10 of Your Most Burning Questions About Dogs Answered by an Expert

Well, we know that dogs are smart enough to recognize different people and different dogs. So they definitely know when something is not a dog. If it's something they've seen a lot, they might be uninterested and just ignore it. If they are prey driven, they might see anything smaller than themselves as something to chase. Or they may only chase certain types of animals, like squirrels and not chipmunks. If they came across a new animal they have never seen before, like a tiger, I'm guessing they would know they should be nervous.

Dogs use all different kinds of information, which is what makes them special. They are unusually good at reading our body language, but they can also learn a lot of words — a friend of mine called Chaser knows the names of over 1,000 toys! Dogs also listen to the tone and volume of your voice, and they can even pay attention to which direction your eyes are looking. For me, the most incredible thing about dogs is that they are so motivated to understand us. It's as if they know that communication is the key to any good relationship!