"i knew she was an independent thinker and i wanted her to express herself" ....that's maybe the most thoughtful and loving thing i've ever heard anyone say about their dog. that rly got to me ! so sweet :)
So true. Just because animals don't speak our language doesn't mean they don't communicate. Just because a cat doesn't say hello in my language doesn't mean she's stupid. Far from it.
Dogs usually teach US how to understand them. I like that Stella can use words. However, I‘d prefer if humans made more of an effort to learn Dog. Because keeping things more natural for an animal in a somewhat unnatural environment might offer more of a relief for the animal.
My pup and I learned basic sign language together . She was great and highly emotionally developed . On one occassion when not realising she really needed to go out she sat right up next to me , only then did I realise she needed to go out as she was shaking dear girl , I felt awful so I said " you find a way to communicate to me in a way I will understand when you need to go out " I was STUNNED when she brought me her ball and placed it at my feet the next time , That was sooO cool 😂 I said " well THAT worked " 😆 it did tickle me coz she found a way for her simple human to comprehend .We said goodbye in March this year 2024 and my heart will never be the same , a constant beautiful energy in my life for 14 years , passing two months before her 15th birthday after adopting her at 10 months old . I miss my girl and know how much she loves me , like no other 🙏🏼🐾🐶🥰🕊🌿
This woman has a beautiful mind.! It’s inspiring to see a person use their gifts and talents to enhance others. I like how she wanted to enhance Stella’s communication.
Thank you to CBS for an interview that was more than a few sound bites! I pre-ordered "How Stella Learned to Talk" earlier this year. It arrived Friday and I couldn't put it down. The book is entertaining and informative and a must for anyone who calls themselves a dog person. Christina Hunger makes a convincing case for both receptive and expressive language skills in dogs. The parallels between language acquisition in dogs and humans should not come as a surprise; dogs co-evolved with humans over (recent estimates) 30,000 years and their success as a species depends on their being able to communicate with humans. Stella is a rather adorable case in point. Thank you, Christina and Stella, for providing such a clear example of what can be accomplished when you give a dog a chance to speak her mind!
Absolutely brilliant! Just imagine how far we could go by collaborating with dogs and special need individuals? Wonderful human being this woman is 🏆🐕🧡
Years ago I had a Sheltie that had an unbelievable vocabulary, with understanding of words. I wish I could have used the pushbuttons/words interaction with my dog. What a concept!
My dog Shadow was a beagle, english pointer and jack Russell mix who also had a huge vocabulary. He passed away a little over a year ago now but I have no doubt he would have thrived even further had this been around for his life. We had to spell certain words because he had such a great understanding of them! I miss my bud
I genuinely think this is a force of good for those that don't normally have the ability to vocalize their needs the way humans do. Stella is amazing ❤
Don't forget ALL the animals we share our environment with. Get to know ALL the characters in your neighborhood. They all have something to say. You just need to pay attention.
😭😒why you let people over cut environment & cut out small farmers then ... Sad humanitarians are the worst at being forward thinkers but great 1% growth in wealth & destroy land for wildlife habit to gain$ yet cover up history. Well at least here where it pays to be in Gov't over Small Business.
We have a Jack Russell/ Australia cattle dog mix, and I know he could dont his!! He communicates so clearly with us. More than any other dog we have had.
But cats have yet to sniff out bombs, cancer, and be of service to humans - now that would be amazing. Dog isn’t God spelled backwards for no reason. Yay Stella probably gonna be Savin lives some day
@@joeschmoe2663 someone from Nigeria told me his grandfather who was a preacher and a very spiritual person told him that sometimes when your cat dies it is because he took on Death who was coming for someone in that household .
Here is a video of a Border Collie who knows at least over a thousand. (A thousand individual toy names, the new toy, and every last command she also clearly knows) It may be we are low balling a dog's abilities by a rather large margin... th-cam.com/video/omaHv5sxiFI/w-d-xo.html
More like Commands but I know what you mean. But it makes absolute sense that if a Dog or any animal at that can understand commands, they should know how to give us commands back. What I think would be cool is if a dog can have a voice box almost like that movie UP. where they can talk simply by giving out different tones in their voice.
