How Well Do You Speak Your Dog’s Language?

Anna Gabor and colleagues at the Hungarian Academy of Science recently published functional MRI (fMRI) studies of dog’s brains, showing that canines process human language pretty much the same way we do—with separate neural pathways in the brain to decode the prosodic (emotional) components of speech and the lexical (semantic) components. Structures in the dog’s midbrain light up in an fMRI when dogs hear strong emotions in human speech such as the tonal qualities of “Good dog!" or "Bad dog!”, while regions of the auditory cortex (mostly in the right hemisphere) activate when dogs hear more atonal, neutral words (meaningless speech sounds or phrases such as “as if”).

Earlier research by Stanley Coren shows that dog brains don’t just light up when the animals hear human speech, but can actually process and sometimes comprehend that speech, with the average dog understanding about 165 spoken words.

But if human and canine brains are so similar in processing speech, does comprehension work the other way around: Do humans understand dog “speech"? Find out how well you understand dog vocalization with this quick quiz. Answers are at the bottom of the post.

Barking

1. True or False: Rapid strings of barks, with pauses every 3-4 barks signifies that the dog wants to play.

2. True or False: A very long sequence of single barks with pauses between barks means that your dog is lonely.

Growling

3. A low-volume, low-pitched growl emerging from deep in the chest represents ________________

4. A loud, high-pitched growl with teeth hidden often signifies that the dog wants ____________

Howling

5. A bark-howl (a few barks followed by a mournful yowl) means the animal:

• a) Senses the presence of another dog.
• b) Is hungry.
• c) Is alone and wants to hear from another dog.
• d) Feels guilty for being a “bad dog.”

6. Baying (very prolonged, undulating hound-like howls) come out when a canine:

• a) Is trying to impress a prospective mate.
• b) Sees another dog on TV.
• c) Signals other dogs that it has caught the scent of prey.
• d) Is in pain.

Whining and whimpering

7. True or False: Low volume whining and whimpering means the animal is in pain or frightened

8. True or False: Moans or yodels in a low pitch signify that the dog is experiencing momentary pleasure or excitement

Sighs and sneezes

9. When a dog rests, head on its paws, eyes half open and lets out a sigh it means ______________________

10. A string of brief sneezes in the presence of another dog means _______________

Answers

1. False: Rapid barks like that mean the dog is alerting to an intruder or possible danger.
2. True: confined, abandoned dogs bark like that.
3. Low, chesty growls are a warning.
4. ...to play.
5. C. is lonely and wants company.
6. C. The hunt is afoot!
7. True: Pay close attention whenever you hear these uttering.
8. True: Dogs tell you when they’re having fun.
9. Contentment and pleasure, equivalent to a cat purring.
10. The animal is being non-aggressive and wants to play.

OK, so this quiz showed that you do—or do not—understand what dogs are trying to communicate. Why should you care? Well, if you have a dog, this quiz, and much more comprehensive “dog glossary” in the attached references, will help you relate to your furry companion better. And if you don’t have a dog, but find that some pesky humans are ignoring or misunderstanding you, try switching tongues to “doggish” and—at the appropriate time—bark, howl, growl, or sneeze at them to get your point across.

No, seriously, try it sometime: I guarantee you won’t be barking up the wrong tree.