Are Dogs Similar to Infants?
Published February 1, 2012
The study was done by researchers presenting two videos to the dogs they were testing. Featured in the first one, a woman looking straight at the camera says, "Hi, dog", then turns her head to look at a container. The dog responds by following her eyes. In the second video, she does not directly gaze at the camera. Instead, she looks down, while repeating the same phrase, when she is not gazing at the camera, this time, the dog does not follow her eyes.
One of the study’s authors, Adam Miklosi, a behavioral biologist at the Budapest Eotvos Lorand University, interpreted the dogs’ behavior as evidence that the dogs were able to understand the slight differences in the woman's behavior presented in the two situations, proving dogs are capable of reading human behavior and are aware when they are addressed. It is presumed that the many years of domestication have given dogs this ability.
Additional studies show the similarity between canine behavior and infant behavior in their response to adult’s intent.
Commenting further, Dr. Miklosi said, "Dogs are functionally similar to a 6-month-old, to a 1-year old. Though how the dog mind is dealing with the problem, we don't really know, and it's probably different from an infant's."
The results of the study may point in the direction that explains why the majority of Americans think of their dogs as family members. Since dog people often address their canines using baby –talk, perhaps on some level, these owners were already aware of what the Hungarian researchers discovered.
Without the necessity for any further research, however, the one thing to which we can attest is simply how crazy the majority of Americans are about their dogs.
A recent survey conducted by IrishDogs i.e. showed that over 50 percent of dog owners are happy to refer to themselves as “mommy” or “daddy” in reference to their dog, with a third of dog owners referring to their pets as their “son “or “daughter”. On average, dog owners display seven photos of their pet(s) in their home or office, with almost 25 percent keeping a specific photo album devoted exclusively to their dog.
In light of these overwhelming statistics, coupled with the scientific proof that dogs really do comprehend human language, this writer feels it’s time for non-dog people to stop pooh-poohing what dog lovers know to be true.
What do you think? Share with a comment.
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
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Comments (7)
hear about the agnostic dyslexic that was up all night wondering of there really was a dog ?
My belief is that our dogs think of us as extremely large, funny looking canines. They use the same body language with us that they use with other members of their species. And while we may not realize it, our body language and tones of speech are easily interpreted by our canine companions. It is not surprising that dogs will follow human eye movements because eye contact is very important to a dog. Eye contact can show submission, aggression, fear, worry, anxiety, happiness, contentment, etc. And eye contact for a dog is oftentimes more telling than physical movements. I firmly believe that most dog bite or "aggression" incidents are simply due to a lack of our understanding of canine body language since we as humans rely more on our verbal skill. Thanks for this very interesting article.
Dogs are very intuitive. When I was a kid and headed out to play my grandfather would tell his Newfoundland to "Watch " over me. That dog knew that meant that NO ONE himself was allowed near me. She would try to herd me away from what she perceived as danger. She was like a big sister. Many times I had seen my German Shepherd, Sandy, stare into peoples faces and react to what they said. My step grandmother once told us that she liked my uncle's dog better because she was bigger and prettier. Sandy watched her as she talked and then leered back her lips in a nice snarl. She understood. I have always been told that an animal is only as smart as their people let them be. I know that the dogs next door are dumb as a rock because they never learned anything and run like a wild pack. I would say dogs are very intelligent if you give them the time to be.
As the only human child in my family, I grew up with my dogsister who was a wonderful listener and companion and even comforted me when I was sad. In adulthood, we have always talked to our nine dogs and granddogs we've had over the years. They absolutely understand us and even 'talk' to us with specific vocalizations and body language. They display a range of emotions and differentiate our moods, reacting accordingly. They really are furpersons.
This hits so close to home for me. Since we have seven dogs, we always communicate with them. There are many things we know they know what we are talking about, and they respond. Believe it or not, I have a black lab that can say a few human words as well as any human, and better than people who speak other languages. Don't believe me? It is the truth.