Baby Knows Just What You Mean, Fido

So, the study involving 6-month-old babies and dingoes may have run into some difficulties, and we'll just leave it at that, but we've got much better news regarding wee ones and their surprisingly early understanding of dogs.

A research team at Brigham Young University has determined that 6-month old infants have a remarkably keen ability to interpret the emotional meaning of a dog's bark, and the ability is strong even in those babies who have had little or no interaction with man's best friend.

The young study subjects were shown different pictures of the same dog, one with the dog in a threatening stance, the other in a happy, non-aggressive stance. Recordings were then played, in random sequence, of menacing or happy and playful dog barks.

The team found that the babies spent the most time by far staring at the dog picture most appropriately matched with the recording being played, and in many cases made the correct association instantly.

Well before we have a handle on language, use we're able at a surprisingly young age to navigate the emotional cues of the world around us.

Photo courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt, via Flickr.