My Pet World: Dogs may not have a specific language, but they do know how to communicate
Q: Do dogs actually speak a language? It does seem my dog uses different types of barks, and other sounds to communicate with me? -- Las Vegas, NV
A: You're certainly right about dogs using various means to communicate with people, with barking being the most noteworthy to attract our attention. Ádám Miklósi, founder of the Family Dog Research Project in Budapest, Hungary at Eötvös Loránd University Department of Ethology says, "I think we have to be very careful to point out that dogs are not saying anything, they're vocalizing, a bark, a growl, whatever it is. Dogs use various vocal signals for communicating with one another. Peter (Pongrácz) showed in a nice experiment that dogs are able to decode messages in the barking of other dogs and they respond differently to aggressive dogs' bark and barks emitted by a lonely dog, for example."
Pongrácz, an ethologist and researcher at the University adds, "We found that dogs are capable of distinguishing between different barks from other dogs." His research confirms that even people who don't have dogs generally understand the nature of what dogs are saying. Is it an anxious dog or a dog that is angry? Some even suggest we're born understanding what dogs are trying to say. Pongrácz says that's taking it too far, as young children seem not to understand.
But are various dog vocalizations actually a language? While these researchers in Hungary fall short of going that far, other researchers now maintain it is a language. In part, researchers have different views because there are varying definitions of what a language is.
All agree, when dogs want our attention, they know how to get it.
The Family Dog Project is offering a free live streaming broadcast on this topic and others on Nov. 15, starting at 9:15 a.m. ET. Learn more at http://familydogproject.elte.hu/wordpress/?p=502.
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Q: I just adopted a 3-year-old Yorkie. I am very concerned about what I feed him. I may be feeding him wrong. It's all very confusing. Is there good commercial food out there? I was using Merrick, the foster wanted me to use that, but it is too expensive for me, so I began to home cook the food. I am a senior. Please help. -- G.F., Cyberspace
A: Congratulations regarding your newest family member. Of course, what we feed our pets is important, and nutrition does matter. Since cost is a factor, I suggest that is another reason why home feeding might not be the best route, over time that gets expensive. It's also a laborious chore. If something happens to you, who will prepare the food?
When home feeding, it's important you receive an appropriate recipe for your dog from a boarded veterinary nutritionist, or perhaps a certified human nutritionist -- not a person who says they "know" nutrition. If you are determined to home feed, doing it right is vitally important, as nutritional needs for dogs (and especially cats) is different than for people.
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