Listen to Dog Barks and Test Your Canine Comprehension Skills

April 22, 2008

On this Earth Day I'd like to demonstrate to you how all of us possess a "Dr. Dolittle"-type ability to understand basic emotions communicated by other species. Dogs are the easiest to try this out on, since canines have lived with us for thousands of years and have sort of figured us humans out, just as we have learned more about them. Now keep in mind that some people are more in tune with their inner Dr. Dolittle than others.

For the below quiz, you will listen to numbered dog sounds. Your task is to match the sound with the correct letter, which corresponds to the dog that made the sound and a particular circumstance. You'll be hearing:
A. a border collie yelping after its owner accidentally stepped on its paw
B. a disturbed Rottweiler growl-barking
C. a cairn terrier barking after being bothered
D. a frustrated, barking basset hound that wanted to run away but stuck around because it desired a nearby, tempting treat snack
E. a 4-month-old Labrador puppy crying
F. a Staffordshire terrier whimpering a greeting to its owner
G. a border collie that likes to sing and howl to music (Believe me, no one will get this one wrong.)

Are you ready? Here we go...

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

The recordings were made by Anna M. Taylor of the University of Sussex for her Vocal Dog Project. Quiz answers appear at the bottom of this post. No cheating!

1-B, 2-A, 3-D, 4-F, 5-G, 6-C, 7-E

Comments

[Random Comment Generator]

Oh man, that was hilarious. Thanks for the entertaining afternoon break -- it's amazing how tuned our ears are to the language of a different species!

[Jen Viegas]

Hey there. Thanks for taking the time to write. Critter speak is a blast to contemplate. We're all better at understanding animal sounds than we tend to think. I hope you aced the test!

[Michelle]

My dog can tell the difference, too! He was listening with very high interest to the various barks, but when I played the one of the terrier greeting its owner, he jumped up and started running back and forth between the front and back door, the way he does when my husband comes home from work! Amazing.

[Jen Viegas]

Wow! That's incredible, Michelle. I actually think you might be onto a new scientific finding- no joke- that dogs can understand their own vocalizations, even when they're not distress-related. It seems like a big "duh" that dogs understand the vocalizations of other dogs but, until very recently, most researchers thought dogs barked just for the sake of us and not for the benefit of other dogs. Smart dog owners like you know better!

[adam]

cant believe i got them all right. love dogs; fantastic site

[Jen Viegas]

You are the first person that I know of to correctly ID all of the barks! You must be a very perceptive individual and, as your post mentions, a dog lover as well. Excellent work. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to write.

[Cynthia J Wilson-Huey]

I can't believe it but I got them all right. Yea for me. Great listening tool.

[Jen Viegas]

Now we have two dog bark test acers. Way to go, Cynthia. Thanks for letting me know. It would be interesting to test why some people are better at this than others. More lifetime exposure to dogs, greater sensitivity, better hearing...Maybe all of these things?

[Melissa]

I was surprised, but I got them all right as well! We had family dogs growing up, but I think the real experience came from raising a Siberian Husky since 8 weeks. And taking her to dog play times every week!

[Jen Viegas]

Another A+ here. Thanks, Melissa.

[Donna]

Great test! I got them all right! Could I be a "Dog Whisperer" in training?! I attribute it being a dog worshipper most of my life and being very close with mine. This test makes me realize just how well I recognize my dogs' vocalizations.

[Jen Viegas]

The test was pretty hard, I thought, so Donna and those of you who aced it are indeed dog whisperers in training. If you do well, it is a sign that you've enjoyed a close relationship with one dog or more at some point in your life. It's a gift to understand dog speak!

[Brian]

I only got 5 :( I got the Lab crying and the Staffordshire greeting his owner mixed up.

[Sit Stay Fetch Review]

I got most of them right :) I had trouble with the basset though. Neat test.

[Jennifer Viegas]

Good work, Sit Stay Fetch. Thanks for stopping by.