Doc Neeson from Aussie rock band The Angels was right, when he sang “The Dogs are Talking,” with a US study showing that dogs can “talk” and are able to understand complex communication.
Dogs can purposefully express their desires and needs by using a soundboard that allows them to make two-word combinations that go beyond random behaviour or simple imitation of their owners.
The soundboard consisted of buttons with different meanings, so that when the dogs combined two different buttons, they reflected specific requests, according to the data from 152 dogs over 21 months at UC Sand Diego’s Comparative Cognition Lab.
Lead researcher Frederico Rossano, associate professor of cognitive science at UC San Diego and director of the Comparative Cognition Lab, said it was the first scientific study to analyse how dogs use soundboards.
The buttons most commonly used were related to essential needs such as “outside,” “treat,” “play,” and “potty.” Combinations like “outside” + “potty,” or “food” + “water” were used in meaningful ways, occurring more frequently than expected by chance.
“While dogs already communicate some of these needs, soundboards could allow for more precise communication,” Rossano said.
“Instead of barking or scratching at the door, a dog may be able to tell you exactly what it wants, even combining concepts like ‘outside’ and ‘park’ or ‘beach’.
“This could improve companionship and strengthen the bond between dogs and their owners.”
The researchers also compared dogs’ button presses to those of their owners and found that dogs were not simply imitating human behaviour. For instance, buttons like “I love you” were far less frequently pressed by dogs than by their people.
Rossano said future investigations would explore whether dogs could use buttons to refer to the past or future – such as a missing toy – or combine buttons creatively to communicate concepts for which they lack specific words.
“We want to know if dogs can use these soundboards to express ideas beyond their immediate needs, like absent objects, past experiences, or future events,” Rossano said.
“If they can, it would drastically change how we think about animal intelligence and communication.”
