Researchers from University of California, San Diego, have just released the results of a new study that used the increasingly-popular button dog mats to scientifically test dogs’ understanding of words. Button dog mats are, yes, mats with buttons, in which a dog’s person has recorded one word for each button. The idea is that with training, the dog can communicate in the human’s language by pressing on specific buttons to “speak.” The UC San Diego scientists compared dogs’ reactions to words spoken by humans and buttons, as a way to gauge whether dogs were responding to the words themselves or to people’s behavioral cues. Turns out dogs understand words related to walking/playing/going outside, regardless of whether it was spoken by man or machine, yet food-related words did not elicit the same responses. Exercise more motivating than food? That is so totally the opposite of how things go down in my house…
This is a test: The first experiment was conducted in person, with researchers visiting 30 dogs’ homes across the country to test their responses to soundboard buttons. The voice on the buttons was that of the owners. An experimenter pressed the buttons while the owner was in another room, then watched the dog for 60 seconds. The second experiment involved “citizen science,” with 29 dog owners conducting the trials themselves at home under remote guidance. The owner would either push the same buttons or say the words out loud to the dog without pushing buttons and then observe the dog’s reaction for 60 seconds.
Dogs understood links between certain words and resulting activities: The dogs were more likely to exhibit “play-related” or “outside-related” behaviors after hearing the relevant words, whether spoken by a human or emitted by the soundboard. “This demonstrates that dogs are, at the very least, capable of learning an association between these words or buttons and their outcomes in the world,” the researchers wrote in the study. Dogs didn’t show “food-related” behaviors in response to food-related words, suggesting the dogs either weren’t hungry or didn’t expect food outside of their usual feeding times, according to the study.
Comprehension confirmed: The research suggests that dogs can grasp the meaning of specific words and respond appropriately, regardless of whether they hear them from people or whether the words are triggered by someone pressing a button on a prerecorded soundboard. The researchers said the findings show that the dogs understand the words and aren’t reacting to body-language cues from humans. “We know that dogs understand quite a few words,” said Federico Rossano, associate professor in the department of cognitive science at the University of California at San Diego. … The study shows that the dogs “are paying attention to the words and produce appropriate responses when they hear them,” Rossano said. He added that the team has two more publications under review that look at how dogs are using the buttons.
And then a horse trots into the story: The study shows that the dogs’ responses were not a “Clever Hans effect,” a term originating with an early 20th-century horse in Berlin named Hans. Hans was known for tapping numbers or letters with his hoof in answering questions. It was later revealed that the horse was picking up microscopic facial signals from his handler.
Some experts are still skeptics: “Dogs act similarly when the button says ‘play’ or ‘out’ as when their person says ‘play’ or ‘out,’ but it’s the owner’s voice on the button, so that is expected,” said Alexandra Horowitz, who heads the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College. “Dogs easily learn that my asking ‘Where’s your ball?’ or a visiting friend asking ‘Where’s your ball?’ and my voice on speakerphone asking ‘Where’s your ball?’ mean the same thing.”
I, for one, have never met a dog who didn’t know the word “walk.” Even across different humans saying it in varying ways or goosing it up in the baby talk dogs love, “walk” is always understood. There’s the instant freezing of motion, then the eye contact with the person, like the dog is saying, “Are we really doing it? Is it happening? Can I burst into exuberant joy now?” And then an exhale and they go bananas. So I can buy that there’s comprehension of certain words, regardless of who or what says them.
What I’m still hung up on is why food-related words seemed to fall flat. Because… it’s FOOD! I guess this is just another area where my dearly-departed My Girl and I were perfectly suited. I guarantee you, if these researchers had run the tests with My Girl, she would have thrown the results into chaos! None of this “she just wasn’t hungry” or didn’t expect food at “non-feeding times” nonsense. My Girl expected, wanted, and sought out food at every availability opportunity. So if you would, Prof. Rossano, I’d love for some of the next studies to examine this stark contrast in reactions.
And lastly, because I’m a bit of a researcher myself, a show of hands please, and BE HONEST: who here knew about Clever Hans before today?
photos credit: Sapphie and Bunny on Instagram
Didn’t exhibit food related behaviors in reaction? So much for Pavlov.
I just have to say the words cookie or Greenie, and my three dogs go bananas, looking for those treats. My three monsters are obsessed with food, and of course walks.
At our house, it’s one of those dried apple slices with bit of chicken jerky wrapped around it- we call them “apple treats” and our sheltie boy goes crazy.
His receptive vocabulary is astonishing. Sometimes we have to spell words like is is a pre-reading kid. He’s so funny.
