To be fair, he is understanding my tone more than my words, but he doesn’t completely NOT understand. He also knows a few words, like “leave,” “dinner,” “stop,” and “no.” I’d like to think he knows what “I love you” means, but I can’t prove it. He knowingly and intentionally disobeys me sometimes.
Yes. My poodle likes to steal my socks when he wants to go outside. So I put on some fake outrage and demand them back. Some “Oh my goodness” and “give me my socks” later, and he’ll hand them over eventually.
Also, he’s my service dog, so when I’m at the store I run my grocery list by him so that I don’t forget it.
Not only my pets but just any animal stuck in a room alone with me long enough and I’ll start ranting about absolute nonsense like the evolution of submarines or the AU family and generational dynamics of the FNAF animatronics
I talk to the animals all the time. I even know when they’re talking back to me. They say so much if you know how to listen. And they absolutely talk so much shit haha.
Yes all day long. Like full blown conversations and I tell her what I’m doing, thank her for helping/supervising, and explain things bc she’s my best friend!
Of course I do, but actually she was able to
Understand much of what I was saying.. A German Shepherd name Sophie, who picked up most anything I dropped..
I think they understand you know they’re concerned and are reassuring them. I’ve always felt my cats get the drift if I say that I’ll be right back or that I’ll fix their dinner in a few minutes.And of course that I love them. They’re perceptive.
I know the snake doesn’t speak English, but I talk to her anyway. She often pokes her head out of her hide while I read bedtime stories to the kids, so I think she likes the sound of my voice.
Yes, and different pets are spoken to in different voices… it’s not a Friday sales board meeting (although in my mind I talk to all of them differently)
Yes and no. I don’t hold conversations but I talk to them like I would a two year old.
“Who wants to go to the park?”
“Are you hungry? I know you are! Let’s go eat”
“Where is your toy?”
“Who made this mess?”
“Why are you barking? There is no one outside!”
I talk to pets the same way that I talk to small kids. It feels natural, and they almost always respond well to it. My cats both listen to me, and generally come to me when I call and let me know what they want.
Its also led to my in law’s dogs responding a lot better to me than to them, even though they see me a lot less. Kindness goes a long ways.
Of course! I know she doesn’t understand EVERY SINGLE THING I say but she makes it clear she understands plenty of things. I wouldn’t want to shut my best little friend out of my life by assuming she’s just a teddybear that can walk. She is a teddybear who can walk, but she is also someone with thoughts and feelings and intelligence of her own.
I absolutely do and they absolutely do! To think that they don’t understand that they’re good boys/girls because they don’t understand when I say it is horrifying.
We have a beautiful black cat, she is just over 2 years old and her name is Mabel .
She knows every word i say and me and my 15 year old daughter just adore her .
She means everything to us .
I carry full on conversations with my cats. They look at me sideways and sometimes they react. But mostly they ignore me which is basically what every other person does on this planet so it’s all good.
We swear our dog knows perfect English. We can say a full sentence and he’ll understand. Like we’ll say, “Sorry buddy, we can’t play right now. Can you go lay down for a little bit?”
He’ll drop whatever toy he has and immediately go lay down in his bed or on his couch. He’ll look so sad and pitiful too (we play with him multiple times a day, don’t worry).
Oh yeah, I tell my cat my plans, when I’m leaving, random thoughts I have, everything. I usually talk a lot out loud anyway when I’m alone so now my cat gets to hear it lol
100%! Part of socializing my puppy is explaining to her like she’s another grown up what things are, sounds, places, and why they are that way or what we’re there for. It mostly just makes me giggle but she loves the sound of my voice!
I teach my pet rat Nelly how to make coffee every morning while she sits on my shoulder and watches. She still can’t do it, but I’ve given her all the information she needs.
What do you mean “as if?” My dog understands a lot of what I say. She’s even caught on to some sign language and words I spell out. Nothing gets by her.
I have a hard time speaking. Something in my body just doesn’t let me if I don’t think I’m doing it to another human. I’ve gotten better about speaking to pets, but it’s still something that i find difficult unless there is another human who can reply around.
Of course a big part in helping me get past it is realizing that animals actually can understand what I say. Especially if I pair it with the body language with them that I did not struggle with.
I don’t really. My wife does. The only issue for her is that she then isn’t consistent with what command words she uses because she just speaks to them like they have a good understanding of English.
I stick to “speaking dog” and using short commands and cues, and body language they understand to communicate with them.
