In recent times, viral videos of dogs using soundboards to communicate with their owners have taken over social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. These videos show dogs pressing buttons on soundboards to convey messages such as asking for food, requesting help, or even questioning their own reflection. While these videos may seem adorable and impressive at first glance, skeptics, including biologists, have raised doubts about the true intentions and capabilities of these dogs.
A recent study conducted by scientists at the Comparative Cognition Lab at the University of California San Diego aimed to investigate whether dogs truly understand and respond to the words on the soundboard. Cognitive scientist Federico Rossano, the senior author of the study, stated that the research found that words do matter to dogs, and they respond to the words themselves, not just to associated cues. The study aimed to test whether dogs would react to specific words regardless of who says them or how they are delivered.
The researchers conducted two experiments involving separate groups of family pet dogs. In the first experiment, researchers visited the homes of 30 dogs, while in the second experiment, 29 dog owners conducted the experiment themselves under the scientists’ guidance. All the dogs had been previously trained by their owners to use the soundboard to respond to words such as “out/outside,” “play/toy,” and “food/eat/dinner/hungry.” The results of the experiments showed that dogs reacted appropriately to play-related and outside-related words, regardless of who said them or how they were delivered.
The researchers concluded that dogs are capable of understanding and responding to specific words on the soundboard. This opens up the possibility of enlisting dog owners as citizen scientists to further study soundboard-based communication in dogs. While previous research has shown that dogs can understand words to some extent, this study provides evidence that dogs can respond to specific words even in the absence of other contextual cues. The researchers plan to conduct further studies to explore how dogs actively use these buttons and the meaning behind sequences of button presses.
The study conducted by the Comparative Cognition Lab at the University of California San Diego sheds light on the capabilities of dogs to understand and communicate using soundboards. While skeptics may still question the validity of these findings, the research provides valuable insights into the relationship between dogs and language. As the study opens up new possibilities for future research and collaboration with dog owners, it will be interesting to see how this field of study evolves in the coming years.
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