Based on the fact that you most definitely can, after all, teach an old dog new tricks to how dogs can understand our words, here is the first portion of our two-part series on cool things that science has told us about our dogs.
1. Your pet dog definitely understands what you’re saying more than you actually think they do.
Recent research has discovered that dogs actually respond to not only the tone which we may use to speak, but they also comprehend several of the actual words we are saying. Scientists used scans of brains from 13 different dogs and they recorded their reactions to the voice of their owner. The dogs actually heard meaningless and meaningful words (such as ‘good boy’). When studied, the research concluded that dogs are able to process the meaningful words using the left part of their brain, which is just like us humans, yet they did not use the same thing when it comes to meaningless words.
2. A study has shown that dogs actually have memories that are episodic.
A recent study included 17 dogs. The study discovered that the animals were capable of remembering and imitating their owner’s actions for an hour at most afterward. The pets were taught to imitate how their owners did some actions with the tactic where they would follow what their owners did. The results showed that dogs could actually recall the actions of their owners when requested, unexpectedly, to do the actions asked of them even if it was at hour at least later.
3. Just like with humans, dogs can become gray because of stress.
One particular study proved that stress can be the reason why dogs become gray earlier. The study discovered that those dogs who dealt with anxiety had high chances of exhibiting signs of greying prematurely than those who were more relaxed. The study involved 400 dogs, from the ages of 1-4 years old, and the researchers concluded that their fear of unfamiliar people and noises were significant factors of potential early greying.
4. After some training, playing can help improve the memory of a dog.
Dogs who actually engage in play directly after learning a new command or trick seem to have an enhanced memory, according to a recent study. In this study, the dogs were divided into two different groups; those who were able to spend time playing right after learning and those dogs who rested afterward. The following day, when the pets were given a test on the very same task, those who had played afterward did a lot better better when it came to re-learning what they were taught as compared to the dogs in the group who had rested.
5. Praises given vocally means the same to dogs as like when they are given food as a reward.
Another recent study has discovered that praises given vocally is as meaningful to dogs as rewarding them with food, if not even more. The study observed dogs who were grouped into fifteen each were taught to sit inside MRI machines. They had to do this for three sessions that lasted for ten minutes each. Following the first 10-minute session, the pets received a hot dog. The second time, verbal praise was given. The third session, nothing followed. Out of 15 dogs, 13 of them had their brains light up just like when they were given verbal praise they’d been showered with.
