Dogs may be able to tell difference between speech patterns, study finds

[littlemissmartypants]

Dogs react differently to speech and non-speech when listening to human voices, say researchers

Nicola Davis Science correspondent
@NicolaKSDavis
Thu 6 Jan 2022 05.30 EST

Dogs may appear to have selective hearing when it comes to commands but research suggests they are paying attention to human chit-chat.

Researchers – who arranged for headphone-wearing dogs to listen to excerpts from the novella The Little Prince – revealed the brains of our canine companions can tell the difference between speech and non-speech when listening to human voices, and show different responses to speech in an unfamiliar language.

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“Our capacities to process speech and languages are not necessarily unique in all the ways we like to think they are,” said Dr Attila Andics, senior author of the study at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary.

The research involved 18 dogs of various ages and breeds that were trained to lie in an MRI scanner without restraint or sedation, but with headphones on. They were then played recordings either of humans reading excerpts from The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry or those same recordings cut up into small pieces and put back together in a different order so it sounded unnatural.

The results, published in the journal NeuroImage, reveal the dogs’ brains showed a different activity pattern in the primary auditory cortex for speech compared with non-speech, with the findings similar regardless of whether the language used – Hungarian or Spanish – was familiar. Curiously, the longer the dog’s head was, the better their brain could distinguish speech from non-speech.

Snip...

More at the link:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/06/dogs-may-be-able-to-tell-difference-between-speech-patterns-study-finds

❤

[elias7]

1. While interesting, I'd file this in the "no shit, Sherlock" category

I would think most dog owners will tell you this. Our dogs have always followed human cues and human language really closely.

[mdelaguna]

2. Exactly.

[littlemissmartypants]

4. Though many of us know this intrinsically, it's nice to have the science to back us up. ❤

[twodogsbarking]

3. Dogs know what you are going to do before you know.

Just get a dog, you don't need a scientist.

[slightlv]

5. ok... I eat this stuff up like crazy cos I need help!

Straight off... I'm a crazy cat lady. A veritable cat whisperer. Need a cat out of tree? A feral to trust someone? An injured cat to come to someone for help? No problem. I can even get 'em to do things like play peek a boo and hide and seek.

I've also had dogs. A German Shepard and a setter mix with an ex; and a Leonberger and a Border Collie over the last 20 years. The Leonberger actually taught himself how to be my helper dog. He was amazing. Thing is, I never had any issues training these dogs to do anything -- walking on a leash with me, housetraining, etc. The worst the Border Collie had it was trying to herd the cats, and I think he actually liked it -- it was like "work" to him!

So, 2 years ago on Xmas day, my Leonberger died. To say I was heartbroken doesn't begin to touch on what I felt. Porter was more than a soul mate. He helped me walk; he helped me up if I was on the floor; he wouldn't let anyone he didn't know within 3 feet of me unless I said "ok." We had just lost Einstein, my hubby's border collie the Nov prior, so this really hit us both hard. But for me, it was devastating. Don't get me wrong... I adore my cats and wouldn't trade the comfort the give me for anything. But other than my Maine Coon, they're not quite into the "Let's help Mom walk" business...

So, we rescued a dog from the pound in our old neighborhood. We didn't know it at the time, but she was still more or less a puppy, albeit a very large one. I thought she was probably 3-4 yrs old, younger than what we wanted, but we thought she would settle in with us and she was okay with cats. I set out to work with her. The first week... the first walk up the block... she took off and broke my leg. Since then, I'm wondering if she's not the dumbest dog in the world. I can't even seem to teach her to play fetch, tug of war, or any to be any kind of "dog." I spent $5k for a fence so she could have free run of the entire yard, we love on her like crazy, praise her when she does well; spare the "bad dog" soliloquies in depth when she's not so good, but nothing seems to "get thru" to her. WHAT is the magic? HELP! I am really at my wits end.

I didn't know it until I got her full paperwork a week later, but this poor dog had been adopted every month for 3 months before we adopted her. Each month, she was brought back for one reason or another. The main reason is she's too large to be this stupid and uncontrollable. But she is such a sweetheart! We really want to make it work with her. I wanted to take her to lessons here in town, but was told they were basically worthless for the money spent. We've had her since March last year, and not much has changed; except now I'm afraid to take her for a walk by myself. I need some deep help. I need a little more help than "sit."

[Midnight Writer]

6. "Lessons here in town" sounds like your best bet.