@@anthonygordon9483 actually, if you look at the video I just linked, you'd see a dog who doesn't only know the individual names to 1000 toys, and her commands, she also figures out on her own that the new name and new toy must be related. There is definitely more going on than just "commands". They aren't human but they do think in their own way. The smartest thing I ever saw my own dog (see pic) do was run to the place her ball would go instead of focusing allowing it to the wall. She obviously understood at some level the ball would bounce off the wall and go to where she ran to. It changed how I looked at her. th-cam.com/video/omaHv5sxiFI/w-d-xo.html
OH How amazing! This is the best video. I have been talking about wanting my dogs to be able to for years! THANK YOU for your love and patience for Stella. Simply amazing and shows how smart our best friends really are!!!
I wish my dog could tell me when he's not feeling good he's 14, and sometimes he curls in a ball and I know something is wrong not knowing is very difficult.
@@anthonygordon9483 Maybe not so! It may take more time and patience, but old dogs can certainly learn too! If you look up Billi Speaks, you'll see a 12 or so year old _cat_ learning these buttons as well! She's gotten quite good with them! If an old cat can do it, I'm sure an old dog can too. :)
Sooo happy she is doing this. Great 1st steps. I grew up with dogs and always felt we had more in common with them (and other animals) than we think. We chalk everything up to "instinct" vs. intelligence. So many studies showing that is not true. There are a number of studies with birds and primates that show we need to rethink things. There are a number of mammals that have more neurons than we do and many who demonstrate complex emotions. Once we begin to really understand animals, see them for who they really are, perhaps we can begin to see we need to do a better job of sharing the planet with them and elevate their status among us.
My dog is 12 years old. Over the past four years we have all been together much more than the first eight. We became aware Rex was trying very hard to communicate with us. Sounds, body language and response to our words. The more we responded to his language, the more bonded he became. As did we! He’s too old for a word board, but I have no doubt he could master one. I’d say his human vocabulary is easily 250 words or phrases. The only thing he doesn’t seem to master is time. It doesn’t matter. This old boy has taught us he is a sentient being wit feelings, but not the vocal cord structure to form human sounds. But I swear he says Mom!
Thank you thank you Christina, you have inadvertently started a movement. Only people who are close to their pets know that we can really communicate with our pets. There is so much our pets are communicating with us only these loving parents would know. Now this tool would bridge the gap between humans and their pet kids! This is super commendable. I can't wait to teach my puppy these tricks or should I say these words!
Told my dog I was not picking up his SHT and he responded by doing it in the right place. If we communicate with our fellow humans with respect we wouldn't be dependent for the love of a dog.
I remember there was a TV story about a man who had taught his dog (I think it was an Australian Shepherd) 100 words. He had named the dog's toys different names and the dog would fetch the one called for.
The most impressive part of that report was how it proved the dog could reason. When alone in the room, the man put a new unnamed toy behind the sofa and later told the dog to fetch it. At first the dog seemed a bit confused and started bringing out the wrong toy all of a sudden. But then the light bulb came on and he had to have reasoned well then, it MUST be this stranger toy. So pretty soon he fetched that one and was very proud of himself b4 receiving praise bc he *knew* he'd finally figured it out.
I like finding out about the FIRST "Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger," who taught her dog Stella to communicate with buttons. Such a wonderful change from when I was growing up and "science" said we were falsely attributing "human characteristics to animals. Maybe one day we really CAN "all get along!" Love the work Christine is doing with her dog, and it seems so much more accurate than the videos that feature "Bunny, the talking dog," whose communication buttons seem greatly "improvised by it's owner. Bravo, Ms. Hunger!
It's exciting to see this getting attention and encouraging people to listen to the animals they care for. I remember when Stella was just a cute dog that I followed on Instagram
Megan you and Stella are a positive in this crazy,sad,scary world we have been thru in 2020. It gives me hope hearing about the wonderful people who are still working hard for the people you are helping avoid isolation because of a disability. Bless you.
I totally believe this. My lab understood what I was saying to him when I used specific sentences at specific times. They hear repetitive phrases in conjunction with action, of course dogs have some grasp of language.
We have the buttons for our Newf but they are too fragile for her large paws and weight. Someone needs to develop a heavy duty variety. This is a genius idea and we've enjoyed watching Stella videos since the beginning!
