Is this news? Dogs can associate words with objects

[True Dough]

I mean, the study below is making headlines in the news today, but for anyone who has ever owned a dog, you were well aware that this is true long ago.

We had a female German shepherd/husky mix and you could tell her to go get a ball. She'd get a ball.

Go get Frisbee. She'd bring the Frisbee.

Go get stuffy (stuffed animal). She's fetch a stuffed animal.

Go get a stick. She'd retrieve a stick.

Go get rope. She'd return with her tug rope.

Occasionally, she'd bring the wrong item, but it was pretty rare.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Dogs are able to understand that some words refer to objects in a way that is similar to humans, a small study of canine brain waves has found, offering insight into the way the minds of man's best friends work.

That our four-legged companions are able to recognise words that prompt actions will come as no surprise to dog owners who tell their pets to "sit" or "fetch".

However, the study, which analysed brain activity in 18 dogs, provided evidence that they can activate a memory of an object when they hear its name. The study was carried out at the Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest and published in the journal Current Biology.

"There has been a long debate on a non-human animal's ability to understand words referentially," said Marianna Boros who co-authored the study.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dogs-associate-words-objects-study-063116682.html