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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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At the same time, the right hemisphere understands the tone of voice and provides more emotion to what our Shih Tzu hears.
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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.”
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Now that you know, make sure to talk to your Shih Tzu. Will he start giving you great advice?