Througout the years, some of my dogs, "past and present," have learned to say the word, "NO," to each other, especially when they irritate each other. Of course, they've learned it from me from telling them "No" repeatedly when I get irritated, too. LOL
I always talk to my dogs because I know that they understand a great deal of what you are saying and can understand even more if you actually talk to them. I've had dogs that knew the spelling of some words. Even if you tried to say or spell the word in a different tone - they knew what you were saying. Most of my dogs were also really good at having different signals for different things they wanted. If you watch your dog closely enough, they are already talking to you.
This is a cool idea but not sure of the colored version of this product. Dogs can’t discern red and green colors, right? Wondering if anyone has come across this issue. I guess the solve would be to have the buttons in a consistent area in a consistent arrangement.
This is truly amazing to see. But being an owner to a pair of Aluskies. I am glad they are expressive enough to let me know what they want most of the time. K9s are really smart if u take the time to train and understand their K9 body language.
I wonder if there are improvements on such a board, with more of a true touch-screen application that can be used by canines anywhere, not just in the house. Fantastic video!
I've always believed my dog can understand complex English sentences!!! I joke about it to my family, but i can tell by her actions that she knows what I'm saying! I've airways figured maybe it's just her instincts, or she can anticipate my actions based on patterns I don't know I'm replicating (getting certain supplies, standing in a certain area etc) But seeing what Stella's capable of learning makes me return to my initial belief that she understands what I'm saying!!!
I didn't see the dog say anything. It pushed a button that said when, play, and outside.. The dog pushes a button and it gets attention, it doesn't matter what the button says.
Exactly what I was thinking. Just like humans command the dog to sit, this dog is commanding the human to take him outside. It's showing the dog is conditioned to click a certain button to get a certain outcome. Click this button and I'll be let outside, or click this button and my water dish will be filled. Some dogs sit by the door and politely bark a short little bark to be let outside and when the human doesn't respond the dog increases his bark volume. The buttons are just a different method the dog is able to employ. Look at this subjectively and it's like the dog is commanding the human.
It isn't that cats and dogs can't understand, it's that they lack the anatomy to produce language as we speak it. Cats and dogs have the hearing to take in what we say and the brains to interpret and understand. They just lack the anatomy to produce the sounds needed to speak back to us.
My wonderful cat Mimi understood many of my words and most of my actions. When she wanted to hear me play old standards on piano, she would leap to the keyboard and lay at the one end for sometimes a half hour listening. She followed me when I went outside with her, no leash, Sixteen years loving this beautiful cat. I loved her more than any human in my life. I miss her.
i am not sure about this. i’m thinking if this was true, they would been on the same level of intelligence as a human who was mute for example. i think non human animals like dogs and cats have abilities to form relationships between sounds and rewards or punishments. But i do not think that they only lack the anatomy to speak, as vocal cords are only a small part of human intelligence and communication.
@@what_do_you_want898 Cats and dogs have vocal cords. Speech requires far more anatomical specificity than that, though. Try speaking without using your tongue. Then, compare your tongue to that of an animal. And it isn't just the tongue. Consider how our jaws move and contrast that with how their jaws move. And so on.
@@AniBAretz yes i am aware they have their own sound producing anatomy. but language is more than just making sounds. it has many components. human language is by far the most complex language system withtin the animal kingdom. even the most biologically similar primates are not able to communicate like humans can. here are some interesting articles you can look at that go more depth bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-017-0405-3 news.northeastern.edu/2013/04/04/what-makes-human-language-special/ www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/guy-simultaneously-raised-chimp-and-baby-exactly-same-way-see-what-would-happen-180952171/
Now that is one fun reporting job where you get to play with the doggie after the interview :) ...Heck, editing can reverse the order of events; she might've STARTED with playing with Stella!
Dog recognizes that owner likes when it presses buttons. Dog presses buttons randomly. Owner projects intent to random button presses and assumes dog communicates with intent. This whole thing is cute, but it's really a study of human pattern recognition, and not a study of dog communication skills.
