What Did The Dog Say? Translating the Woof

Published: Jan. 06, 2009
Subject: Do you Speak Dog?
Category: More Bones to Chew On

Does it sometimes feel like you and your dog understand each other’s languages? Great news! You’re not crazy. And you’re not alone. According to a poll released last month by the Associated Press and Petside.com, up to 67 percent of pet owners claim to understand their pet’s own language. And 62 percent think their pet understands what they say too. And these people are talking about hamsters, fish, snakes, and horses too – not just dogs and cats.

But dog people really have a lock on the whole communication thing. According to the poll, “Dog owners prevail over cat people when it comes to claims of successfully speaking to their animals: Three in ten dog owners think their pets are baffled when they speak to them, compared with nearly half of cat owners who say the same.” When it comes to communicating in the other direction, cat owners do better. Twenty-five percent say they completely understand those meows, compared with 16 percent of dog owners who claim to be totally fluent in barks.”

And as it turns out, gender plays a role in this whole pet chat situation too. More women than men feel that their pets understand what they’re saying. In fact, 71 percent of women think their pets understand them most of the time, compared with just 53 percent of men. And the same goes for understanding what the dog has to say. Some 73 percent of women think they understand their animal’s language, compared to 59 percent of men. Who knew?

The Scoop:

Read more about the Associated Press – Petside Poll
www.google.com/petpoll

See the survey and complete results
www.surveys.ap.org

Thank you to Vickie and Trim for the photo.

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