ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Your dog can talk to you, it turns out

You should be able to ruffly work out what they're saying

Your dog can talk to you, it turns out

Non dog owners look at you a bit funny when you say you definitely understand what your dog was trying to communicate when they barked at you in a specific way, but non dog owners can fuck off because they’re wrong and science says so. 

That’s cuz a new study has revealed that dogs can ACTUALLY communicate to us and that we often know exactly what it is they’re trying to say. 

18 dogs were recorded growling, barking and making other...dog noises, before dog owners and non dog owners were asked to decipher them.

63% of the time participants were able to work out the emotion of the dog they were listening to – significantly higher than if they were guessing.

We’re better at working out ‘play’ growls than other, more specific, ‘threatening’ sounds such as protecting food. 

Women were slightly better at understanding what dogs are chatting about, apparently because they have a “higher emotional insight”, though dog owners both male and female were better than people who don’t have a pet themselves.

So there we go – next time you’re convinced your dog is trying to say something very specific, you might well be right.

(Image: Rex)