My dog doesn’t bark but she can express herself in many other ways. She boops me when she needs my attention. Walks to the door and sits when she wants to go out. Brings me a ball then drops it repeatedly when she wants to play fetch. She puts her paw in my hand when she needs care (tick bothering her, or else). She doesn’t need words, not even barks.
The evidence speaks for itself
Submitted 11 months ago by Datas_Cat_Spot@startrek.website to [deleted]
Comments
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 11 months ago
samus12345@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I’m more of a cat person, but I always thought it was really cool how well dogs and humans can communicate from 30,000 years of living together. I remember hearing about an experiment that showed dogs could read human body language (even humans they didn’t know) better than chimps, our closest relatives.
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 11 months ago
My dog knows when my wife gets a panic attack before me. She’s not a service dog or anything. Je was not trained for it. But if she starts hyperventilating or sobbing, she will go to her and boop her and try to put weight on her to comfort her. Sometimes it’s great sometimes it’s annoying but every time she gets a compliment.
WarmSoda@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Cats can too. My cat reads my body language and understands some words.
If I say treats she bolts from wherever she was sleeping right to me. Are you hungry brings her to the food bowl. Time for bed sends her off to the bedroom waiting for me.
I think it says more for our own intelligence that we can create languages that other animals understand than anything. The chimp thing is interesting though. Another thing that always stuck with me is that throughout all the times people have tried teaching chimps sign language they’ve never once asked a human a single question.
Dogs and cats seem to ask what we mean sometimes. Maybe chimps are just really dumb.
marcos@lemmy.world 11 months ago
If you can’t understand your dog’s communication, that’s on you. Most people can.
Skellybones@lemmy.world 11 months ago
You can probably read their body language
MuffinCupcakeHeeler@lemmy.world 11 months ago
My dog is humping my leg… What is it trying to say?
kemsat@lemmy.world 11 months ago
“You’re sexy and I know it know it know it”
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Drink more Ovaltine
samus12345@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Being able to read their body language is more important.
darthsid@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Omg… so true!
Nepenthe@kbin.social 11 months ago
So do dogs not have different barks, the way cats often have different meows? I've never considered this possibility, but it feels like it should be the same. They do whine, for instance, but idk if there's a food bark.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 11 months ago
They definitely do, especially if you include borderline barking like whining and “boofing”
WarmSoda@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Boofing. That brings back some college memories
xantoxis@lemmy.one 11 months ago
Of course you understand some dog barks, you just don’t think about it because humans process language innately, we have specialized brain structures for it.
I’ll bet you can recognize “I see a threat” and 'I’m in pain" when you hear them. Maybe even distinguish them from “happy excitement”
djmarcone@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Yeah there’s excited, danger, let me outside, etc. The sneeze sound is “I’m playing with you don’t fight for real” when play fighting with other dogs.