
Dog able to verbally communicate with people - anw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCi-FwKsBDg
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jmiskovic
[https://www.hungerforwords.com/post/teaching-my-dog-to-
talk-...](https://www.hungerforwords.com/post/teaching-my-dog-to-talk-1)

This is a fascinating summary of training process and accomplished results.
Author is speech therapist for children and applies similar approach instead
of rewarding dog for just pressing buttons. Most of comments here are too
dismissive of methods and results.

~~~
cam_l
People do not want to believe animals are sentient and can communicate. They
often spend their whole lives ignoring the evidence plainly in front of their
own eyes. Hell, they used to do this with other humans..

I would argue this training is not about teaching the dog to communicate, they
already do that. This is teaching the dog to communicate in a way that is
understandable and verifiable to people other than their owner.

My dog learned to cough to get my attention and then point to the thing he
wanted, or give me a look he knew I would understand. Barking at me would
often just get my frustration, but he was so excited when he found out that we
could both make the same noise coughing. After that, he would only bark if he
was mad. Communication, but not with repeatable, verifiable 'words'.

~~~
diffrinse
> Hell, they used to do this with other humans..

There are enough that still explicitly do and another set that uses things
like Evo Psych, IQ testing, and renewed interest in Non-African human origin
and arguments that humans aren't a single species (since species isn't an
exact term to begin with) to imply the same.

~~~
ilaksh
First I have heard of that stuff. So that is like, a new type of racism? Kind
of next-level racism.

~~~
cameronfraser
It's basically scientific racism and was used to justify slavery for a while.

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matthewsinclair
This dog and its button pushing communication system have come up a few times
here on HN. It really does seem incredible. I trained my dog to ring a bell to
go in and out of the back door whenever he wants, but this is on a whole other
level. How do we know this isn’t just a sophisticated version of the “The
Clever Hans Effect”? [1] I’d love to believe this is what it looks like, but
my skeptical radar is tingling.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans)

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ajuc
So she gets attention when she touches the buttons and gets food when she
pushes "eat".

I like the idea but I don't think you can conclude it's communication any more
than a rat pressing a lever to get his brain stimulated was.

~~~
LyndsySimon
I've come across these videos on TikTok many times - Stella has a much larger
apparent vocabulary than "I need attention" and "food". From memory, there's
another video out there somewhere of her pressing "Stella" "want" "walk". Her
owner says "But Stella, we just went for a walk." The dog's response is
"Stella" "want" "walk" "again" <delay, looks at owner> "now".

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thih9
I feel like this is missing some context. E.g. the word “mad” seems complex;
how has this been introduced and how do we know that this is what the dog is
trying to communicate?

~~~
prewett
There’s context in the details about the video. Apparently the owner didn’t
leave like normal and didn’t give the dog her customary treat on leaving.

~~~
thih9
I was referring to the context related to the learning process and word
meaning, the description doesn't explain that.

The other comment at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23767827](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23767827)
links to an article with more details. This is what I was missing.

~~~
prewett
This article is much more detailed, thanks!

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nix23
Every Dog does that all the time..it's not special, he bark's or pushes me
with the nose, i ask food? If he look's down with his eyes rolling to the left
as if there is a virtual bowl i know he want's food, if its not food he goes
to the door and pushes the door with the nose, if cuddles he presses his body
against my leg. The only difference here is that this poor dog had to learn
howto use color buttons because his (former?)-owner (probably) cannot
interpret his face or gestures.

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Jaruzel
> use color buttons

Even though dogs are colourblind. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

~~~
nix23
But not colorblind as in b/w:

[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-
corner/200810...](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-
corner/200810/can-dogs-see-colors)

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aetherspawn
This dog has been trained to press the Eat button to get food. It has not been
trained to form sentences?

~~~
Diti
It definitely has been trained to form sentences. Haven’t you watched the
other videos? There are several instances of the dog refusing food unless its
owner acknowledges what it has to say first.

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Udik
Hmm, so what the dog wants to communicate is that she wants a food treat. Not
exactly unexpected.

Reminds me of the famous Gary Larson's comic:

[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1d/b5/27/1db5279f8a07f1601bf7...](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1d/b5/27/1db5279f8a07f1601bf75a92caf9db0a.jpg)

~~~
majewsky
Well, a lot of us only show up for work because we want our money treat. :)

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ajani
What breed is that dog?

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mthoms
I'm wondering the same. Its size and shape suggests Border Collie but fur
color + length says otherwise.

Edit: I just found it. Blue Healer and Catahoula mix.

