Yes. My dogs understand the concept of yes and no as relates to specific things. However, they cannot understand the concept of yes and no as a general thing.
So, they can understand, "do you want to go out" and they can respond to that with their body language. I could teach them to nod yes or no easily enough. I simply didn't feel the need to. Instead, they run to the door or they don't go to the door. This tells me yes or no.
Similarly, I can ask them if they want a nap. The answer speaks for itself. They run to my bed and jump on it, or they don't go into the bedroom. (They pretty much always want a nap.)
I could not introduce an entirely new concept for which they have never learned the meaning of the word and expect them to respond to it. They simply have learned to respond to certain words on my part with certain behavior. This behavior expresses yes or no.
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