Familiar with my reading habits and you’ll know that I’ve long been fascinated by accounts of apes that use sign language or language devices, parrots that speak and show cognitive skills, and really any book about animal intelligence. Well, here we finally have a similar account about a dog. Anybody who’s lived with a dog (or cat) can tell you they understand at least some human language- certain words get dogs very excited, anticipating a walk or food, etc. My cat comes to his name. Chaser is famous for knowing over a thousand words assigned to individual toys and objects. Christina Hunger took this all one step further.
She works as a speech therapist, helping nonverbal children learn to use communication devices. She recognized in her dog the same behavioral milestones that young children achieve right before they being speaking. Her dog obviously knew the meaning of numerous words, so she decided to give the dog a way to say them. She fashioned a board with buttons that would verbalize pre-recorded words, starting with outside, eat, water and play. It took a while for the dog to catch on to what the buttons were for- but Christina patiently modeled using them, with the same methods she’d use for teaching a child. That is, she didn’t get the dog to use the word buttons for a reward, like a trick. She taught the dog to use the buttons in context, and the ability to communicate was its own intrinsic reward. And a powerful one. Stella began using the buttons regularly, and it became so invaluable- they could hear her pushing “outside” no matter what room in the house they were in- thus avoiding accidents- that when moving or traveling they had to find a way to bring the buttons along. (Stella and her family had got so used to her talking to express needs, that once in a hotel they missed her more subtle body language cues that she needed to go outside). Soon the author added more button words to Stella’s device, and then even more. When the book was published, she was using thirty words. Now- I visited her blog- her vocabulary includes over fifty words.
The dog surpassed all expectations in language use. She started applying words appropriately for situations they hadn’t been modeled for, demonstrating that she really knew what they meant. She put words together in novel combinations to express things- creating two, three- and four-word phrases. She not only used words to request food, water, going on a walk, visiting the beach, playing with someone etc- but also to comment on what was happening in the family at the moment (saying “water” when Christina watered her plants for example), to remark on things that had happened in the past- (“Jake bye” a few minutes after her husband left for work) or even to grasp what plans her family had for the immediate future (leaving on a trip, putting her with the dog-sitter, going to the beach at the end of the day instead of right now, etc). It’s pretty amazing to see the comprehension unfold and become actual two-way communication. No, the dog can’t discuss complex abstract ideas- but she makes her wishes known, expresses affection for her family and visitors, tells somebody when she needs help (retrieving a lost toy, opening the blinds to look out the window, even to learn using her new communication board when buttons were moved!) and even verbalizes displeasure for what somebody did or what’s going on.
The author carefully explains her methods, why they work better than training the dog with treat rewards, how to do this with your own dog, how to overcome setbacks or confusion, and more. The story isn’t just about Stella’s use of language, it’s also about the author’s work with children, several moves her family made, how Stella’s fame disrupted things when the story was first presented to media, and just about life with a dog in general. Before reading this book I’d seen a few clips online of Stella, other talking dogs, and one of a cat. I admit it did look a bit gimmicky and I was skeptical. But reading it all in context, it’s nothing short of amazing.
Borrowed from the public library.
