Re: 7 Words That Dogs Can Understand (And 4 That No Dog Can)

On Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:23:53 -0800, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

On Wed, 05 Mar 2025 07:00:36 +0200, Steve Hayes
<hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote:
>

On Tue, 04 Mar 2025 15:47:22 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:
>

Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> writes:

>

I agree with what you said elsethread -- that some dogs understand far
more. Perhaps those words are based on dogs of average IQ, and dogs of
above average IQ understand more.

>
The dogs don't understand the words.  They associate the words
with particular actions or behavior.

>
Isn't that what understanding is?
>
If I say "gijima", do you associate it with any behaviour?
>
If you don't, you don't understand the word.
>
If I say "run", do you associate it with any behaviour?

>
Let me relate a short, but true, story that may help with this:

<snip>

So, that's the difference. And, no, dogs don't understand the words.
George was responding to the sight of the leash and the tone of my
voice.

When we put out food for our dogs, we would tell them to sit while we
put the dishes with their food out. When everything was ready we would
say "Eat", and they then rushed, each tro its own dish, and began to
eat.

My son would sometimes hold a long conversation, and say things like
"Are you ungy? OK, now you can eat."

And it was only on hearing the word "eat" that they got up and did so.
So they definitely recognised the word.

They did not, howver, understand it in context. They didn't understand
the words before or after, only the single word. If you said, "You may
not eat yet," the word "not" meant nothing to them, only the word
"eat".

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web:  http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk