Can dogs 'talk'?

My pup is very vocal. When she needs to go out she goes,”Rrrrrrr! Rrrrrrrr!” and once outside she shouts, “BARK BARK BARK BARK!”
I’m deeply regretting the Jack Russell in her, as I’m sure the neighbours are too.

We do, and there will never be another like him!

Oh Jalima but don't they live on in our memories of them.

We had a cat who was always waiting when we arrived home in the car. She was only caught out once when we left in the old car and came home in a different (new to us) car. She had obviously memorized the sound I suppose and was always there and met the new car too after that first miss.

I'm sure they can. My cat "talks". He says "Wow" when I ask him where he's been, does he want his dinner, etc. My little Stella (PTS in April) was 18 and never stopped "talking". She had a variety of meows, all meaning different things. My Mr Cooper only has one answer for everything - "Wow".

And he must have had ESP too. DH used to work away and the time he got home was variable - but the dog was always waiting by the front door for him way before his car could have been coming along the road.

sorry, he is in doggy heaven Synonymous

A short clip perhaps, Jalima?

Animals can understand many words - usually single words are more understandable to them.

However, not so many can speak or call someone's name like my dog. Perhaps I should post on the 'genius' thread

I also had a cat who clearly knew the word "vet". If I had to take her there, I had to be very careful to close the bedroom door before mentioning the vet, otherwise the cat crawled in under the double bed and it was very difficult indeed to get her out!

I believe there have been studies made that demonstrate that household pets do actually understand a great many of the words we use.

Some years ago I heard of a young vet who was writing a Ph.D on how dogs communicate and whether their different ways of barking carried meaning. I shall try to find out whether her work has been published.

Our pets are naturally very perceptive and can read your signals - and your mind! Even spelling isn't pet proof. Do you remember the song D-i-v-o-r-c-e? We learnt never to say or even spell v-e-t as our old cat would just disappear. All our pets have chatted to us and we have chatted back.
Our new little cat did not make a sound which I think was because he was very bullied by a larger sibling and I started to think there was something wrong. Having waved his brother off back to where he came from he has now found his voice and calls to me very loudly. He can also tell the time and, always at 9pm, comes and sits directly in front of me and stares fixedly until he gets my attention when he takes me to 'his' cupboard to get his toys for playtime. He tells me when he has had enough and that it is time for treats before bed. You can set your watch by him much to our amusement and we are so pleased we decided to have him.

So right, Nanny123. And they never seems to mix the word 'walk' with 'work', do they?

Dogs definitely talk. Our Springer has a whole range of barks and sounds to voice his opinions or tell us what he wants, as well as some very expressive facial expressions. Our favourite is when he hears the theme tune of Coronation Street he lies down, howls or groans and puts his paws over his ears while looking at us with an expression that says "Make it STOP!"

Hi I have two gorgeous Staffies a brother and sister,they are both quite verbal ,max being the boy is excessively so ,and they are very different,max is a news spreader,he has different barks for each familiar visitor and a different one for strangers,when someone comes in he tells them that he is going to tell me their here,he comes and tells me ,it's a lips pursed bark,then he goes back and tells them he he has told me,and so on ,this can go on for ages!! We live in a farm up a track and he can tell me who is coming by their car noise and he's never wrong!!
The weird thing is we have seasonal help on our farm ,such as now,and of course all the staff use my husband's tractors ,we have four,sometimes I think it's my husband coming in from the fields and get the kettle on, but max tells me ,no stranger! And it is ,it's not my husband driving it!
He has a bark for ball and one for play and many more,it's definitely a language,we made a study of it along with dog behaviour ,and they understand a lot more than you think,
The barks are very defined and different ,when we were last at our vet with max,he was doing a wood I had never heard! The vet said oh ,he loves his mum, that,s a love you bark.

Tilly the little girl is quite a scaredy dog ,most of her barks are,who is that? Someone's here! I don't like it,but she has a bark for play and for her tug toy!
Max did the who's here bark today and kept it up about five times!

I have been told that depending on intelligence, dogs can accumulate sufficient vocabulary to understand human converstation.

