Research carried out by Dalhousie University (Canada) discovered something that many dog owners already know: this particular animal can respond to an average of 89 sounds. In other words, if you told your pet to “sit” or “stay,” chances are he actually understood the command.The research concluded by studying how 165 dogs interacted with their respective owners, with the Border Collies and German Shepherd breeds performing best.
The Border Collie is one of the dogs that understands commands well (Image: Anna Averianova/Shutterstock) The study authors, Sophie Jack and Catherine Reeve, researched with dogs, listed 172 English words commonly spoken by their pets' parents; Furthermore, the tutors could have added more words throughout the research; The conclusion of the study was that the dogs, above all, understood the commands “sit”, “stay”, “stop” and “no”; According to the research, “for each word or phrase, participants were asked to indicate that they believed their dog responded with a specific and consistent behavior” that corresponded to saying; Thus, the authors understood that dogs can respond from 15 to 215 words, a number that varies with age, training level and breed; Older and untrained people, for example, respond to fewer commands. In the end, the average number of words understood by the dogs was 89. Of the 172 words in the inventory, about half were commands. The response performance of ten of these dogs was 90% or better, regardless of breed, age and training level. According to the researchers, this is “incomparable” compared to other animals.
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5 apps to help pet owners How to use Uber Pet to transport your pet? Although intelligent dogs may have smaller brains, studies suggest that due to their evolutionary history and close relationship with humans, domestic dogs have learned to respond to human verbal and nonverbal cues to a degree unmatched by other species. Your ability to respond to communicative signals is fundamental to the diverse professional and family roles we play in our lives.
The authors of the research, in an article
German shepherds also understand the mentioned words well (Image: Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock) Below, check out the ranking with the ten words most understood by dogs:
the dog's name; sit down; come; good girl/good guy; Go down; to stay; Wait; No; OK. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science.