They tend to listen to me better and default to me for a command or cue if moms confusing them. Which is fine. I think she could still talk to them if she would also commit to the commands for when she actually wants them to listen to her.
My dog does understand. I’m convinced that if she had the ability to speak as a human that she could hold a conversation with me. I don’t have commands with my dog but I talk to it.
“Hey, if you’re going to be like that then you won’t get any” ~ when she’s trying to beg for food while I’m eating. She knows exactly what I mean.
Or
“You know this other dog isn’t very friendly. Stop provoking it and we’ll just be on our way” ~ it’s amazing that she knows what I want from such a sentence.
Our Ragdoll cat Baroness is quite a talker. I talk to all my cats but especially her because she talks the most. She’s so smart and is also like a puppy. She clearly has alot to say whether is bitching, begging, ratting out, or God knows we want to get and train her on those press and speak buttons because she seriously has personality we know others would be amused by.
I have a border collie/lab (Borador). I’ve only talked to her like a human since she was six weeks old. Full sentences and everything. Absolutely she can understand human talk. Not just mood or tone of voice either. She can probably understand English as well as a 1st grader can read. Like she call tell the difference between frustration and anger, happiness and excited, and the biggest one- she has a sense of awkwardness. It’s the funniest thing.
I’ll talk to any animal like they can understand me. We can pick up on the meaning of their sounds and body language, you think they can’t figure out ours just as well?
Mine generally get it. I told one of them today that they really need a bath and he shot me stink eye. I told him and just for that look you are getting a nail trim too. He tried to run and hide but he knows whats up.
My dogs understands me perfectly. We have a communication system in place when they come sit down in front of me and stare.
I go get one their toys to dangle in front of them or throw. If they don’t chase it or lunge for it I move on to the next step. I get their leash. If they run up to me or start running in circles I know they want to go for a walk or poop. A perfect communication system.
Then other times I chat with them they slightly lean their head to the side to let me know their listening 😂.
I usually talk to them about dog business, because I don’t want to bore them. Like they’re totally up for me running down the schedule for when we’re going to play in the back, reminders of the ear medicine, comments on shedding, other dogs walking by. You know, stuff they’re interested in 😂
I was one of those people who believed dogs could only understand intonations, body gestures, etc. Then I met my wife’s dog. She’s a 14 year old Shih-tzu, and she definitely distinguishes words. I can tell her where her toy is without being in the same room and she goes directly there. She also knows the names of every single toy. Obviously she understands walk, food, etc. that doesn’t mean she understands the semantic meaning of words, but she can definitely tell them apart and they have a meaning to her: an action, a location, a smell, whatever. She’s the smartest dog I’ve met personally. Not in terms of tricks, but in terms of human interaction.
Comments
Are there people who DON’T?? 😂
Mine understand
Of course, all the time.
My dog knows all my secrets
Of course.
They know
I’m pretty sure they can.
Uh every pet lover that ever lived.
You mean yours can’t?
I talk to all animals like that ..they know
Duh, I think it helps for a middle ground to be reached.
Oh yes, to much dismay of the missus sometimes. I just want to believe that my budgies and i have an understanding that nobody else understands.
I don’t know, but, they all react when I say “Dinner”!
(Yes, I know they are just reacting to the sound and tonality, but it’s nice to think otherwise)
i always let my dog know that im leaving ONLY FOR A SECOND
I speak to them in the King’s English pretty much. I ask them a lot of questions and we have really good meaningful dialogue
I do
Mine can’t hear and I still talk to them.
I do and he’s been deaf for a few years now. 🤷🏻♀️
Dogs understand
Yes. My deaf dog hears everything I want him to know.
To be fair, he is understanding my tone more than my words, but he doesn’t completely NOT understand. He also knows a few words, like “leave,” “dinner,” “stop,” and “no.” I’d like to think he knows what “I love you” means, but I can’t prove it. He knowingly and intentionally disobeys me sometimes.
All the time. I speak to them like I’m talking to another human.
My border collie knows English. She responds to full sentences in a way that you can’t convince me otherwise.
Everyone does this
Yes. My poodle likes to steal my socks when he wants to go outside. So I put on some fake outrage and demand them back. Some “Oh my goodness” and “give me my socks” later, and he’ll hand them over eventually.
Also, he’s my service dog, so when I’m at the store I run my grocery list by him so that I don’t forget it.
Yes because they do
I tell mine that I don’t understand what she’s saying to me because she doesn’t speak English. 😂
Only all of us.
