This Dog Can Communicate In Sentences Thanks To A Soundboard And Lessons From Her Owner
"Everyone deserves a voice."
That is a mantra used by Cristina Hunger, a 26-year old speech pathologist from San Diego.
Cristina works with children between one and two years of age, and sadly, many of them have to use adaptive devices to communicate. Her work made her wonder what would happen if she coached her two-month-old dog to do the same. Would Stella, a Catahoula/Blue Heeler be able to do it?
"If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn't they be able to say words to us? Can dogs use AAC to communicate with humans?" she said.
"Everyone deserves a voice."
Can they use it?
Cristina and her fiancĂŠ Jake began by making a button that said "outside" and then pushed it each time they said the word or opened the door. After a couple of weeks, each time Cristina said "outside," Stella stared at the button.
In no time, Stella began to push the button each time she wanted to go outside.
They added more buttons: "eat," "water," "play," "walk," "no," "come," "help," "bye," and "love you."
"Every day I spent time using Stella's buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children," she recorded on her blog.
"Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella's voice and opinions matter just as our own do," she resumed.
If Stella's water bowl needs refilling, she says "water." If she wants to play, she says, "play." She even learned to tell friends "bye" if they put on their coats by the door.
Stella quickly learned to combine different words and make phrases.
On one afternoon, soon after daylight savings, she started saying âeatâ at 3:00 pm.
When Cristina didnât respond by bringing her food, she said "love you no" and stormed out of the room.
Today, Stella knows 29 words and can combine up to five at a time to create phrases and sentences.
"The way she uses words to communicate and the words she's combining is really similar to a 2-year-old child," Cristina reveals on her blog.
She thinks her work has the ability to change the connection between people and dogs.
"I think how important dogs are to their humans," Hunger told. "I just imagine how much deeper the bond will be."
Stella wants to play ball outside.
Stella needs some more breakfast.
After a day at the beach, Stella needs to go back.
Stella saying Cristina that she doesn't want her to go to work.
How do you feel about this? Should the dogs be taught to communicate like this? The comment section is all yours.
