Lisa's World: December 2018

Sunday 30 December 2018

Can Dogs Really Understand What You Tell Them?

It's obvious that people can communicate with dogs. Throw a ball and tell a dog "fetch," and the dog retrieves the ball. But do dogs understand the word "fetch," or do they just understand that you threw a ball and made a sound? They could also be focused on some other cue entirely — the tone of your voice, or the direction of your gaze. Luckily, scientists have looked into this.

A recent study in Frontiers in Neuroscience is interested in exactly this question. Can dogs understand words? "Understanding" is a big, complex concept — difficult to test in the scope of one study, and difficult to define for a dog. Think of all the things that go on in your mind when you hear a word you "understand": you remember what it means; if it has multiple meanings, you figure out which one makes the most sense in context; you grasp its tone and level of formality; and so on.

Do we require dogs to do all of that? Just some? It's an open question, but the researchers decided that one fundamental, cross-species element of understanding was "the discrimination of words from non-words." In other words, dogs should be able to differentiate familiar commands from nonsense sounds.

They decided to take a new approach to testing dog understanding, though. Historically, researchers have measured dogs' understanding through action. In other words, if a dog understands the term "fetch," they'll fetch a ball. This mixes up understanding with obedience, however, and muddies the results.

So in this study, the researchers relied not on action, but on fMRI brain scans. While dogs were in the scanners, their owners said a variety of familiar and gibberish words to them. However, none of the familiar words were action-oriented — instead, they were the names of two different dog toys (ex: "Piggy" and "Monkey"). Would the dogs exhibit different levels of brain activity when they heard "Piggy" than when they heard a gibberish word? Short answer: yes!

MarkoNOVKOV / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Inside a Dog Brain

Here's the long answer: This study of 12 dogs began with training. Each dog spent between two and six months learning the names of two different toys. First, the dogs' owners just repeatedly named the objects. They'd play fetch or tug-of-war with their dogs using, say, Monkey, and repeatedly say "Monkey!" as they played to reinforce the object's name in the dog's brain.

Then, the dogs transitioned into identifying the objects. Owners would place Monkey and Piggy several feet from the dog, and several feet apart. The owners would give commands like "Get Monkey!" or "Where is Piggy?" and only give out treats if their dogs picked up the correct toy.

The fMRI scan was the final stage. While dogs held still in the tubular machines, their owners addressed them from outside, saying a mix of known words like "Monkey" and "Piggy" and mechanically generated non-words like "stru," in various combinations.

It turned out that the dogs did reach the base criteria for understanding — their brains reacted differently to familiar words than they did to unknown words. Interestingly, the dogs' brains reacted differently than human brains; their brain activity spiked when they heard unfamiliar words, whereas human brain activity spikes when we hear familiarwords. It's unclear why dogs react differently to the unfamiliar, or how deep their understanding of our words goes. But this study at least suggests that our speech is more than background chatter to dogs — they can distinguish one word from another.

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Bacon Cauliflower Chowder

INGREDIENTS

slices bacon, cut into 1" pieces

medium yellow onion, chopped

medium carrots, peeled and chopped

stalks celery, chopped

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp.

flour

sprigs thyme, stripped and chopped

head cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 qt.

vegetable broth

1 c.

whole milk

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat.
To pot, add onion, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes more. Add thyme and cauliflower.
Pour in broth and milk and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is fork tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with cooked bacon before serving.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50672/cauliflower-chowder-recipe/

Furbex, I Explore Abandoned Places With My Dog

ByAlice van Kempen

A snow-white dog photographed in environments where ferns and fungi cover floors and walls, where thick layers of dust cover the abandoned belongings of the last residents. The photographs look surreal, yet Claire the Bull Terrier poses in such a way she gives the impression she assumes the role of the former inhabitants. Part of the process is to capture a piece of the soul of these places, Claire and I can spend quite some time just walking the rooms and sitting at specific spots to ‘catch’ the atmosphere.

The walls, silent witnesses of love and friendship, of sorrow, hatred and sometimes even murder. The way nature takes over these buildings, how ivy penetrates the interiors, where moss has replaced the carpets, where small trees start to grow indoors, shows that everything is perishable. You will not find such an atmosphere anywhere else, decay is fascinating.

Urban Exploring or Urbex is about exploring abandoned farms, houses & palaces, discovering overgrown industrial complexes, forgotten hospitals, disused churches and prisons. When I decided to use my furry friend as a model I came up with a unique name for this type of photography; Furbex. Furbex also became the title of our book that recently was published. Photos and stories of our adventures during five years of exploring together.

More info: Instagram