Do Dogs Speak?

As a child, did you ever wish that your dog would speak to you? Maybe you still wish that—even as an adult. Maybe you’ve felt that life would be so much easier if your puppy could just come right out and tell you, “Pardon me, good madam. I need to visit the yard,” instead of peeing on the floor.

In late 2019 Stella the pit bull mix made headlines after a video of her “talking” using audio push-buttons went viral. Stella communicated with her owner about objects, locations and her own feelings by pressing the various buttons. When one of the buttons wasn’t working, Stella understood the situation and hit button for '“help”! #traininggoals

But what about the average dog and owner? Stella’s owner is a speech pathologist (and apparently a training nerd). Can normal people understand what their dogs are saying without a bunch of fancy training?

YES!

Most (if not all) dogs are already talking to their owners! They’re not using push-buttons to string their thoughts together, but they are definitely communicating.

What they tell us about themselves

Dogs are not silent. They speak volumes about how they feel. Their primary method of communicating (with both dogs and humans) is through body language. Although many of us recognize the overt things they say, dogs speak very subtly too.

Did you know that when your dog licks his lips he isn’t necessarily hungry? Lip licking can actually be a sign of internal conflict. And yawning doesn’t necessarily mean he’s tired; he might actually be frustrated or distressed.

Dogs say lots of little subtle things before they start screaming and yelling with growling and biting. Become a student of dog body language and a whole new world will open up for you. The more we know, the more they say.

What they tell us about the environment

Dogs trained to detect drugs or bombs are not unfamiliar, but dogs often tell us things about the environment without any special training.

One day earlier this year I was talking a friend’s dogs for an off leash romp on her large, rural property. One dog took off like bullet across the field about the same time I saw vultures and heard crows. The second dog jogged ahead to catch up and I followed behind—at a much slower pace! I didn’t find anything in my path through the field, but then I spotted the dogs along a small portion of the fence line. I walked over to where they were and sure enough, just about 10 feet on the other side of the fence was a dead animal. The vultures gave me a general idea that something was decomposing, and I suppose I would have seen them land and feast if I’d waited around long enough, but the dogs took me right to the source.

It doesn’t always have to be this dramatic. I once had a Board and Train dog out in my own backyard for kibble hunting time when I saw him doing something odd (but quiet) at the back fence. I looked closer and spied an opposum sitting on the top of the fence.

I bet you’ve experienced something like this yourself! Have you ever been walking your dog when he starts to sniff like crazy? Maybe going in circles or serpentines? When I see a dog doing that, I begin looking around on the ground to see what they're smelling and whether or not it’s something I actually want them to find and possibly ingest! The change in the type of sniffing indicates the dog has caught a scent.

These are all scent based examples, but dogs will also tell you about things they can see. Did you know your dog has more receptors in his brain for movement than you do? When I’m out with a dog, sometimes he notices something in the distance before I do. I see the change in his body language first and that’s my clue to look around and see what he’s looking at.

Dogs definitely speak! The more keenly you observe, the more your dog will say. What sorts of things does your dog tell you?