--- title: Why Dogs Understand What We Say But Still Don’t Get FaceTime description: Dogs can understand what humans say and how we say it, but they’re still not technologically savvy enough to understand FaceTime. canonical: https://time.com/4472687/dogs-understand-humans-facetime/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-30T16:29:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:16.533Z article:section: Science og:title: Why Dogs Understand What We Say But Still Don’t Get FaceTime og:description: “Realistic size matters" og:url: https://time.com/4472687/dogs-understand-humans-facetime/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb16009a41e944e13/6988a436196cf48bc403d039/dog-facetime-understand-what-we-say-vocabulary.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Hanrob Pet Hotels Launch 'Petskype' og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Dogs Understand What We Say But Still Don’t Get FaceTime twitter:description: “Realistic size matters" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb16009a41e944e13/6988a436196cf48bc403d039/dog-facetime-understand-what-we-say-vocabulary.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Dogs Understand What We Say But Still Don’t Get FaceTime > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: New Study Says Dogs Understand What We Say [Watch (HLS stream): New Study Says Dogs Understand What We Say](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MQLyFJCZ.m3u8) (0:36)  _Published 2016-08-30. Researchers in Hungary have investigated and recorded the brain activity of dogs, confirming that they not only understand the words we speak, but also how we say them._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Aug 30, 2016 4:29 PM UTC  A dog talks to its owner through Skype in Melbourne, Victoria. A dog talks to its owner through Skype in Melbourne, Victoria. Newspix—Newspix via Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Aug 30, 2016 4:29 PM UTC [Dogs can understand what humans say](http://time.com/4472235/dogs-understand-speech/?xid=homepage) and how we say it, a groundbreaking new study has found. But while [man’s best friend is smarter than most animals](http://time.com/4459684/national-dog-day-history-domestic-dogs-wolves/), dogs are still not that technologically savvy. Scientists who studied brain activity in some dogs say canines can distinguish words and the intonation of human speech the way humans do. A group of trained dogs in Hungary helped researchers make that discovery by undergoing fMRI brain scans while listening to audio recordings of their trainers. The researchers found that certain words sparked activity in different hemispheres of the brain. But while evidence shows dogs can register and understand audio recordings, experts say pet owners should expect their four-legged friends to blatantly ignore them during video chats through FaceTime or Skype. “When you hear someone live or you hear someone via headphones, there’s not much of a difference for dogs, but seeing someone live or on a screen seems to be very different,” said Dr. Attila Andics, a research fellow at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest who led the new dog cognition [study](http://www.aaas.org/news/dogs-understand-human-words-and-intonation) published in the journal _Science_. Andics said his team has previously run several studies on how dogs process small screens. They found that while dogs realize they are looking at a human’s face on screen, the stimulus isn’t enough for them to recognize it’s their owner on the other side. “Realistic size matters,” he said. “If the size is not realistic, you become something small in a little box.” Andics added that more studies using brain imaging will attempt to unravel the mystery behind exactly what dogs can understand, including tests to find out whether the animals can process grammar and syntax. “This is a very exciting field of research. I think it’s really exciting,” he said. “Human language research is just enormous. This is just the first study on dogs. 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