# Why do dogs and cats understand the concept of language if they can’t speak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998 "2023-06-23T15:28:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/61 "2023-06-25T00:51:13Z")
My dog barks one way when she wants to go out, another when someone is at the door, a third when there’s a chipmunk in the space between the cinderblocks on the porch. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/62 "2023-06-25T01:13:25Z")
We have had border collies our entire marriage, and are now on our fourth and fifth ones. We also had an African Grey Parrot, but had to rehome him because he tormented the dog by calling him, so the dog started tormenting him. Border Collies can not only tell where you are pointing, but they can tell what direction you are looking at by watching your eyes. They are so awesome at learning words that we have to spell them out if we don’t want the dog to trigger on them. Then the dog learns that spelling out the word is the same thing, so we have to change words. So we used to say, "We need to take the dogs out ", and on that the dogs would trigger. So then it was “We need to take the dogs O-U-T”. Then that stopped working, so we’d change to something else. The dogs know that suppertime is around five. They also know that my wife texts me when supper is almost ready, so I come up and feed the dogs. Now they trigger on my cellphone alert going off, but ONLY at the right time. It can go off all day long and they don’t care. So they understand words in context, to some degree. And on the flipside, if I go into the room where the dog food is and they get excited, I just say, “It’s not that time yet”, and they calm down and go about their day. I don’t think they understand the sentence, but they understand that when I say a few blah blahs in a certain tone while in the dog room, it means no food yet. The key is consistency. For example, if I’m eating something and the dog is begging, if it’s not something I’ll let him have, I’ll say “Not for dogs.” Thry then stop begging. The key is absolute consistency. We have NEVER given our dog a treat after saying, “Not for Dogs”. If we gave them one even once, they might keep begging forever. There is a Border Collie who can fetch over 1000 toys by name. It’s not a ‘Clever Hans’ trick, because the owner will turn his back and can’t see what the dog is doing. The owner will just say, “Fetch your dinosaur!” or any one of all the other toys, and the dog runs out of sight of the owner, digs through the pile, and brings the correct toy back. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/63 "2023-06-25T04:19:30Z")
I’ve had arguments with my dog. She is used to getting a “treat” (a dental chew to clean teeth) before going to bed. She loves them and gets insistent about it. One night it was late and I started to get ready to go to bed, I was putting away dirty dishes and throwing away trash as I often do at the end of the day. She got excited and did this “spin in place” thing she does when she’s excited for something. I told her no, you have to wait. She then ran over to where I keep her treats and stood on her hind legs to sniff at it, I told her I know what you want but not yet. She then ran to her bed (a cage with a blanket, she feels safe in there) and ran back out, to tell me it’s time for bed so she gets her treat. I was getting frustrated with her and growled that she doesn’t get one yet, let me finish first. She huffed loudly through her nose, which is her way of telling you she’s mad, then went and laid down to pout. I finished up, called her over for her treat, and she got super excited and spun around a bunch of times before I gave it to her. It was weird because I’m arguing with a dog who is presenting counter arguments to me and trying to persuade me into giving a treat. It was a lot more sophisticated than I expect from a dog, She’s pretty smart though. I also don’t know the extent of her vocabulary. I’ll notice her respond to certain words I didn’t know that she knew, like “leash” or “grandma”. I don’t teach her, she picks things up over time. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/64 "2023-06-25T04:22:10Z")
We also need to remember that there are a lot of things transpiring in the mind of our kitty cats and puppy dogs (etc) that WE aren’t necessarily very well geared to understand. I find myself thinking this a lot when I’m around pet owners who are oh so insistent that they completely understand what their pets are thinking and feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/65 "2023-06-25T04:47:19Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > We also need to remember that there are a lot of things transpiring in the mind of our kitty cats and puppy dogs (etc) that WE aren’t necessarily very well geared to understand. Absolutely, I often can interpret what my dog is trying to say, but I’d say more often I have no clue. She has senses I don’t have and just doesn’t think like a person. I think she’s surprisingly good at communicating, generally with body language, but it’s relative. Most of the time I have no idea what she’s saying and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/66 "2023-06-25T05:08:46Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, when they tell the dog, “Don’t sit”, they understand both words, but don’t know what is being asked of them. They don’t understand how a negative works, so the only part of the command it understands is “sit”. A friend who bred and trained dogs reminded me once, when I tried telling her dog “Sit Down”, that “Sit” and “Down” were two separate commands - so I’d confused the dog. There are a lot of people claiming that their dogs can put together sentences, including newer concepts, using push buttons. > **[Can dogs talk by pressing buttons? What science says about the debate.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/03/21/dog-talking-buttons-communication-research/)** > > A new study has collected thousands of reports from the owners of "button" dogs, who believe their pets talk to them by tapping buttons with prerecorded words. To the best of my knowledge, the only concepts any dog we ever owned would have learned were “feed me”, “out”, and “there’s another dog somewhere within a mile WOOF WOOF WOOF”. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/67 "2023-06-25T05:10:29Z")
While my cat can’t speak in our language, I definitely understand her, and I hope she understands me. Language is a lot more than just words, even between people. The ducks that live in the creek I live by definitely “talk” to each other in the evenings. I have no idea what they’re saying, but they’re sure communicating in some way. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/68 "2023-06-25T05:11:05Z")
This has been mentioned above, but if we are to talk about understanding language, or the concept of language, vocabulary is not nearly enough: one needs to grasp higher, as well as lower, structural units and their grammar including phonemata, morphemes, etc. as well as syntax. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/69 "2023-06-25T10:45:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@enipla](#): > > > > My dog sucks at coding though. No thumbs. > > That’s why you should always hire raccoons to run your IT department. Or at least a possum wearing a burglar mask. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/70 "2023-06-25T12:15:18Z")
I think it is worth noting that dogs and cats are mammals and share a lot of genetic code with humans. Clearly they are different creatures but it should not be surprising that we are connected on some level…including communication. For example: I think all mammals can identify basic emotional responses such as fear or anger or happiness in all other mammals. No one taught me a snarling dog or hissing cat is angry or fearful and aggressive…I instinctively understand it. That is communication. Is it language? Maybe not but it is the beginning of that. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998/71 "2023-06-25T13:02:19Z")
I think this whole thread is just a conflation of language and communication. Communication is very broad. If I ring a bell every time I am about to feed my pet, then I’m communicating something; something easily learned by many animals. Cats and dogs make sounds and do physical gestures that communicate things to other cats and dogs (and to other animals). Humans just belong to the set of “other animals” in this regard. And humans can communicate things to cats and dogs. By using the same sound to get the pet’s attention (what we call their name), they can learn that that sound usually means that they are now the focus of the human’s attention. _Language_ though, is usually considered to be more than that; to include things like grammar. As far as I know, that is beyond cats and dogs. It wouldn’t surprise me if there are a couple of examples of exceptional dogs being intensively trained, and picking up some rudimentary form of grammar. But, for the most part, a typical dog in typical domestic conditions does not have language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-and-cats-understand-the-concept-of-language-if-they-can-t-speak/985998.md?page=3)