Q:Why can't dogs hold conversations with one another? They bark, but it's all one-sided; they bark at stuff, not to it. My friend says it's because dogs don't have the intelligence to use language as a communication tool. Is she right?

A: Dogs have a very eloquent way of communicating with each other, of which vocalizing plays a very small part. A dog's primary form of communication between one another and among other species is through body language. Their placement of ears and lips, eye contact, tail posture, how they carry their weight (forward, back or centered on their paws) and their stance (tall or crouching down) all communicate significant information about how a dog is feeling.


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Dogs also learn a tremendous amount about the world around them through their sense of smell, which is estimated to be anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times more sophisticated than humans'. For dogs, discovering scents (and leaving their own behind) is like sending and receiving e-mail. This is why dogs usually have their head down, busily vacuuming up smells (and information). Meanwhile, we are walking with our heads up, relying primarily on our sense of vision to take in the world around us.

Dogs may lack the physiological capacity for human speech, but anyone who takes the time to really observe dogs will undoubtedly come away with a deep appreciation for their subtle and sophisticated language.