Can Dogs Talk?

Of course they can. They don’t talk in our language but they sure can talk. Question is whether YOU can understand their language. In order to be able to, you need to learn the full rich variety of dog language. There is f.ex. the audible part: A small whine, or an urgent whine. There are snarls and deep down growls. There are anxious beeping and a more high-pitched bark. There are various pitches of howls expressing high anxiety or even desperation, there is the loud warning bark telling us that strangers are approaching. Yes, dogs have a whole specter of audible language. It’s a language we have to learn if we want to understand what our best friend is trying to tell us. But beside of the audible part there is the quiet non-audible language. Call it body language. Much of that part is expressed by their eyes. They can stare us down, they can beg and they can lighten up of pure pleasure and excitement. Usually their eye’s expression is accompanied by f.ex. a raised waving or propelling tail, ears flipping up and down expressing excitement and expectation but also begging. Or our dog sits or lies down or the opposite – jumping up and down. Molly is not our first dog. With her we got Boomer, a yellow Labrador, and before that we had Shiva, a Riesenschnauzer and Lisa a happy mix-breed. We have had dogs for many years and with that came the opportunity to study and learn dog behaviour. No, we are not dog whisperers or certified dog trainers. But our love for dogs has made us sensitive to how dogs express themselves. And it’s been, and still is a lot of fun.