Owners Can Now ‘Talk to Their Pets’ Using AI
Have you ever wished you could talk to your puppy?
American scientists suggest that this might be possible if you use a bizarre tool. research projectreleased this week, follows an influx of TikTok videos that show pet owners trying to communicate with dogs using mixers.
These carpet-like boards typically feature several buttons linked to various commands—whether it’s “play,” “go out,” or “eat”—that dogs press to make a sound and get what they want. While it may seem like a silly gimmick, researchers have confirmed that dogs can actually understand the words written on these boards, a groundbreaking new discovery.
UC San Diego Associate Professor Federico Rossano said Daily Science“This study addresses public skepticism about whether dogs really understand what buttons mean.
“Our results are important because they show that words matter to dogs and that they respond to the words themselves, not just to the cues associated with them.”
As part of the research, the scientists studied the dogs’ behavior in two key experiments. In the first, the researchers visited 30 pet homes in the United States to measure responses to the sound panels, while in the second, pet owners monitored their dogs’ behavior remotely.
The results showed that dogs performed “appropriate behaviors” for “play- and outdoor-related” words, regardless of who or what was saying them. The study concluded: “Therefore, domestic dogs can successfully teach their owners to associate words recorded on soundboard buttons with their real-world outcomes, and they respond appropriately to these words even when they are presented in the absence of any other cues, such as the owner’s body language.”
For Professor Rossano, this result is only a “first step” and he wants to explore further the behaviours that are actually possible in dogs in the future. He adds: “Our research highlights the importance of studying animals in their domestic environment, which allows us to better understand their ecological capabilities.”
