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Dogs DO NOT understand language

Bodhisattva said:
I work for the government...



Sounds are not what words... and they simply respond to sounds... they don't know what they mean.
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Dogs do know what certain sounds (words) mean. Mention 'cookie' to my dogs and they expect to be given a dog biscuit.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Dogs do know what certain sounds (words) mean. Mention 'cookie' to my dogs and they expect to be given a dog biscuit.
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As with a developing child, we have taken to spelling some words to keep the reactions to a minimum.....
 
Rexedgar said:
As with a developing child, we have taken to spelling some words to keep the reactions to a minimum.....
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They do not know that 'biscuit' or 'treat' are synonyms but they do know 'cookie' for sure.
 
RileyCoyote said:
Of course dogs understand language, don't be silly. I have also seen my dog use reason on occassion. Dogs are much better than people. Too bad we can't trade dogs for liberals.
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Use reason? LOL
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Dogs do know what certain sounds (words) mean. Mention 'cookie' to my dogs and they expect to be given a dog biscuit.
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They don't know what it means... a stimulus (the word cookie) triggers a response (expectation of a treat)
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
Meaningless distinction

A dog can be taught to relate to many different sounds. The specific ones do not matter as long as they are consistent. If the dog was taught the sound of saying bleach means to sit, or pound meant going outside for a walk, when the dog hears those sound it will understand what they sounds mean and potentially react accordingly.

I doubt anyone was expecting that we could read a newspaper to a dog and have the dog understand the words, or what was written. But it is clear that dogs can understand what certain words mean, and what is an expected response.
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Extremely meaningful distinction, actually. Dogs do not understand what words mean... yet we can communicate with them.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Extremely meaningful distinction, actually. Dogs do not understand what words mean... yet we can communicate with them.
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Wrong. I can tell my dog to go get his frisbee and get in the truck, and he will find the disk, no matter where it is, jump the fence, and leap into the open window into the passenger's seat. If someone else is coming, I tell him "get in the back" and he gets in the back.
I can tell him to go find any of my three grandchildren, BY NAME, and he will find the SPECIFIC BOY I named.

These are a few of MYRIAD examples. Please explain how that is NOT understanding what the words mean.


The "scientist" who reached this conclusion needs to go to a pig or sheep farm , and watch a BORDER COLLIE , or Australian Shepherd in action....and how they follow COMPPLEX SPPECIFIC COMMANDS.
 
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Grokmaster said:
Wrong. I can tell my dog to go get his frisbee and get in the truck, and he will find the disk, no matter where it is, jump the fence, and leap into the open window into the passenger's seat. If someone else is coming, I tell him "get in the back" and he gets in the back.
I can tell him to go find any of my three grandchildren, BY NAME, and he will find the SPECIFIC BOY I named.

These are a few of MYRIAD examples. Please explain how that is NOT understanding what the words mean.


The "scientist" who reached this conclusion needs to go to a pig or sheep farm , and watch a BORDER COLLIE , or Australian Shepherd in action....and how they follow COMPPLEX SPPECIFIC COMMANDS.
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Exactly... they are commands. A sound is heard and they know what they are to do as a result. The dog does not know what the word actually means... just that they are to do what was commanded. Ask your dog to get in the car in a half an hour and see what it does... what dogs do is respond... not understand.
 
calamity said:
Dogs rely on much more than just words. Because the dogs go nuts whenever the wife and I talk about taking them for a walk, we've tried to change-up our discussion, using code words and such. It never works. They pick up on our "tells": how we look at each other, certain movements, etc.; then they go nuts.
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Same in our house. We tried spelling W A L K and now I say W and the dogs are up and running in circles.
 
Bodhisattva said:
I have all the Far Side Gallaery's.... there are a lot with dogs but another great one is when the dog is getting a meal and it says:

"Oh Boy! Dog food again!"
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Another of faves is the paramecium who tells her girlfriend, "Well, Nancy, if he's saying that, he's just pulling your flagellum!"

And the pregnant lady cockroach who's knitting booties and tells her friend that they don't care what they have so long as it's healthy and has six legs.

Bwahahaha!
 
Bodhisattva said:
Exactly... they are commands. A sound is heard and they know what they are to do as a result. The dog does not know what the word actually means... just that they are to do what was commanded. Ask your dog to get in the car in a half an hour and see what it does... what dogs do is respond... not understand.
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Sounds that have meaning are EXACTLY WHAY WORDS ARE.

I didn't teach my dog my grandson;'s names; he is smart enough to have figured out who is who, and knows the WORD that is each of their names.

Sounds recognized to mean specific things =/= words?

A DISTINCTION w/o a DIFFERENCE.
 
nota bene said:
Another of faves is the paramecium who tells her girlfriend, "Well, Nancy, if he's saying that, he's just pulling your flagellum!"

And the pregnant lady cockroach who's knitting booties and tells her friend that they don't care what they have so long as it's healthy and has six legs.

Bwahahaha!
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Far Sides are the best... I always keep one of the Galleries in the bathroom for laughter as I sit on the can...
 
Grokmaster said:
Sounds that have meaning are EXACTLY WHAY WORDS ARE.

I didn't teach my dog my grandson;'s names; he is smart enough to have figured out who is who, and knows the WORD that is each of their names.

Sounds recognized to mean specific things =/= words?

A DISTINCTION w/o a DIFFERENCE.
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Dogs react... that is the essence of STIMULUS RESPONSE...
 
Bodhisattva said:
Far Sides are the best... I always keep one of the Galleries in the bathroom for laughter as I sit on the can...
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TMI. Then again, I never thought there would be a toilet paper commercial whose tag line is "We all go--why not enjoy the go?" ;)
 
nota bene said:
TMI. Then again, I never thought there would be a toilet paper commercial whose tag line is "We all go--why not enjoy the go?" ;)
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I know a Red Sox Fan who uses Yankees toilet paper...
 
Bodhisattva said:
Dogs react... that is the essence of STIMULUS RESPONSE...
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So do people, and every other living thing.

That IGNORES the fact that dogs UNDERSTAND WHAT THE "SOUNDS" (aka;:WORDS") mean.

How does my dog know who's who? By his OWN OBSERVATION. No one taught him anyone's names.

"Sounds that MEAN SPECIFIC THINGS or ACTIONS" are WORDS.

As I said, the "scientist" needs to go watch a good ranch dog in action, and then retract his silly conclusion.
 
Grokmaster said:
So do people, and every other living thing.

That IGNORES the fact that dogs UNDERSTAND WHAT THE "SOUNDS" (aka;:WORDS") mean.

How does my dog know who's who? By his OWN OBSERVATION. No one taught him anyone's names.

"Sounds that MEAN SPECIFIC THINGS or ACTIONS" are WORDS.

As I said, the "scientist" needs to go watch a good ranch dog in action, and then retract his silly conclusion.
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By observing the reaction of others... you say "hey Timmy".... Timmy responds... dog see it... dog hears sound "Timmy" and Response is embedded.
 
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