Not only do dogs register speech but it matters how it is said, according to Andics. Like people, dogs use the left brain hemisphere to process words and the right hemisphere to process intonation.

Praise activates the reward centre only when both words and intonation match, the study found.

“It shows that for dogs ... praise can very well work as a reward, but it works best if both words and intonation match ... this is very similar to what human brains do,” Andics et al said in a press release.

The findings suggest that dogs’ ability to process language evolved earlier than previously thought.

“The results can also help to make communication and cooperation between dogs and humans even more efficient,” the press release added.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.