Do dog ‘talking buttons’ actually work? Does my dog understand me? Here is the science.
The Conversation
December 22, 2023
Beagle dogs (Shutterstock)
Is your dog bothered by something but you can’t work out what? Do you wish they could tell you?
There’s a huge range of dog “talking” buttons on the market that now claim to let your dog do this. A very basic kit will set you back about $15, while more sophisticated ones can cost hundreds of dollars.
But is there any evidence these products work?
How the buttons work
The idea behind these buttons is simple. You record yourself speaking a word such as “treat” or “outside” into each button, after which the word is played back each time the button is pressed. Your dog can supposedly be trained to understand the words coming from the buttons, and use them to communicate with you.
Talking buttons are an example of augmentative and alternative communication. To put it simply, they’re a method of communication that doesn’t use speech. In humans, similar devices are valuable for people with autism or intellectual disability, or those suffering from a stroke or other neurological condition.
Can dogs learn complex communication?
A dog could figure out to press talking buttons through a process called operant conditioning – the same process used to teach dogs simple commands such as “sit”. When a dog performs a behaviour and receives something they want, such as a treat, they’re more likely to continue that behaviour.
The idea of dogs “talking” to humans with buttons was started by Christina Hunger, a speech language pathologist who understood the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices. Hunger claims to have taught her dog Stella more than 50 words and phrases up to five-words long.
Alternative explanations
There are simple explanations for what may seem like complex behaviour in animals. For one thing, animals excel in picking up our body language. As a result, they may appear to understand more than they actually do.
Clever Hans the horse is the perfect example. Hans gained prominence in the early 1900s for allegedly being able to do mathematics. Even his trainer believed he could count. It was only when the trainer was no longer present that people realised Hans was relying on involuntary cues in the trainer’s body language to “solve” problems, and couldn’t actually count.
Dogs are probably even better than horses at picking up on our body language cues. As the first domesticated species, they’ve spent thousands of years working out what we’re likely to do next. Just think of all the times your dog has rushed to the door even before you’ve picked up their leash.
When we train dogs to use talking buttons, they’re probably learning using operant conditioning to some extent. For example, they learn that pressing a button can lead to a reward.
But in cases where dogs seem to be able to string multiple buttons together to say something advanced, or where they can press the “right” button when asked, they’re likely just responding to their owner’s body language. And they probably wouldn’t be able to replicate the behaviour if a new pet-sitter was making the command.
We need more data
Federico Rossan, director of the Comparative Cognition Lab at UC San Diego, is working on a large project analysing results from dogs using talking buttons.
Although FluentPet (a business that sells pet communication products) is involved, the study is reported to be independent. That means a person who doesn’t have a conflict of interest will analyse and report the results.
Data collection started in late 2020, but so far no evidence has been published. Until then, the best “evidence” we have for these products is anecdotal reporting coming from dog owners who are probably biased (since they’d like to think their dog is very clever).
Could it do any harm?
It matters when we treat our dogs differently depending on what we think they are thinking.
One example is when we assume dogs feel guilty for certain actions. For instance, when you come home and your dog has chewed up your favourite rug, they might look “guilty” as you scold them, but they’re actually just responding to your reaction. Studies have shown dogs can’t experience the human emotion of guilt.
That’s why you shouldn’t punish your dog when you come home to a chewed-up carpet. They won’t associate your yelling or smacking with their action from hours earlier.
The reality is some dogs will simply be more interested in interacting with talking buttons than others. There’s no good reason to think these dogs are therefore smarter than others.
Should I buy talking buttons?
If you can recognise and account for the potential risks mentioned above, then buying talking buttons won’t do any harm to you or your dog (apart from putting a dent in your wallet).
That said, there are myriad ways to communicate with your dog without needing such a device. Chaser the border collie learned how to retrieve 1,022 toys by name without an augmentative device.
However you do it, spending time with your dog using positive reinforcement training will benefit both of you. Dogs are amazing, unique animals with whom we can communicate in all kinds of ways, and they don’t need to understand our language for this.
Talking buttons could be harmful if a dog’s refusal to use them changes their owner’s attitude towards them. Shutterstock
Correction: this article previously included a line saying human language is “too complex” for a dog to understand. This has now been removed as it doesn’t correctly reflect the state of research on dog communication.
Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide and Eduardo J Fernandez, Visiting Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of Technology
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The future of canine stem cell therapy: unprecedented, painless, and feeder-free
New method generates canine-induced pluripotent stem cells in dogs from urine samples, without using feeder cells
IMAGE:
SCIENTISTS CREATED CANINE IPSCS FROM URINE-DERIVED CELLS WITH GREAT EFFICIENCY
view moreCREDIT: SHINGO HATOYA, OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
Osaka, Japan – Dog owners may need to learn to appreciate their best friend’s urine. Scientists at Osaka Metropolitan University have devised an efficient, non-invasive, and pain-free method to reprogram canine stem cells from urine samples, bringing furry companions one step closer to veterinary regenerative treatment.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been widely employed in studies on human generative medicine. With the growing importance of advanced medical care for dogs and cats, there is an expectation that new therapies utilizing iPSCs will be developed for these companion animals, just as they have been for humans. Unfortunately, canine somatic cells exhibit lower reprogramming efficiency compared to those of humans, limiting the types of canine cells available for generating iPSCs. IPSC induction often involves using feeder cells from a different species. However, considering the associated risks, minimizing xenogeneic components is often advisable, signifying the need to improve the efficiency of reprogramming various types of canine cells in dogs without using feeder cells.
A research team led by Professor Shingo Hatoya and Dr. Masaya Tsukamoto from the Graduate School of Veterinary Science at Osaka Metropolitan University has identified six reprogramming genes that can boost canine iPSC generation by about 120 times compared to conventional methods using fibroblasts. The iPSCs were created from urine-derived cells using a non-invasive, straightforward, and painless method. Additionally, the researchers succeeded in generating canine iPSCs without feeder cells, a feat that had been impossible until now. The team aims to disseminate their findings in the global research community, contributing to advances in regenerative medicine and genetic disease research in veterinary medicine.
“As a veterinarian, I have examined and treated many animals,” explained Professor Hatoya. “However, there are still many diseases that either cannot be cured or have not been fully understood. In the future, I am committed to continue my research on differentiating canine iPSCs into various types of cells and applying them to treat sick dogs, hopefully bringing joy to many animals and their owners.”
Their findings are set for publication in Stem Cell Reports on December 21, 2023.
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About OMU
Osaka Metropolitan University is the third largest public university in Japan, formed by a merger between Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University in 2022. OMU upholds "Convergence of Knowledge" through 11 undergraduate schools, a college, and 15 graduate schools. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ or follow us on Twitter: @OsakaMetUniv_en, or Facebook.
JOURNAL
Stem Cell Reports
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Experimental study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Animals
ARTICLE TITLE
Generation of canine induced pluripotent stem cells under feeder-free conditions using Sendai virus vector encoding six canine reprogramming factors
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
21-Dec-2023
COI STATEMENT
This study was also funded by Anicom Specialty Medical Institute Inc. Taro Ayabe and Kei Watanabe are employees of Anicom Specialty Medical Institute Inc.
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