A recent study published in Animal Cognition has revealed that dogs can understand human intentions and apologies, even when they are accidentally hurt. Researchers discovered that using a baby voice, known as 'dog-directed speech' (DDS), can calm a dog after an unfortunate incident like stepping on their paw.
The study involved 37 dogs whose owners volunteered them for the experiment. Some dogs were spoken to in a regular tone of voice, while others were addressed with DDS. The results showed that dogs addressed with DDS seemed to understand their owners better and were more attentive.
The researchers concluded that DDS, which combines specific speech patterns and relevant words, improves dogs' attention and strengthens the bond between humans and their pets. This suggests that dogs can recognize and interpret human emotions, even when those emotions are directed towards them.
In another study published by The Royal Society, researchers found that dogs can understand human intentions through emotional cues. They believe that dogs can recognize that their owners did not mean to cause them harm and appear to forgive them.
The study used a cross-modal preferential looking paradigm, presenting dogs with human or dog faces displaying different emotions (happy/playful versus angry/aggressive) paired with corresponding vocalizations. The results showed that dogs looked longer at the face whose expression matched the valence of the vocalization, demonstrating their ability to integrate visual and auditory emotional information.
These findings highlight the remarkable cognitive abilities of dogs and their capacity for social understanding. They also provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between humans and their canine companions.