In the realm of social media, captivating videos showcasing dogs activating soundboard buttons to communicate with their owners have been gaining attention. Notable figures like Stella, often referred to as “the world’s first talking dog,” have been seen requesting activities like going to the park or expressing discomfort in their paws, giving the impression of engaging in human-like conversations.
The documentary “Can Dogs Talk?” from The Nature of Things delves into unraveling the mystery behind dogs expressing themselves through these word buttons. Fascinated by these seemingly talking canines, Federico Rossano, an associate professor at the University of California San Diego specializing in human and animal social interaction, initially viewed the clips with skepticism. However, upon further exploration, Rossano embarked on a groundbreaking research endeavor to study the communication patterns of dogs and cats using word buttons, amassing data from a significant number of pets across various countries.
The initial experiments conducted by Rossano revealed that dogs do respond to specific words triggered by button presses, independent of any prompting from their owners. Addressing concerns that the dogs might be pressing buttons randomly, the research team discovered through extensive analysis that certain terms were consistently used more frequently than others, such as “outside,” “play,” “food,” and “walk.”
Questioning whether dogs merely associate words with actions or genuinely comprehend the meaning behind the words, researchers like Amalia Bastos from Johns Hopkins University conducted experiments to delve deeper into the cognitive abilities of dogs. By studying how dogs react to words like “help” in specific situations, researchers aimed to ascertain the depth of understanding dogs possess when communicating through these word buttons.
Rossano’s ongoing research, which includes observing dogs combining multiple buttons to form what seems like sentences, aims to explore the linguistic productivity displayed by some dogs. Despite facing some skepticism, Rossano remains dedicated to expanding the scope of this research, emphasizing the need for continuous data collection to further understand the language capabilities of dogs.
For those intrigued by this fascinating topic, the documentary “Can Dogs Talk?” is available for viewing on CBC Gem and The Nature of Things YouTube channel.