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Dogs understand human words and intonation, study finds
Dog with owner
Andics and his team used brain scanners and 13 willing family dogs.
Brain imaging technique offers new insights

New research has revealed that dogs may understand human words, not just the tone in which they're said.

Writing in the journal Science, researchers show how dogs have brain areas dedicated to interpreting voices and distinguishing sounds.

The team hope the finding will offer new insights into the origins of language, as well as gratify dog lovers.

In the study,
lead author Attila Andics and his team used brain scanners and 13 willing family dogs from four breeds: border collies, golden retrievers, Chinese crested dogs and German shepherds.

The dogs were trained to lie motionless on the scanner while they listened to recordings of their trainer's voice. The dogs heard meaningful words (well done) in a neutral and praising tone. They also heard meaningless words (as if) also in a neutral and praising tone.

When the team analysed the brain scans, they found that - regardless of the trainer's intonation - the dogs processed the meaningful words in the left hemisphere of the brain, just like humans do. But the dogs didn't do this for the meaningless words.

"There's no acoustic reason for this difference," said lead author Andics, from Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest. "It shows that these words have meaning to dogs."

The team also found that the dogs processed intonation in the right side of the brain, also like humans. When they heard words of praise delivered in a praising tone, the reward area of their brain lit up. This indicates that meaning and tone enhance each other.

The team say the results will add to existing knowledge of how dogs' brains process human speech.

'Neural mechanisms to separately analyse and integrate word meaning and intonation in dogs suggest that this capacity can evolve in the absence of language,' they conclude.


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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.