DO DOGS UNDERSTAND ENGLISH?

My question:
Dogs respond to our commands. Do they actually hear the words, or do they listen for sounds and watch hand gestures?

My Research
Dogs understand words and the commands that they are familiar with. If you were saying a one-word command in a sentence, the dog would only pick out the key word.

More Research
Your tone matters. Saying anything in an assertive tone will tell the dog that you are happy with it. If you sound like you are scolding, the dog will know that you aren't happy.

My Hypothesis
If I say a different word in place of a command, but use the same tone, then my dog will respond well. But if I use a different tone, he will not cooperate.

My Experiment:
Phase 1
I will command my dog, Hawk, to respond to a few commands, however, I will use words that sound similar to the actual command.

Analysis: Phase 1
When I said words that sounded similar to the command, Hawk responded as if I had said the command most of the time. He could tell by the tone of my voice and my body language.

Analysis: Phase 2
When I said completely different words, but said them in the same tone with the same gestures, Hawk tended to respond more to the non verbal cues.

More Analyses:
When I called Hawk, for example, "Banana, come," he responded to "come" rather than the name I called him, even if it was said in the same tone.

Another Observation:
Hawk and walk sound very much the same. When I asked Squawk if he wanted to go for a rock, he was adamant about going for that "rock."

Conclusion
Dogs listen to the sounds you make and the gestures and tones you use to communicate a command. They cannot distinguish the difference between similar sounding words.

My hypothesis was correct. Using the same tone helps dogs to understand what you are saying.

MY SOURCES

• http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/pet-training-sounds-words/
• http://ethology.eu/do-dogs-understand-what-we-say/

TA DAAAA