Dogs can distinguish between human and canine voice

Dogs can detect emotional tone in voice

it is the first evidence of complex auditory processing during sleep in dogs: Researcher

A study has established that the audio receptors of dogs might be active even during sleep. Brainwave measuring devices were used to observe the brain activity of dogs during sleep. 

The study established that dogs have the ability to distinguish from dog sounds and human sounds even during sleep. Furthermore it could even detect the tone of the voices ranging from positive, negative and neutral. 

This behaviour has also been observed in other primates and is now being considered universal to mammals. 

“This finding is significant insofar as it is the first evidence of complex auditory processing during sleep in dogs,” Eotvos Loránd University ethologist Huba Eleod and colleagues stated in their paper.

“Although use of a non-invasive ERP paradigm with dogs is quite labour-intensive, it is nevertheless the most feasible possibility to study vocal stimuli processing during sleep, as it does not require prior training and does not cause any distress or harm,” the team wrote regarding the methodology used for research. 

“Dog and human sleep show several parallels with regard to sleep-dependent memory consolidation and processing of pre-sleep emotional treatment.  It has even been proposed that relative to commonly used laboratory animals, the general architecture of human sleep is better approximated by dog sleep,” the research stated.