I know my two dogs can inform each other of their feelings with grawls and barks, but I was wondering if they have a language that we can’t here or something? Can a dog from America understand a dog from China or can a Bulldog understand a Terrior?
If you mean can they relay complex communication among one another then no, they can’t. For example, they won’t meet another dog and then sya the equivalent of, “Man, there’s this cute bitch down the road with long, golden hair but her owner won’t let her outside.”
However, if one dog did get close enough to the female to rub against her another dog may pickup the scent and realize there is a female in the vicinity.
Basically they convey emotions to one another and not much else. They can also manage things like, “Come here, check this out!” My dog used to convey exactly that thought to me quite clearly when her food bowl was empty (amounting to, “Come here, check this out, my food bowl is empty you moron!”).
IIRC I read somewhere that almost no information is conveyed by barking. A bark is a bark is a bark and can mean dozens of things in different contexts (fear, happiness, anxiety, etc.) but usually amounts to “Pay attention.”
I have two dogs, and they communicate with a wide range of noises. Their growls, etc. are different when one wants to play, when one doesn’t, other emotions too.
Their hunting barks are very different. I, and the other dog can tell from one bark whether the dog has found a snake, is chasing a rabbit, or treed a 'possum.
I had a most interesting thing happen to me once. Walking out of my apartment, I was approached by a very agitated mutt. He was barking, starting at me and then scampering away. He was obviously very agitated.
I turned to the left and started down the sidewalk. The dog ran around in front of me and headed me off. This time he was standing his ground. I did a 180. The dog resumed his original behavior. My monkey brain suddenly realized that the dog was trying to lead me somewhere. And lead me he did, to a sewer drain about a hundred yards away. Trapped in the sewer was a basset hound that had obviously fallen into the drain system.
I called the cops, and an officer came out and extricated the basset hound. The mutt came up to me, licked my hand, and took off after the basset, which was already on its way to find more trouble.
After that, I’ve never doubted that dogs are quite intelligent and capable of forming, and expressing, reasonably complex thoughts–if they have to. If a dog can tell a stupid monkey like me, “hey, my buddy is in trouble and I can’t help him, but YOU can,” I can only imagine what information they exchange among themselves.
English dog: woof woof
French dog: ouagh ouagh
Only telepathically.
And the dog that is home can tell when the other decides to come home from work.
If you think about the stories here more closely you still see that dogs do not have a ‘language’. All of the barking still amounts to ‘pay attention to me’. The attention the dog wants can range from ‘pet me’ to 'come here, I found another dog in a hole!"
Dogs are clearly intelligent and can communicate fairly complex things but mostly you find yourself making guesses till you hit on whatever it is the dog wants you to know. I could ask my dog, in english, if she wanted to go outside, wanted some food or wanted some water. She’d only respond (by a more alert pasture and wagging tail) to the thing she wanted. She also would do the ‘lead me to the basset hound’ thing except it was never anything that big. Just a ‘follow me, I want to show you something’…usually just a dog turd she found fascinating.
Other dog noises…
Yelp = surprise
Growl = Anger/fear
fllpphhtt = I shouldn’t have eaten that sandwich my owner left unattended
Dogs are also very adept at reading posture, muscle tension and facial expression in other dogs, which they use to communicate with one another. They also are able to read human emotion very well by using the same methods.
Dogs primary mode of communication between each other is in the form of body language. This may make it seem like they have a secret language unless you know what you’re looking at. Most people pickup on dog body speak after having one for awhile.
For instance:
Want to tell your dog you want to play? Get down on your hands and knees facing your dog then lower the front half of your body towards the ground (bend at the waist, hand and forearms lying on the ground, head low, ass in the air). Wiggle your ass a bit and take play swipes with one hand at your dog. If you’ve never done this I think you’ll be surprised at how readily and obviously your dog responds to you (unless he/she isn’t in the mood for play but they almost always are).
[hijack]
One other thing. This is a WAG on my part but I think I’ve figured one of the reasons dogs and cats presumably hate each other (yes, yes, I know they can live together fine…just playing on the stereotypical “fight like cats and dogs” thing). It goes something like this…
Dogs and cats speak opposite languages…at least in one key area to both species…their tails. Dogs wag a tail to show pleasure, happiness and the like. Cats wag their tail when they’re pissed off. A dog seeing a cat wagging its tail assumes the cat is in a good mood and wants to play so the dog approaches and gets a swat in the face or worse. The cat, of course, assumes the dog is perpetually pissed off.
Just a WAG but it sounds good! Any other miscommunications anyone can think of?
[/hijack]
What we say to dogs:
No no no! Bad dog Ginger! Stay out of the trash Ginger! Bad dog! No!
