Ever wished you could chat with your pup?
US scientists suggest this may just be possible if you make use of one bizarre tool. The research project, published this week, comes after an influx of TikTok videos which show pet-owners trying to communicate with dogs using soundboards.
These carpet-like boards typically feature several buttons linked to various commands – be it ‘play’, ‘outside’ or ‘food’ – with dogs tapping them to emit a sound and get what they desire. While you may assume this is just a silly gimmick, the researchers have confirmed that pooches can indeed understand words from these boards in ground-breaking new results.
Associate Professor Federico Rossano of UC San Diego, told Science Daily: “This study addresses public skepticism about whether dogs truly understand what the buttons mean.
“Our findings are important because they show that words matter to dogs, and that they respond to the words themselves, not just to associated cues.”
As part of the research, scientists examined dog behaviour within two key experiments. Within the first, researchers visited 30 pet homes across the US to measure responses to the soundboards, while the second saw pet-owners monitoring their dog’s behaviour with remote supervision.
Results showed that dogs produced ‘appropriate behaviours’ for both ‘play-related and outside-related’ words regardless of who or what was saying them. The study concludes: “Therefore, pet dogs can be successfully taught by their owners to associate words recorded onto soundboard buttons to their outcomes in the real world, 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 outcome is ‘just scratching the surface’ and in future he wants to further explore what behaviours are really possible among dogs. He added: “Our research underscores the importance of studying animals in their home environment, providing a more ecologically valid understanding of their abilities.”
