“Dogs understand what some human words mean, according to a study published in the prestigious journal Science.
In a world-first experiment, academics in Hungary trained 13 dogs to voluntarily lie in an MRI scanner to monitor what happened in their brain when the researchers spoke to them.
They discovered that dogs’ brains process language in a similar way to humans, with the right side dealing with emotion and the left processing meaning.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/dogs-can-understand-human-speech-scientists-say-a7216481.html
Many scientific discoveries rely on “a systematic process of trail and error.” That is true in this particular research experiment to a certain extent. However, there are are often large differences between the finding of a research project and how those findings are reported in the media. Some media articles exaggerate findings which does not necessarily “aid in the production of knowledge.”