Communicating With Your Dog

Your dog understands you. Do you understand him?

 

- Anna Mouton

Dogs have studied human behaviour for millennia. They are experts in human communication. Researchers in dog cognition are scrambling to catch up. There are now groups of scientists worldwide trying to decipher dogs. This article summarises their most intriguing findings.

Nature, nurture and social skills in dogs

Most people expect their dogs to understand them. We use pointing and gazing gestures to communicate with our dogs. We are not surprised when they respond. Yet even chimpanzees, our closest relatives, have difficulty interpreting human gestures.

Scientists believe that dogs evolved these communication skills during domestication. Long association with humans was a driver of genetic change.

A classic behavioural experiment involves concealing food in a box. The researcher then indicates the hiding place by pointing at the box. Children can interpret the gesture from about 14 months of age. Dogs can too, even when a human only gazes or nods at the box. Chimpanzees, in contrast, are not able to follow our gestures to find a treat.

This is not to say that dogs are smarter than chimpanzees. Only that dogs are more like humans in their communication. The special abilities of dogs do not extend beyond social contexts. Primates outperform dogs on tasks that involve manipulating objects.

Some argue that dogs are not genetically predisposed to understand humans. Critics point out that dogs can learn social skills from living with people. This is true, but not the whole story. Young puppies and dogs with little human contact can interpret our gestures. Wolves never become as proficient, even when brought up by people.