At my mom’s house, the words “treat” and “park” can never be said aloud. Her dog is on constant alert for a treat or a trip to the dog park.
Yes. All dog treats are referred to as cookies in our house, and if you say it, you better be prepared to follow through. Car is another word we cannot say. At this point, we can’t even spell it.
my dogs definitely know the word cookie, breakfast & supper
they also know what “the good kind” means as well (my foxhound would not come in the house for anything but a 3 dog bakery cookie, which we refer to as “the good kind”)
they will respond to “cucumber” and “zucchini” (they love veggies, cakes & zukes being their favorites).
I haven’t heard of Clever Hans, despite one of my BFFs being a vet for large animals, working especially with horses. Looks like I need to ask her about it.
That said, of course our Goldie reacts to food-related cues. If he hears the fridge being opened (I don’t think it makes a sound), he comes running, even if he’s in the room farthest away from the kitchen. When someone asks him if he wants anything too, he’s the first in the kitchen, expectantly moving his bowl closer to where the snacks might come from.
These psychologists must have done it wrong.
That’s why I’m wondering if food-motivated reactions are based more on smells or other sound/sight cues, rather than vocabulary from dogs. Like, of course dogs are food motivated, so what is going on with this study?! It must be missing something.
But my dog growing up, who loved cheese more than anything, could absolutely tell when we opened the drawer in the fridge that we kept cheese in and would go absolutely bananas with excitement (it was identical to the fruit/veg drawer, and as far as I could tell sounded exactly the same, but she only reacted when it was the drawer that held the cheese. Did not care at all when we opened the fruit/veg crisper.)
My golden does the same thing! She knows the sound of the cheese drawer and is at your feet in seconds. Any other drawer and she won’t even lift her head.
When I would take the kids to school in the morning, the last thing I would say would be “shoes” to tell everyone it was time to get ready to leave. The dog always came with us.
The dog still answers to “shoes” as an invite to go somewhere. If he’s not going we can’t say that word at all, we say “feet covers”.
And I never heard of the clever horse before this
Yes! I used to have to change up the word for walk if I was talking about doing it in the future or theoretically, because if my dog heard walk she would lose her mind. One of the words we chose was promenade, which we still use even though our little sweetheart has passed on
Our Very Good Boy needs his ‘evening constitutional’.
He’s also VERY food-motivated. Even the treat jar says “T-R-E-A-T-S”.
My corgi absolutely knows the words “cookie” and “treat” – she is VERY food motivated!!!
How I wish I could post a video of our family yorkie’s face tilting and perking up as soon as she hears “walk? outside?” and the sound of keys dangling <3
Treat, walk, squirrel, and cat are my (mostly) Australian heeler’s top four vocabulary words.
I knew about Clever Hans! I was a psych major though.
And then a horse trots into the comments…. 🐎. @Kismet: loved that phrase!
[Raises hand] I knew of Clever Hans! I can’t remember where I first heard the story but it’s definitely included on almost every weird history podcast I’ve listened to.
I read about Clever Hans decades ago, but I’m also very old.
I think I read about Clever Hans in the same news article where I learned about Pavlov’s dogs.
My puppies practically turn inside out when magical words are spoken: walk, bone, outside, breakfast, and dinner are happy words of power around here. They also know the slink of shame when I say “Who did this? This is no!”
This tracks for my dog, Archie. He’s the least food motivated dog I’ve ever met. We have to beg, cajole, sing silly songs, and change up his food all the time to get him to eat. Even with all of that some days just aren’t food days for him. But walks, couch cuddle time, certain toys and activities, make him wild with joy.
Imho the only people who will be surprised by this are those who have never been lucky enough to love a dog. 🙂
Yep.
My parent’s dog was so smart they had to start spelling words around her. Then she caught on to that too. She knew peoples’ names and if they’re the ones who gave her treats or if they’re the ones who liked to play with her. She was amazing.
I’m not even a little surprised because I have had some smart doggos. And yes to Clever Hans.
Our beautiful goofball also knows words such as “rice” (she loves rice), “bed” (she loves our … excuse me, her bed, which she deigns to share with us) and “rain” (which she loathes, so if it’s raining out and she needs a walk, we use the word “precipitation” so she will cooperate).
That’s interesting. I wonder how they made sure the dogs weren’t responding to body language or unintended hand signals? Especially with play words!
One of my dogs responds to either words or hand signals. My other dog, you have to give her a hand signal or combine a word with body language.
The ability of your dog to understand language is directly proportional to whether or not you are holding a fresh rotisserie chicken in your hands.
If that rotisserie chicken is super fresh, they can actually no only understand english, they can speak it