New Research Suggests Dogs Know More About Our Language And Emotions Than You Might Think!

Humans and dogs have an amazing relationship that dates back to nearly 10,000 years ago. We are all guilty of having conversations with our dogs, but do they really understand what we say, think, and feel? New research suggests that they comprehend more than we think they do!

This video from PBS’s It’s Okay To Be Smart breaks down this research for us.

The video describes an experiment that was conducted by researchers at the University of Sussex, where they played sounds out of speakers on both sides of a dog. When dogs heard common commands lacking their emotional context, they turned their head to the right, suggesting they process verbal meaning in their left hemisphere. And when they heard the emotional sounds in the voice, but with jumbled words, they turned to the left, signifying that they process emotional sounds on the right. This proves that dogs can distinguish the meaning of words from the emotion attached.

Fun fact: dogs are the only non-primate animals that seek out eye contact with humans!

Watch the PBS video below to find out more!