What dogs hear:
blah blah blah blah blah Ginger blah blah blah blah blah Ginger blah blah blah
couldn’t resist it…
Our dogs can certainly comunicate simple expressions to each other, like “Hey jerkwad, give me back my rawhide chew!” and “Stay away from my food dish!”
My other favourite Gary Larson comic was what dogs really say.
“Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey,” ad nauseum.
HUGS!
Sqrl
Dogs certainly have the mental capacity for complex language, if not the physical equipment. Consider that dogs learn English (or whatever language the huimans around them use) fairly easily… I’ve heard that most domestic dogs have a vocabulary of over 300 words, picked up the same way that humans do it. I’ve even heard of dogs attempting to simulate human sounds in communication, but falling short in their vocal cords… Of course, this is all subject to the interpretation of the owners.
Personally, I suspect that dogs consider us to have only a very limited language… We hardly gesture at all, and our sense of smell isn’t worth a darn-- how the heck are you supposed to tell someone something if they can’t smell what you’re saying?
I’m reminded of the Far Side comic by Gary Larson where the professor finally invents a device that will determine what dogs are saying. The scientist is show walking down the street with this devise on his head, and you can ‘see’ what all of the dogs in the neighborhood are saying.
Dog chasing cat: "Hey! Hey! Hey!
Dog chasing car Hey! Hey! Hey!
Dog running down the street: Hey! Hey! Hey!
You get the idea… that one always cracked me up!
I would actually not associate the cat wagging its tail as a sign they are pissed so much as a sign they are paying attention to something with great interest. ‘Pissed’ is hair raised, arched back, hissing, and rigid body posture.
I can’t speak for dogs, but our cat has a distinct meow for wanting someone to pay attention to her, as opposed to ‘need food’, ‘need water’, and ‘I see something outside’. With this last one the cat even seems to have a different slightly shorter and quieter meow associated with birds as opposed to other animals she spots. But her tail goes a mile a minute when she does spot something of interest outside. I hardly qualify that as “pissed” however.
Odd. I always thought the cat tail-wagging meant ‘indecisive’.
I also noticed that my dogs read tone of voice well, even if they dont understand the words. If I was to say, “No! You are a stupid, idiotic dog!” but say it in a loving manor they wag their tails and get happy but If I yell at them in a mean voice and say, "Good Girl! You are so smart! they will run away.
Also when my dogs dont understand something they cock their heads to the side.
a hijack, but i LOVE it to little bits when dogs do that head cocking thing. especially when they do it a lot and relatively fast. tee hee hee…
I’ve noticed two different tail-wags my cats do. One of them is a fluid, almost S-shaped motion, which means excitement; often, right before they pounce on something. The other one is an arhythmical, staccato, C-shaped motion, and definately means they’re pissed off at something.
Dogs can communicate complex messages. I cite the following examples:
Dog Haikus
I love my master;
Thus I perfume myself with
This long-rotten squirrel.
I lie belly-up
In the sunshine, happier than
You ever will be
Today I sniffed
Many dog asses-I celebrate
By kissing your face.
I sound the alarm!
Paperboy-come to kill us all-
Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!
I sound the alarm!
Mailman Fiend-come to kill us all-
Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!
I sound the alarm!
Meter reader-come to kill us all-
Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!
I sound the alarm!
Garbage man-come to kill us all-
Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!
I sound the alarm!
Neighbor's cat-come to kill us all!
Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!
I lift my leg and
Whiz on each bush. Hello, Spot-
Sniff this and weep
How do I love thee?
The ways are numberless as
My hairs on the rug.
My human is home!
I am so ecstatic I have
Made a puddle
I Hate my choke chain-
Look, world, they strangle me! Ack
Ack Ack Ack Ack Ack!
Sleeping here, my chin
On your foot -no greater bliss-well,
Maybe catching rats
Look in my eyes and
Deny it. No human could
Love you as much I do
The cat is not all
Bad-she fills the litter box
With Tootsie Rolls
Dig under fence-why?
Because it's there. Because it's
There. Because it's there.
I am your best friend,
Now, always, and especially
When you are eating.
You may call them fleas,
But they are far more -I call
Them a vocation
My owners' mood is
Romantic-I lie near their
Feet. I fart a big one.
- anonymous, via email
And one more, since we are now talking about cats as well:
TC is sitting in a biology class,and the teacher says
that an interesting phenomenon of nature is that only humans
stutter, no other animal in the world does this.
My hand shoots up. “Not correct, Miss!” he says.
“Please explain, TC,” replies the teacher.
“Well, Miss, the other day I was playing with my cat on the
verandah. The neighbours’ Great Dane came around the corner, and my cat went “ffffffffff! ffffffffffff! ffffffffff!”, and before he could say “FUCK OFF!”, the dog ate him!”