verbal cues the way that dogs do). He learned pretty quickly.
A couple years later, long after we'd finished with that training, I put some food in his regular dish, and he just kind of looked at me ... then he stood up on his hind legs and went "meow". He wanted to run through his tricks, and very eagerly did so, purring, when I understood and joined him - he enjoyed the interaction of it. At least that's my take on it, only reason that made sense to me. He was a great cat, lived to be 20. I'll certainly never forget him.
A couple years later, long after we'd finished with that training, I put some food in his regular dish, and he just kind of looked at me ... then he stood up on his hind legs and went "meow". He wanted to run through his tricks, and very eagerly did so, purring, when I understood and joined him - he enjoyed the interaction of it. At least that's my take on it, only reason that made sense to me. He was a great cat, lived to be 20. I'll certainly never forget him.
As my Lab is fast approaching 14 years old, I have noticed that his hearing seems to be getting worse or he has decided to become obstinate! I'm going with the former as he does seem to be reacting to hand signals far more, than verbal ques.
Prior, I would say that he knew quite a few words and would respond, but being a Lab, he would always respond to commands, should there happen to be food available!
Fishheadjoe
Prior, I would say that he knew quite a few words and would respond, but being a Lab, he would always respond to commands, should there happen to be food available!
Fishheadjoe
