Dogs know the difference between words they know, new languages and gibberish

(KYMA, KECY) - No matter what language you use to tell your dog to sit, they'll know you're talking to them.

That's the result of a new study involving language and dogs.

Hungarian researchers used MRI technology to scan the brain activity of 18 dogs when a voice read to them in a language they had heard, one they hadn't heard and in gibberish.

Those brain scans showed different parts of the brain lit up when the dogs were spoken to in a language they knew, versus one they had never heard.

They also showed the dogs could tell a difference between words they haven't heard and meaningless gibberish.

All the dogs participating in the experiment had previously been trained to hold still in MRI machines and were free to exit them at any time.