What do you mean “as if”?
Of course they understand.
Doesn’t almost everyone?
My spouse even talks to random insects as though they can understand.
My cats talk back!
my boy doesn’t understand me?? I call BS
Doesn’t everyone? Lol
Mine do for sure
Everyday
Of course 🙂
I talk to my pet and then I talk back in my dog’s voice. He likes to argue with me.
Yes and they respond as if they understand so I’ll keep doing it. 😤😤
I talk to my plants that way
They can understand
WDYM as if
Of course he understands. He’s an intelligent being
Yes, I talk to my dog all the time and ask him questions that he answers with sounds or looks lol.
He knows.
Yes,because they do!
My wife. Even the chickens and tortoises.
Only when it’s all the time.
Not only my pets but just any animal stuck in a room alone with me long enough and I’ll start ranting about absolute nonsense like the evolution of submarines or the AU family and generational dynamics of the FNAF animatronics
My dog is trilingual. Dog (Lab dialect), English, a little Spanish
I show my dog photos like she can comprehend if.
They DO understand what I’m saying
They do
Depending on what’s been injested on my part, they talk to ME!
Trust me, getting lectured by a 26 pound Maine Coon for not rinsing his water bowl isn’t the experience you’d expect it to be;)
I talk to the animals all the time. I even know when they’re talking back to me. They say so much if you know how to listen. And they absolutely talk so much shit haha.
I forget that my pets are completely unaware of the rich interior lives (and voices) I’ve created for them
I mean pets are barking and meowing at us as if we can understand what they’re saying lol
Yes all day long. Like full blown conversations and I tell her what I’m doing, thank her for helping/supervising, and explain things bc she’s my best friend!
I talk to my snake all the time. I’m pretty sure he has about ½ a brain cell.
My girlfriend certainly does.
Yeah — because they do understand what I’m saying. They’re not dumb.
Of course I do, but actually she was able to
Understand much of what I was saying.. A German Shepherd name Sophie, who picked up most anything I dropped..
I think they understand you know they’re concerned and are reassuring them. I’ve always felt my cats get the drift if I say that I’ll be right back or that I’ll fix their dinner in a few minutes.And of course that I love them. They’re perceptive.
Yeah, even the deaf cat.
Always. I have a dog, two birds and five reptiles. I even talk to my snakes like they understand.
Every day without fail.
I am a firm believer that the more you talk to your pets the more they understand. Listening is a whole other thing
Of course!
I talk with my pets all of the time lol
I know the snake doesn’t speak English, but I talk to her anyway. She often pokes her head out of her hide while I read bedtime stories to the kids, so I think she likes the sound of my voice.
My daughter talks to her beetles too.
Our neighbor’s dog is totally deaf since birth, but I can’t stop myself from speaking to her. Hoping she can read lips!
Absolutely I do. Red flag if a person doesn’t, right?! Or am I the red flag??
yup
I know they understand sometimes.
Of course and they understand better than humans.
Yes and in a higher pitched voice that I’m positive annoys anyone who hears me lol.
Oh, she understands everything.
My labs understand “out” and ” ball” and “treat”.
Yes, and different pets are spoken to in different voices… it’s not a Friday sales board meeting (although in my mind I talk to all of them differently)
The scary part is that you think that they don’t understand.
Exclusively
I tell my dog what I’m going to do when I leave the house. “I’m going to work, be back soon.” He does his little head tilt in acknowledgment.
I feel like it helps him pick up on things better
My cat talks a lot, so we frequently have a dialog.
Yes and no. I don’t hold conversations but I talk to them like I would a two year old.
“Who wants to go to the park?”
“Are you hungry? I know you are! Let’s go eat”
“Where is your toy?”
“Who made this mess?”
“Why are you barking? There is no one outside!”
That’s just the conversations I had today 🤣
I talk to pets the same way that I talk to small kids. It feels natural, and they almost always respond well to it. My cats both listen to me, and generally come to me when I call and let me know what they want.
Its also led to my in law’s dogs responding a lot better to me than to them, even though they see me a lot less. Kindness goes a long ways.
Of course! I know she doesn’t understand EVERY SINGLE THING I say but she makes it clear she understands plenty of things. I wouldn’t want to shut my best little friend out of my life by assuming she’s just a teddybear that can walk. She is a teddybear who can walk, but she is also someone with thoughts and feelings and intelligence of her own.
