Dogs are capable of forming two-word combinations when using a soundboard to communicate with humans, a groundbreaking study has found.
In the last few years, thousands of dogs have been trained to use soundboards with buttons that can be pressed to produce human words or phrases.
Some have even become social media sensations, like the TikTok famous sheepadoodle Bunny.
But scientists still weren’t sure whether these ‘talking’ dogs were pressing buttons randomly, or deliberately.
Now, a new analysis has revealed that the dogs’ behavior cannot be explained by random pressing, and that certain two-button combinations appear too often to be the result of random chance, the study states.
The researchers found that the most commonly used buttons were related to the dogs’ essential needs, such as ‘outside,’ ‘treat,’ ‘play’ and ‘potty.’
Combinations like ‘outside’ + ‘potty’ or ‘food’ + ‘water’ also occurred too frequently to be accidental, and were used in meaningful ways.
What’s more, the researchers identified differences between the dogs’ button pressing behavior and that of their owners.
For example, buttons like ‘I love you’ were pressed far less frequently by dogs than by their humans, suggesting that dogs are not imitating their owners’ presses. This will be a blow to owners who believe the feelings of utter devotion are mutual.
A new study has found that dogs are capable of forming non-random, two-word combinations when using a soundboard to communicate with humans, like Bunny the sheepadoodle does
This study provides strong evidence that dogs are using soundboards to deliberately communicate meaningful messages to humans – a groundbreaking finding in this ongoing research.
‘This is the first scientific study to analyze how dogs actually use soundboards,’ said study lead Federico Rossano.
‘The findings reveal that dogs are pressing buttons purposefully to express their desires and needs, not just imitating their owners.
‘When dogs combine two buttons, these sequences are not random but instead seem to reflect specific requests,’ Rossano added in statement.
Rossano led a team of researchers at the UC San Diego Comparative Cognition Lab have analyzed data from more than 260,000 button presses, 195,000 of which were made by 152 dogs over 21 months.
The researchers used data collected by the FluentPet mobile app, which owners use to log their pets’ button presses in real time.
Using advanced statistical techniques, including computer simulations, the researchers analyzed the data to determine whether button press combinations were random, imitative or truly intentional and meaningful.
The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.
Cache, a golden retriever from San Francisco, can press the buttons on the mat to request cuddles, see specific people or simply ask for attention
These results suggest that dogs can use soundboards to deliberately communicate with people.
This study has advanced scientists’ understanding of interspecies communication, which has been studied for decades.
Early studies attempted to teach apes how to talk with humans both vocally and through sign language, but this work was heavily criticized for several reasons, Rossano and his co-authors wrote in their report.
The methods were often inconsistent and underreported, researchers tended to overinterpret animals’ behavior, and the conditions the apes were reared in were detrimental to their health and safety.
This research did, however, yield some interesting anecdotal evidence suggesting the apes were engaging in meaningful communication.
For example, one study reported that a chimpanzee named Washoe signed ‘water’ and ‘bird’ upon seeing a swan.
Subsequent studies used augmentative interspecies communication (AIC) devices, such as lexigrams, magnetic chips and buttons, in a similar way to the soundboards used today.
These studies demonstrated that some animals, including apes, dolphins and two professionally-trained dogs named Sophia and Laila, can learn to use AIC devices to communicate requests.
Stella, a five-year-old Blue Heeler/Catahoula mix from Chicago, was trained to use a soundboard to communicate by her owner, speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger
Though that research was not without its own criticisms, it laid the groundwork for the soundboard studies of today.
The conclusions drawn by Rossano and his team affirm the value of soundboards for helping owners better understand their pets’ needs, according to the researchers.
‘While dogs already communicate some of these needs,’ Rossano said, ‘soundboards could allow for more precise communication.
‘Instead of barking or scratching at the door, a dog may be able to tell you exactly what it wants, even combining concepts like ‘outside’ and ‘park’ or ‘beach.’
But their findings will require further investigation, the researchers stated.
Rossano wants to examine dogs’ interspecies communication skills on a deeper level, exploring whether canines can use buttons to refer to the past or future, such as telling their owner that they are missing a toy.
The researchers also want to know whether dogs can combine buttons more creatively, communicating concepts for which they lack specific words.
‘We want to know if dogs can use these soundboards to express ideas beyond their immediate needs, like absent objects, past experiences, or future events,’ Rossano said.
‘If they can, it would drastically change how we think about animal intelligence and communication.’
