Dogs register that they are being praised only if the words and intonation match, lighting up both brain areas.
This appears to confirm what many dog owners have long believed: Man`s best friend cares what we say and how we say it.
Lead researcher Attila Andics, an animal behavior expert at Hungary`s Eotvos Lorand University, says the findings suggest that dogs` ability to process language evolved earlier than previously thought.
Andics says what makes human communication unique is the invention of words, not the ability to process them.
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