The beloved four-legged friends of the man not only respond to or care palabas humans, but dogs can understand and anticipate the intentions of the people, researchers report.

In a recent study, dogs that were told or had visual contact with a person were more likely to follow that human eyes as they moved about the room that if the person did not direct eye contact with them.


The skills are equivalent to those seen in human babies six months old, say the researchers, who published their findings in the online edition of the January 5 issue of the journal Current Biology.

“These results support the idea that dogs are sensitive to clues that indicate the intent of human communication in a way that is analogous to that of human babies in the preverbal stage,” said study author Jozsef Topal.

“The dogs were domesticated for the purpose of working with people, so it is essential that the two species can communicate,” said Adam Goldfarb, director of care issues for pets from the Humane Society (The Humane Society) U.S. “Although most of the dogs have made a transition from work herding or hunting, they have retained their communication tools.”

More and more research illuminates the surprisingly human qualities Canis lupus familiaris, better known as the domestic dog.

A study that appeared in the July 2011 edition of the journal Learning & Behavior found that domesticated dogs were more likely to order food to a person looking at them as someone who did not pay attention.

And Stanley Coren, an expert on canine intelligence, found that dogs have the capacity to develop a two years. The average dog can learn the meaning of 165 words.

In the new study, 16 dogs were pet’s videos of actresses who turned into a plastic pot.

In the first experiment, the actress looked directly at the dog and said in a loud tone, “Hey, dog!”.

In the second experiment, the actress said, “Hey, dog” in a low-pitched voice, but not making eye contact.

Using eye tracked techniques, which are commonly used to study children’s behavior, the researchers determined that the dogs were more likely to follow the human who is turned into the pot when I was talking and making direct eye contact. Say “Hello, dog” in a low tone without direct gaze gave no clues dogs human intent.

Eye tracked techniques probably be useful to study other aspects of cognitive processing of dogs, such as memory skills and reasoning abilities, said Topal, Associate Professor, Research Group Comparative Behavior Psychological Research Institute Academy of Sciences of Hungary in Budapest.

“The view [of dog] is only activated when it was preceded by an intention to communicate. It seems that dogs do humans watch and follow the gestures,” said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts. “Everyone who has a dog knows intuitively that these seem to us more attuned to what some scientists believe.”

“This should reinforce that if we care of our dog, we must be clear about it,” said Goldfarb. “People who talk to their dogs with a child’s voice should continue to do so. The dog knows you are addressing him or her, and pay more attention.”