Absolutely! And we use a little Dutch girl accent for what she says to us. My SO and I get a kick out of personifying our bb girl.
I absolutely do and they absolutely do! To think that they don’t understand that they’re good boys/girls because they don’t understand when I say it is horrifying.
All the time.
Not only my own pets, all animals!
Not only do I talk to our pets, I talk to any & all wild animals I see.
Yes!
What? You think I can speak dog!
Come on man. You know everyone does. What are we supposed to do bark at them? Meow at them? chirp at them?
Don’t be ridiculous. Of course my dog can understand me.
We have a beautiful black cat, she is just over 2 years old and her name is Mabel .
She knows every word i say and me and my 15 year old daughter just adore her .
She means everything to us .
My dog is bilingual. How else are they supposed to learn if you don’t speak to them??
They understand me
I talk to my cat all the time. She’s a very good listener.
Uhh who doesn’t do this. Also,
We do a voice that our dog talks back in
Yes. He understands.
My tortoise has a brain the size of a small pebble but somehow understands everything I tell her.
I have to explain to him that we’re going to GUITAR practice, not SOCCER practice every week
All the time. They are totally aware!
Beats talking to just myself all the time 🤷♀️
I feel like at least the pets listen, unlike my human kids 😂
I carry full on conversations with my cats. They look at me sideways and sometimes they react. But mostly they ignore me which is basically what every other person does on this planet so it’s all good.
I am completely convinced that my old dog Brandi and two of my cats 100% understand me. The rest just tolerate me talking to them.
Yes, but my dog answers simple yes or no questions by licking his nose for yes
I’ve told my dog that if he can talk then he can tell me and I won’t tell anyone. Unfortunately I can’t tell anyone whether or not it worked
I talk for my dog. I say what he’s thinking.
We swear our dog knows perfect English. We can say a full sentence and he’ll understand. Like we’ll say, “Sorry buddy, we can’t play right now. Can you go lay down for a little bit?”
He’ll drop whatever toy he has and immediately go lay down in his bed or on his couch. He’ll look so sad and pitiful too (we play with him multiple times a day, don’t worry).
Yours cant?
Yes!
Ill have whole conversations with my dads dog, shes got just a bit of husky in her, and boy does she show it 🤣
Yes!
Constantly saying nice things to my dog to boost her self esteem 😂
Oh yeah, I tell my cat my plans, when I’m leaving, random thoughts I have, everything. I usually talk a lot out loud anyway when I’m alone so now my cat gets to hear it lol
Absolutely, daily. If she ever answers me, I’ll freak out 😂😻
100%! Part of socializing my puppy is explaining to her like she’s another grown up what things are, sounds, places, and why they are that way or what we’re there for. It mostly just makes me giggle but she loves the sound of my voice!
All day long.
My cat fucking knows what I’m saying he just chooses to ignore it.
Absolutely
I do a lot of training using commands with tones so that I can later “talk” to my dogs and they will understand the tone as the command.
Many guests and friends of mine believe the dogs understand what I’m saying, but I’m just inflecting certain tones into the sentences.
I do talk to him but I frequently exceed his vocabulary.
I teach my pet rat Nelly how to make coffee every morning while she sits on my shoulder and watches. She still can’t do it, but I’ve given her all the information she needs.
Yes!!
What do you mean “as if?” My dog understands a lot of what I say. She’s even caught on to some sign language and words I spell out. Nothing gets by her.
Yeah, but not only that. At times I talk to my cat as if he was not only human, but an adult who understands complex subjects
You’re implying that they somehow can’t?
I talk to my cats like people all the time. I even did it when I took 2 of them to the vet the other day in front of the vet.
She knows what I’m saying.
I have a hard time speaking. Something in my body just doesn’t let me if I don’t think I’m doing it to another human. I’ve gotten better about speaking to pets, but it’s still something that i find difficult unless there is another human who can reply around.
Of course a big part in helping me get past it is realizing that animals actually can understand what I say. Especially if I pair it with the body language with them that I did not struggle with.
I don’t really. My wife does. The only issue for her is that she then isn’t consistent with what command words she uses because she just speaks to them like they have a good understanding of English.
I stick to “speaking dog” and using short commands and cues, and body language they understand to communicate with them.
They tend to listen to me better and default to me for a command or cue if moms confusing them. Which is fine. I think she could still talk to them if she would also commit to the commands for when she actually wants them to listen to her.
I’m pretty sure my cat knows, he just doesn’t care
Are you trying to tell me they don’t understand?
