{"id":293036,"date":"2019-01-11T18:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T16:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=293036"},"modified":"2019-01-11T14:05:27","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T12:05:27","slug":"do-cats-and-dogs-understand-us-when-we-miaow-or-bark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/293036\/do-cats-and-dogs-understand-us-when-we-miaow-or-bark\/","title":{"rendered":"Do cats and dogs understand us when we miaow or bark?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s been\u00a0a lot of research<\/a>\u00a0about communication between people and domestic animals like dogs and cats. But we don\u2019t yet know what cats and dogs think or if they understand us when we use their noises.<\/p>\n

As a veterinarian and animal behaviourist who studies different kinds of animals, my view is that we\u2019d have to be very good at mimicking miaows and barks if we would really like to be understood by our pets. Our vocal chords are different to theirs, and they can hear that we make different sounds to what they do.<\/p>\n

But we do know that\u00a0dogs can definitely distinguish<\/a>\u00a0between different people\u2019s voices. They\u2019ll know when it\u2019s (their owner) who\u2019s talking, and when it\u2019s (someone else). They\u2019re also sensitive to your tone of voice. They like high-pitched, friendly tones. And did you know that dogs can learn words?<\/p>\n

Rico, a border collie,\u00a0successfully learned<\/a>\u00a0more than 200 words representing different items. He could pick the correct item from all the items if asked to \u201cfetch\u201d whichever item. We do not think that he actually learnt the meaning of the words, but he was very good at associating different sounds with different objects.<\/p>\n

When it comes to their own \u201cvoices\u201d, studies have shown that dogs and cats use\u00a0different vocal signals<\/a>\u00a0to communicate different messages. A high-pitched, repetitive bark, for example, may mean your dog is anxious. A low-pitched bark may mean she\u2019s feeling aggressive. Cats also use certain sounds while hunting and others when relaxing.<\/p>\n

But their \u201cvoices\u201d are just one way in which dogs and cats communicate. They also use body language and tactile gestures \u2013like coming to you for a pat, or nudging your hand with their nose when they want attention.<\/p>\n

In the same way people also communicate using gestures and facial expressions. Research has shown that dogs are better than other species, like wolves, at interpreting our gestures and facial expressions.<\/p>\n

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Three very good boys<\/p><\/div>\n

Different communication forms<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have dogs, you will have noticed that they\u2019re very sensitive to people\u2019s feelings and our ways of communicating. That\u2019s because\u00a0they\u2019ve evolved<\/a>\u00a0to live in close proximity with people.<\/p>\n

Cats are not naturally social animals, but they also communicate with us and can be highly perceptive about what mood you\u2019re in and how you\u2019re feeling.<\/p>\n

All of this is important when you think about the best ways to communicate with your dogs and cats. Since visual signals are really important to them, it\u2019s likely that they consider our body language, before listening to our sounds, so they can decide what it is that we\u2019re communicating.<\/p>\n

Humans use language as our main means of communication. That\u2019s why we tend to want our pets to respond to our words. They certainly can learn to do this, as we have seen with Rico and thousands of other examples.<\/p>\n

However, in many instances, they are actually responding to our body language cues and not the verbal cues we are using.<\/p>\n

Take for example telling your dog to sit: most people say the word \u201csit\u201d, and at the same time point their finger at the dog. They think the dog sits because they are saying \u201csit\u201d \u2013 but it\u2019s actually responding to the finger pointing. If you say the word \u201csit\u201d without the hand gesture your dog will, in many cases, not sit. This proves how important body language is to dogs.<\/p>\n

I would encourage everyone who owns pets, especially dogs, to learn more about their body language so that we can better interpret what they are trying to say to us.<\/p>\n

A common perception, for example, is that when a dog\u2019s tail is wagging it is always friendly. This is only true when the wag of the tail is wide and accompanied by a relaxed body. A dog whose tail is up in the air, with only the tip wagging, is actually saying \u201cgo away\u201d and not \u201clet\u2019s play\u201d.<\/p>\n

The more time you spend learning your pets\u2019 body language and getting to know what different gestures mean, the more easily you\u2019ll be able to communicate with them \u2013 and you won\u2019t have to \u201cmiaow\u201d or bark to do that.<\/p>\n