We use this kind of button by the door, and when our girls want to go out, they step on it. It says "Outside!!" in my voice. I also use it to call them to go outside. Works great
@romstar Heheh! makes me think of the wonderful cartoonist Gary Larson with his chickens that would only make chicken sounds when the humans were ther & carry on other conversations later...and cows that woud stand on hind legs and chat until the humans were coming!
This is actually great there's a whole bunch of humans here that are smarter than their dogs it's a very rare thing to run into the mistakes I see dog trainer make
If prairie dogs have grammar, then I have no doubt dogs can communicate. I've been following Christina for over a year now ever since I saw a report on CNN, and it's amazing how smart dogs are. When you think about it, our brains evolved from other animals before us so it makes sense to me that language would evolve also, and probably many other social animals have it. I'm surprised that scientists haven't wanted to include Stella in experiments on dog cognition. There's a lot of those going around nowadays.
It's not exactly language, but it's a cool step. But so far the words I heard Stella use in this vid are concepts that most dogs can already convey to their owners in a more natural way, such as standing at the door and wagging their tail. I don't see how this gives more expression to the dog. It gives them a more artificial way of communicating the things they can already communicate naturally. I am interested in how she uses the word "when." That's an exception to what I just said. Can a dog understand the concept of indefinite, quantified or relative time? (Later, in a minute, tomorrow, or after Dad gets home, for example.) I'm also interested whether this opens up possibilities for memory and cognition testing. How long can they really hold an idea?
How does the dog remember which buttons say something in particular when they all look the same and there are so many of them? On her board Stella has 48 buttons. How does she keep all those words straight in her head? Most humans would have a difficult time with this.
I think Christina Hunger started her dog with just colored coded buttons. Now the dog must use the position of the button to determine the topic. I think I would limit the number of buttons and colors for my dog. It’s also important to note which colors a dog can see. They see Aqua as grey. I can’t remember all the other colors, but you can easily search the web for the list, or ask me later and I’ll look them up. Depending on the intelligence and patience of your dog, you might be able to combine size of buttons to denote a difference in some words. Scientists could even use scent. It’s difficult for us to do that at home. I don’t think my dog would understand that. She can be a little distracted and I just recently adopted her. She’s also 6 years old.
@@bzh7648 So many variables, so many questions. It's a fascinating subject, especially in recognition that non-human animals also have intelligence. Any dog owner would verify that. It's fascinating also that even birds give evidence of being something more than a "bird-brain," in particular the parrot family. As for your dog, it's wonderful that you adopted her at 6 years of age. She probably appreciates being with you.
Stella started with a limited number of buttons. When Christina first placed them on a board, Stella needed to learn the location of each button. Hunger explains that over time, Stella developed the muscle memory of where each word was, like a typist using a keyboard.
@@bzh7648 Dogs have limited color vision; their eyes have cones for yellow and blue, but not red. Therefore they can see yellow and blue light, and green (which is yellow + blue). Dogs may be able to see the yellow and blue components of other colors. For example, yellow + red = orange. Because dogs cannot see the red portion of the spectrum, orange would appear as yellow. Dogs have very poor near vision. Basically, anything within approx 18 inches of their face is a blur. There is some slight variation depending on breed characteristics, but not important to this topic. You can frequently see this characteristic of canine near-sightedness when dogs go to pick up an object. Even when they KNOW what the object is, they often pause for a nano-second to give that object a quick sniff before they pick it up. They verify with scent, because they can't verify what the object is visually. So, as the dog nears the buttons, the buttons become blurry. At this point, the dog is unable to distinguish visual characteristics (color, shape, etc.) of the buttons. The dog must memorize the position of each word (button) on the board.
![ค้าง (STILL) - GEMINI [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ftxx3hk5vkU/mqdefault.jpg)
"i knew she was an independent thinker and i wanted her to express herself" ....that's maybe the most thoughtful and loving thing i've ever heard anyone say about their dog. that rly got to me ! so sweet :)
So true. Just because animals don't speak our language doesn't mean they don't communicate. Just because a cat doesn't say hello in my language doesn't mean she's stupid. Far from it.
This lady is just an all-round wonderful human being, and her kids are very lucky to have her as their therapist ❤
Dogs usually teach US how to understand them. I like that Stella can use words. However, I‘d prefer if humans made more of an effort to learn Dog. Because keeping things more natural for an animal in a somewhat unnatural environment might offer more of a relief for the animal.
