Dogs can actually decipher human language and not just cues. Here's how

A lot of videos of dogs being trained to "talk" using soundboards have gone viral on social media.

These buttons on the soundboard have appeared impressive to social media users across platforms like TikTok and Instagram. A lot of people have been left puzzled by these videos, and are now wondering if dogs are truly communicating.

Now, in a breakthrough study published in PLOS ONE, the University of California San Diego's researchers revealed that when humans train dogs using soundboard buttons, the pets are able to comprehend some words and also produce contextually appropriate responses.

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The study was headed by the head of the Comparative Cognition Lab and associate professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego, Federico Rossano.

Rossano, who was also part of the new Netflix documentary "Inside the Mind of a Dog," said that this research is just a step of the ongoing investigation into interspecies communication in his lab.

Here's what the study says about button-trained dogs

In the study, it was observed that when dogs were trained using soundboards, they appropriately responded to words like "outside" and "play", even if the words were spoken by humans and not pressed by a button.

This study hinted that the dogs are not just "reading" the body language or presence of their owners but are processing the words spoken to them.

"This study addresses public skepticism about whether dogs truly understand what the buttons mean," Rossano said.

"Our findings are important because they show that words matter to dogs, and that they respond to the words themselves, not just to associated cues," he added.

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Two complementary experiments were conducted as part of the research. In the first experiment, 30 dog homes were visited across the country and their responses to the soundboard buttons were tested.

In the second experiment, the trials were conducted by 29 dog owners by themselves at home under remote guidance.

"We're just scratching the surface in this study. Future studies explore how dogs actively use these buttons, including the meaning and systematicity behind sequences of button presses. Our research underscores the importance of studying animals in their home environment, providing a more ecologically valid understanding of their abilities," added Rossano.

This study was part of an ongoing research project in which thousands of participants were involved worldwide.

(With inputs from agencies)