PET CARE: ASK THE EXPERTS WITH CODY
Groundbreaking Research
Helps Dogs Communicate
with Words
Article By Dr. Annie Valuska, Ph.D., & Dr. Frederico Rossano, Ph.D.
(BPT) - Imagine a world where your dog could tell you exactly what they want - not through barks, tail wags, or pawing at the door, but by using words. With grant funding from Purina, the University of California San Diego is conducting groundbreaking research to explore whether dogs can use soundboards with buttons that "speak" words to express themselves, revolutionizing how pets and humans communicate.
You may have already come across viral videos of dogs pressing buttons to say words like "play," "outside," or even "I love you." This phenomenon has captured the public's imagination. Now, with a $200,000 grant from Purina, UC San Diego's Comparative Cognition Lab is taking this concept to the next level. The research aims to uncover whether dogs can learn to use these buttons to communicate more complex thoughts, and how far their cognitive abilities can stretch.
"This research partnership is so
exciting because it may provide us with a new way to ask questions about pet behavior," said Dr. Annie Valuska, Ph.D., principal scientist on Purina's pet behavior team. "We're hoping to generate some really interesting new insights and ultimately understand our pet dogs even better."
The soundboards used in the study are equipped with buttons programmed with words like "walk," "potty," or "food." As dogs press these buttons in different situations, scientists hope to understand whether they are merely associating the button with a specific action or if they are forming more complex thoughts, like combining words to express needs and desires. Could a dog eventually say something like "outside now" or "more play"? That's what the research aims to find out.
Dr. Federico Rossano, Ph.D., director of UC San Diego's Comparative Cognition Lab, sees even broader potential in the research. "We explore how soundboards