A short time ago, we wrote about how amazing dogs’ noses are, but we’re constantly learning more about dogs. Recent research findings about dogs are fascinating. A lot of what’s being learned – or we should say being confirmed – about dogs might feel like a big DUH. For those of us who have lived with dogs over our lives, reading studies like these can just be like, “yeah? And?”
But research is important. The more we can confirm about dogs and how they perceive their lives and the world around them, the better we can take care of them.
Let’s take a glance at recent research findings about dogs:
Dogs and understanding nouns
There’s always that exceptional dog that learns hundreds and hundreds of words. We’ve seen the videos. But even your average dog, it seems, understands nouns better than we’ve ever thought.
First, they have the capacity to learn more words than most assume. Again, this impacts how we raise them and live with them, right? Thinking about this in the context of their long term health is important. They need more mental stimulation than a lot of owners give them.
Second, there is some new evidence that suggests they even are making mental pictures of the nouns they know. They aren’t just responding to your tone or inflection, as thought before.
You can read more about this research here.
Dogs can differentiate languages
Say you move from an English speaking country to a French speaking country. Will your dog be able to make the language change with you? According to some recent research findings about dogs, yes, yes, they can. Using functional MRIs researchers tested dogs’ understanding by even throwing in some gibberish that sounded like the new languages and they could differentiate between the gibberish and the new foreign language. ((whoa))
This research was extra exciting, because it was the first time scientists proved that a nonhuman brain could distinguish different languages.
Dogs cry
Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But if you think your dog looks a bit teary eyed after you’ve been gone and then come home, well, you’re probably right. We now know that they do tear up. It’s all related to the oxytocin release in their brains when they see you. Just like humans. ((smile))
The benefit of this, of course, is that it makes us humans take even better care of them. (See? Your dog has evolved to train you a bit.)
Dogs sync more with kids than adults
This doesn’t seem surprising. If there are both children and adults in a dogs’ daily environment, they will sync their habits, routines, and behaviors more with the children. Why is this important to know? It’s the groundwork for understanding how dogs could help children more in terms of things like behavioral and emotional issues.
A bit about cats
For those of you out there who have both dogs and cats in your homes, we have a little something.
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times if you’ve heard it once: that cats just don’t bond the same way that dogs do. We now know this is untrue. And you can read more about that here. Cats actually bond to humans on par with dogs and babies.