According to researchers in Hungary, dogs understand when they are spoken to and, like humans, are capable of associating a word with an object.
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Yes, according to some owners. And that's what researchers think too.
A recent study carried out in Hungary revealed that, apart from commands, man's best friend can understand words representing objects.
In their study, researchers used electrodes to analyse what was going on in their brains.
"We thought that if the dogs really understood the meaning of the word, the name of the object, they would expect to see that object. And that if the owner showed them another object, there would be a surprise reaction in the brain. And that's exactly what we found," explains Marianna Boros, a researcher in the Department of Ethology at Loránd Eötvös University.
Researchers noticed a different pattern in the dogs' brains when the right word is not associated with the right object. This is exactly what happens in the brains of humans.
"When we try to identify certain abilities in dogs or understand how the brain processes certain types of stimuli, we also learn at the same time about what they have in common with humans and what is specific to humans", continues Marianna Boros.
The results of this study show that in dogs, these abilities seem to be innate and do not require any particular training or talent.
Watch the full report in the video above.