Dogs actually do have a language center in their brains. They process language just the same way we do, just not as well.
They do understand our words. This is not true of all domesticated animals (horses, for example, can only manage to distinguish a relatively small number of spoken commands…but boy do they know what you’re really saying).
They don’t understand “just your tone of voice” as a lot of people think.
As of 2016 the record vocabulary for a dog demonstrating understanding of words is over 1,000.
So if you give them a way to talk back, they’re going to use it.
The development of language skills is probably a side effect of domestication and of being kept in close contact with humans. A dog that was a better hunting partner would be kept and bred and over time they developed a better understanding of language.
In other words, dogs are pretty dang smart because we need them to understand us.
‘When Harry Met Sally’ is so much more interesting than my calculus homework. It’s a struggle to focus on the trapper keeper spread open on my knees, especially when my eyes keep wandering to the large television in the center of our living room.
As usual, I’m home alone. Mom is teaching a late class at the medical school and Dad is working at the hospital. Even Lamb, who I can usually count on as a companion, is out of town at a conference.
The phone rings, making me jump. Putting my homework aside, I jump up from the couch and trot into the kitchen to answer it, my socked feet sliding a bit on the slick tile.
“Hello,” I say into the receiver.
“Claire.”
I blink in surprise at the sound of my father’s voice. “Dad… hi. What’s up?”
“I’ve got to go to Boston for an emergency surgery. They’re chartering a plane for me and I have to leave in half an hour.”
My dad is the best pediatric trauma surgeon in New England, so last minute trips out of town are pretty common for him.
“Okay. I’ll tell Mom not to expect you.”
“I actually need you to do me a favor.”
“Shoot.”
“My work bag. I left it in the study by accident. Bring it down here.”
“Sure. No problem.”
“Hurry.”
Without another word, the line disconnects. I roll my eyes as I hang up the phone with a muttered, “No need to thank me.”
I grab my father’s work bag from his study. I notice that this isn’t the bag he usually brings on out-of-town trips, but I know better than to ask why he suddenly needs it. I grab a jacket and my shoes before retrieving my car keys and slipping out the back door.
Tori