My cat definitely knows. Words he definitely knows
Dinner, treats, shirt off, bedtime clothes
Words we are still working on after 8 years – no!
My dog does understand. I’m convinced that if she had the ability to speak as a human that she could hold a conversation with me. I don’t have commands with my dog but I talk to it.
“Hey, if you’re going to be like that then you won’t get any” ~ when she’s trying to beg for food while I’m eating. She knows exactly what I mean.
Or
“You know this other dog isn’t very friendly. Stop provoking it and we’ll just be on our way” ~ it’s amazing that she knows what I want from such a sentence.
I thought it was established that they could understand a fair bit of what we say…maybe i’m wrong…
Sometimes, yes. It feels slightly less insane than just talking to myself.
Do you deserve a pet if you dont?!
I’m convinced they do understand.
I say “MEESTER FEESH, MEESTER FEESH, MEESTER-MEESTER-MEESTER FEESH!” to my betta in the same rhythm/tone as the difficulty rhyme from Matilda lmao
Yes because they do
Our Ragdoll cat Baroness is quite a talker. I talk to all my cats but especially her because she talks the most. She’s so smart and is also like a puppy. She clearly has alot to say whether is bitching, begging, ratting out, or God knows we want to get and train her on those press and speak buttons because she seriously has personality we know others would be amused by.
Yea, duh!
I tell my dog to make better decisions when he starts barking at people walking by outside. So far he continues to make the same poor decisions.
Ummm…they do understand me..what are you implying.
All the time.
I have a border collie/lab (Borador). I’ve only talked to her like a human since she was six weeks old. Full sentences and everything. Absolutely she can understand human talk. Not just mood or tone of voice either. She can probably understand English as well as a 1st grader can read. Like she call tell the difference between frustration and anger, happiness and excited, and the biggest one- she has a sense of awkwardness. It’s the funniest thing.
Yeah.
Just because they don’t understand language, they can still hear and hopefully they are comforted by hearing our voices.
It’s weird if you don’t.
I talk to my dogs all the time, just because they don’t reply doesn’t mean they don’t understand.
Source ; babies.
Of course!
sort of, me, “wag ya tail if ya a dcikhead!” Dog wags tail. I laugh, he gets excited, then we play fight.
Yep. Bc they do.
How do you know they don’t understand? I call my cats and they come.
97% of people
I’ll talk to any animal like they can understand me. We can pick up on the meaning of their sounds and body language, you think they can’t figure out ours just as well?
Alllll the time. Are there people who dont do this ? I think not
My cats DO understand what I’m saying. “Dinnertime!” And “What have you DONE?!” Especially.
Sucks for the rest of y’all but my kelpie is smarter than most humans. I could teach her to make pizza, she’d be good at it
Mine generally get it. I told one of them today that they really need a bath and he shot me stink eye. I told him and just for that look you are getting a nail trim too. He tried to run and hide but he knows whats up.
Sometimes. Just for fun.
My dogs understands me perfectly. We have a communication system in place when they come sit down in front of me and stare.
I go get one their toys to dangle in front of them or throw. If they don’t chase it or lunge for it I move on to the next step. I get their leash. If they run up to me or start running in circles I know they want to go for a walk or poop. A perfect communication system.
Then other times I chat with them they slightly lean their head to the side to let me know their listening 😂.
Of course.
No. I talk to my pets in a nice tone but i’m constantly talking shit about them. If they could understand then I would be in trouble.
O talk to inanimate objects like that, too
They understand me perfectly.
I usually talk to them about dog business, because I don’t want to bore them. Like they’re totally up for me running down the schedule for when we’re going to play in the back, reminders of the ear medicine, comments on shedding, other dogs walking by. You know, stuff they’re interested in 😂
My corgi had a huge vocabulary! She was SOOO intelligent!! She understood everything! I miss her SO MUCH 💔😭
I was one of those people who believed dogs could only understand intonations, body gestures, etc. Then I met my wife’s dog. She’s a 14 year old Shih-tzu, and she definitely distinguishes words. I can tell her where her toy is without being in the same room and she goes directly there. She also knows the names of every single toy. Obviously she understands walk, food, etc. that doesn’t mean she understands the semantic meaning of words, but she can definitely tell them apart and they have a meaning to her: an action, a location, a smell, whatever. She’s the smartest dog I’ve met personally. Not in terms of tricks, but in terms of human interaction.
Every day, and to my utmost surprise, the cats don’t listen.
Yeah…