All I know is that I love my cat and she loves me unconditionally and will not leave my side when I am in the house. Thats good enough for me!
Do You Think That Animals Truly Understand Human Language?
by minimus 35 Replies latest jw friends
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minimus
Animals let you know what they want.
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losingit
My dogs come up to me whenever they want something. I then ask-- are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Do you want to go outside? If they cry / whine at one of those questions I know which one they want.
They also know Go, Stay, Up, Go Play, Get Down, Come Here, and Stop. Go Play is interesting- - they wrestle with each other and chase each other with that command. I didn't even really teach or train them any of these commands. They kinda developed on their own.
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minimus
I do think some animals or breeds are "smarter" than others.
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hamsterbait
London ZOO(??) I read in the paper had got some primates from a French zoo.
They didnt understand the english for "food" and other instructions. Then one of the keepers tried talking to them in french. Then they knew what he was talking about.
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Apognophos
Cats are a bit like ESL speakers who pretend they can't speak English. They don't want the responsibility that would come with acknowledging that they know what you're saying so they pretend ignorance. Sometimes they're in a more friendly mood and they let on that they understand you. They definitely can learn a few words. It's not just tone of voice that they're reading. One of my cats always knew when we were talking about him. When we said his name casually in a conversation his ears would perk up. I think they're more focused on body language than verbal language, though.
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Deputy Dog
Min
As a dog trainer the answer is yes and no. It depends on what you mean by “Truly Understand” and what animals you are talking about.
I’ve seen dogs with the ability to react to words printed on flash cards, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it reading or understanding the actual words. I credit it to both a very smart dog and a very good trainer.