Did you know that Shih Tzu dogs can understand a language by its pronunciation and intonation? It’s the truth! Today the Shih Tzu blog comes to share this discovery with you.
Scientists published the results of this study in the journal Science and stated that Shih Tzu uses the same areas of the brain as humans to recognize words.
For such research, 13 dogs were taught to remain still at the time of the MRI. Throughout the process, they listened to the voices of their tutors.
A selection of encouraging expressions was used in a positive intonation and in a normal tone of voice. The same experiment was carried out with neutral words.
What happens is that the left hemisphere of the brain is capable of differentiating words, no matter what intonation is used. This means that dogs are able to perceive words – positive as well as neutral – pronounced in any intonation, understanding exactly what it means.
At the same time, the right hemisphere understands the tone of voice and provides more emotion to what our Shih Tzu hears.
Atilla Andics, who makes up the team of authors of the study, explains: “This research shows that the brain of a Shih Tzu not only analyzes what we say but also unifies two types of information to arrive at a single meaning.”
Now that you know, make sure to talk to your Shih Tzu. Will he start giving you great advice?