We’ve always known that our family Dogs could communicate with us, but do we really need to hear them “talk” like us?
Can they even really do that?
TALKING TO ANIMAL COMPANIONS
If you’re the sort who loves to go through their social media stream looking for cute animal content (I know I do!), then chances are, you’ve come across Bunny, a Dog who uses a floorboard full of buttons allowing her to talk to her human, seemingly communicating beyond the normal.
For people with companion animals, this is confirmation that our Dogs and Cats do indeed have the power to understand us, and that they can communicate with us as well.
As exciting as all that is, however, many think that the idea can be problematic in many ways. Do Bunny and most other Dogs and Cats who communicate using push-button devices actually “talk” to us?
BUNNY AND HER BUTTONS
First, we have to take a look at Bunny herself. What we do know is that she’s a Sheepadoodle who’s around six years old. She learned to communicate through buttons to activate words that humans can hear (more on that later).
It’s no surprise that there is so much footage of Bunny using the button soundboard, as her guardian, Alexis Devine, had always planned to raise her with the intent of making her able to communicate through some way other than through canine body language and vocalizations.
The Devine family was contacted by Leo Trottier, who had a device called FluentPet – basically a footboard with buttons that a Dog or Cat can press to “say” words.
Bunny’s abilities are now being studied, and it’s no exaggeration to say that many people in both the scientific and pet community are very invested in what the final results of the research will be.
AUGMENTED COMMUNICATION
The idea of using soundboard buttons with assigned words isn’t actually new – it’s an outgrowth of what’s known as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which is primarily used to describe methods to supplement speech or even replace it entirely using other ways of communication.
This covers everything from speech impairments to developmental issues and even acquired conditions. Modern methods started in the 1950s as an outgrowth of the need to restore communication after surgery where speech would be impaired or the ability removed entirely.
However, not all forms of AAC may be useful or even valid.
These methods and technologies were eventually applied to our animal friends, becoming what is known as Augmented Interspecies Communication (AIC) devices.
ETHICS & ACCURACY
The idea of whether or not a Dog or Cat can communicate with us using soundboards has been met with some controversy. Some argue that while it is possible for our furry friends to communicate with us using a soundboard, there are two problems.
ARE WE FORCING ANIMALS TO COMMUNICATE USING HUMAN LANGUAGE?
Dogs and Cats have a rich non-verbal set of cues to get their point across. Adding to that the various vocalizations that they can do, they can already tell us many things.
But believers in soundboards counter that while it could suppress natural signs and cues, it is clearer for us humans. Then again, that begs the question, why shouldn’t we learn to read their “languages”?
ISN’T SOUNDBOARD COMMUNICATION SUBJECT TO INTERPRETATION?
This is a very important point. Are the soundboard communication skills being exaggerated by the animal’s guardians? Are they reading more than what is being communicated because they really want to believe? Or is this a point of proper training, so that they can communicate not only with their guardians, but with other people as well?
If anything, this particular issue can be seen as two things: that owners may be overinterpreting, or that the Dog or Cat may actually understand simple words in the same way they understand commands.
MEET RUSSELL THE TALKING CAT
If the Dog community has Bunny, then for sure Cat lovers have Russell, who also uses a FluentPet soundboard to communicate with his own human.
But whereas Bunny has a more gentle approach, Russell and his household are decidedly more sassy and snippy – just what you’d expect from a Cat who can communicate through human words.
Russell’s page also isn’t just about talking, but about the whole family around him, including his other furry family members, which makes his communication all the more interesting – particularly because it sounds more coherent.
THE CLEVER HANS EFFECT
When it comes to animals communicating at a “human” level, the story of Clever Hans may be the reason many scientists and knowledgeable people have a certain amount of skepticism for the idea of modern-day animals being able to talk to humans.
Clever Hans was a Horse who lived from 1894 to 1916, and appeared to be able to solve math problems and handle other intellectual and problem-solving tasks. His companion, William von Osten, was an amateur horse trainer who supposedly taught Hans, and also taught him to answer questions by tapping or pawing his hoof on the ground.
When scientific testing was done, they found out that Hans was clever, but in a different way: He apparently could read the body language of the questioner, such that if Hans could see the questioner and the questioner knew the answer, then Hans would be able to answer with a great degree of accuracy.
But, if the questioner didn’t know the answer, or Hans was not able to observe the questioner, then Hans mostly got it wrong.
Still, the methodology of the testing was problematic in some ways, and Osten was never a believer in the idea of Hans being a good body language reader. They continued to tour until Osten’s death, at which point Hans was passed on to other owners.
The ”Clever Hans effect” now refers to how certain scientific tests that involve thinking animals – Dogs, Cats, and humans – have to be done with as much isolation as possible of the test subject, so that subconscious cues from the testing team or surroundings will not affect the experiment. In other words, no clues!
THE NEED TO COMMUNICATE
The use of a soundboard probably stems from a need to bridge the communication gap. On one hand, a soundboard can definitely provide a human with a clearer mode of communication with their Dog or Cat companion. Though it will take careful and constant training, the idea that we can interact in a more human fashion with them is too irresistible.
However, the need to understand our companions is also the weakness of the idea, inasmuch as what they are communicating to us may simply be either a trained reaction to food (if that was the basis of how they learned to use the soundboard), or an accurate reading of our own subconscious cues.
It makes us wonder if we are teaching animals an ability that they legitimately benefit from, or if we are just humanizing their communication for our own comfort.
But if both human and animal are happy, does it matter? Perhaps, as long as no one is getting hurt, and if Dogs, Cats, and humans are pretty much happy interacting through a soundboard, there’s no need to fret. Let everyone find their bliss, one button at a time.
TAKEAWAYS FROM FICTION
RATATOUILLE
Humanity has always been looking for ways to communicate with fellow animals, hoping to find in them a kindred soul.
The Pixar film Ratatouille is a perfect example of this, where an animal known to be the bane of the kitchen turns out to be a very good chef in his own right.
It’s even funnier that the augmented device that allows Remy the Rat to realize his cooking ambitions happens to be a human himself, Alfredo Linguini. It’s a delightful story that surely appeals to Filipinos – after all, we all love to eat, and eat well.
But there can be no great Pixar story without a little drama, and the challenge now is: How will Remy and Alfredo navigate friendship, the kitchen, and quite possibly the health code, given their partnership as Rat and Man in the kitchen?
COSMO THE SPACEDOG
It comes as no surprise that the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise has so many interesting animal characters. None, however, can tug so much at our Dog-loving heartstrings as the telepathic Cosmo.
Cosmo’s origins are pretty much hinted at in the movies with her Russian accent: She was probably launched into space during the Soviet space program in the 1960s and was mutated in the same manner as the Fantastic Four were… by cosmic rays.
Apparently, she became highly intelligent, was able to read minds, and could move things around with telekinesis. Also, it probably made her very long-lived.
She’s a perfect pop-culture example of how much humans want to not only talk to their Dogs and Cats, but also see their companions become superpowered.
FUN FACT
In the comic books, Cosmo is male, and initially becomes an ally of Nova, a Marvel Superhero who is the basis for the Nova Corps in the GotG franchise.
In many versions of the Marvel Universe, Cosmo is always either part of the police force for Knowhere (the big space station made out of a giant head in the movie) or is somehow involved with it.
And yes, she (or he!) is definitely a good girl (or boy).