My son's cat, Margie 'talks' to us with sounds and gestures. She'll come to me, meow softly, then turn around and wait. If I do nothing, she'll turn her head to face me and meow again. As soon as I get up, she starts walking. If I don't, it's repeat and meow again. She'll then lead me all the way to her empty bowl to let me know she want's food. She also has facial expressions that tell me when she's annoyed, impatient, happy or bored.

Of course they did. We have to spell things out in front of our dog as he knows exactly what we are saying. Wherever he is if we ever mention having a cup of tea he is in quicker than lightening as he knows he is going to get a treat (husband started that habit) He goes berserk when we mention going to see our eldest daugther as he is crazy abou her and say the “W” word (walk) well we have to be at the back door with our shoes and coats on ready to go. There is lots of things that he understands, and he also has a way of communicating with us to what he wants. AND he is cheeky enough to even answer back!

We had two dogs. The doctor came to visit Mum so we shut them in the kitchen with a glass door. He looked puzzled and said that dog barks with his mouth shut, it was the little yappy one barking and he could only see the big one looking through the door lol!!!

My daughters dog could be asleep in bed, but if she heard a sharp intake of breath she would jump out and start checking the walls and ceilings for a spider.
She also knew to go and wait in the hall in order to play 'hide it', and would go in goal when told it was her turn when she was playing football.

Some dogs understand words that are significant to their welfare. According to this article some intelligent dogs understand up to 165 words.

www.petful.com/behaviors/how-many-words-can-dog-understand/

Do dogs recognise words or the intonation in the voice and actions which go with it. I speak to my daughter's dog in sentences which she seems to understand for instance 'Let's go Bonnie' but I stand up at the same time. Or 'Round the back' if I don't want to go in the front door but may turn my body in that direction. I think dogs probably use visual clues to interpret what people say on a regular basis as well as understanding the rhythm of words.

Years ago I visited a patient who insisted her dog could speak. She got a bag of treats out. The dog sat down and started wiggling it’s his to move backwards and very distinctly said “I want one”. It was using its oesophagus to talk. Incredible. Of course we all know that Esther had a dog that could say “sausages” lol.

My dog 'talks'. If he wants something, he gets a hold of my wrist (this hurts, so I give him my finger) and takes me to the thing he wants. It's usually something out of the fridge, a 'for humans' biscuit out of the cupboard (he's never asked for one of this own) or his dog lead. If he is pointing to the cupboard where I keep his 'for human' biscuits, his lead is also in there, so I lift them both out, hold one in each hand, then ask him which one he wants. He uses his nose to touch the one he is asking for.

I can't say "do you fancy (whatever)" to my husband, as the words 'do you fancy' brings hmy dog (Jack) from wherever he is to 'check it out'. 'Biscuit' is also a no no.

So yes, I would say dogs do talk and there is also some vocabulary which they attach to their needs and wants.

My dog definitely spoke DD's name - and with same two tone intonation that I had used!

I think all experienced pet owners believe that their furry friends are able to communicate and to understand us.

After all, certain behaviour produces certain results. Most dogs and cats realise that sitting in the kitchen looking soulfully at the food cupboard or their empty dish does at times propel their humans into filling the dish.

Meowing at a closed door usually gets someone to open it for one and so on and so forth.

At the moment the survivor of our pair of cats wakens about four every third or fourth morning and calls out loudly - something he never used to do. I don't know whether he is reassuring himself that we are still in the house, or is calling his dead brother. The rest of the time he is quite content and no more vocal than formerly. His dead brother was a right chatterbox.

All cats I have every known had a hunting call that means, "Come and see what I have caught!" yelled loudly through a mouthful of bird or mouse!

Our cat Poppy calls my husband who's name is Alan she says 'Al' very loudly and when he doesn't respond she says 'Now'! She only does that to him not me so we're convinced she mimics me calling him! Our late ginger tom used to reply to our 'hello' with a almost identical sound and then I'd say ' are you ok?' And he'd give a little yip that sounded like 'yep' brilliant!