Yes she’s such an Angel
My pup and I learned basic sign language together . She was great and highly emotionally developed . On one occassion when not realising she really needed to go out she sat right up next to me , only then did I realise she needed to go out as she was shaking dear girl , I felt awful so I said " you find a way to communicate to me in a way I will understand when you need to go out " I was STUNNED when she brought me her ball and placed it at my feet the next time , That was sooO cool 😂
I said " well THAT worked " 😆 it did tickle me coz she found a way for her simple human to comprehend .We said goodbye in March this year 2024 and my heart will never be the same , a constant beautiful energy in my life for 14 years , passing two months before her 15th birthday after adopting her at 10 months old . I miss my girl and know how much she loves me , like no other 🙏🏼🐾🐶🥰🕊🌿
Some people are doing this with their cats, too. It's pretty amazing.
This woman has a beautiful mind.! It’s inspiring to see a person use their gifts and talents to enhance others. I like how she wanted to enhance Stella’s communication.
She’s intelligent too.
Some companies owe this wonderful woman a check
Empathy at the highest
This person is a Very,Very,good speech therapist,without a doubt!!
Thank you to CBS for an interview that was more than a few sound bites!
I pre-ordered "How Stella Learned to Talk" earlier this year. It arrived Friday and I couldn't put it down. The book is entertaining and informative and a must for anyone who calls themselves a dog person.
Christina Hunger makes a convincing case for both receptive and expressive language skills in dogs. The parallels between language acquisition in dogs and humans should not come as a surprise; dogs co-evolved with humans over (recent estimates) 30,000 years and their success as a species depends on their being able to communicate with humans. Stella is a rather adorable case in point.
Thank you, Christina and Stella, for providing such a clear example of what can be accomplished when you give a dog a chance to speak her mind!
I think this is wonderful and her work with children has been rewarded at home with the lovely and talented Stella
Absolutely brilliant! Just imagine how far we could go by collaborating with dogs and special need individuals? Wonderful human being this woman is 🏆🐕🧡
She is a blessing and is blessed to pass on this wonderful gift
Can't deny it!
See Stephen Hawkins hun this technology is not new !! She has repurposed it and that's amazing I love it !
Years ago I had a Sheltie that had an unbelievable vocabulary, with understanding of words. I wish I could have used the pushbuttons/words interaction with my dog. What a concept!
My first dog was a Sheltie and I would tell my father that she understood us and could talk, we just didn't understand her
My baby girl died 1 year ago. I so wish we were able to use buttons. She had a huge vocabulary and understanding words/ phrases too! She was so smart
My dog Shadow was a beagle, english pointer and jack Russell mix who also had a huge vocabulary. He passed away a little over a year ago now but I have no doubt he would have thrived even further had this been around for his life.
We had to spell certain words because he had such a great understanding of them! I miss my bud
@@SteviiLove Sorry for your loss😥. I totally understand!
I genuinely think this is a force of good for those that don't normally have the ability to vocalize their needs the way humans do.
Stella is amazing ❤
This is a great step in communicating.
Don't forget ALL the animals we share our environment with. Get to know ALL the characters in your neighborhood. They all have something to say. You just need to pay attention.
So true!!
Right on. I love all the little critters. My dog, Jude, tries to talk to me.
😭😒why you let people over cut environment & cut out small farmers then ... Sad humanitarians are the worst at being forward thinkers but great 1% growth in wealth & destroy land for wildlife habit to gain$ yet cover up history. Well at least here where it pays to be in Gov't over Small Business.
When I take my dog Rosco for a walk sometimes this grey squirrel comes up to Rosco trying to communicate with him. It's amazing.!
Yeah, didn't Trump say that MS-13 gang members are animals? Maybe they could use some buttons?
We have a Jack Russell/ Australia cattle dog mix, and I know he could dont his!!
He communicates so clearly with us. More than any other dog we have had.
what a perfect combination...both breeds so smart...
What a cool lady!
I LOVE THIS !!!! MY LITTLE CHI IS SO EXPRESSIVE , JUST LIKE A HUMAN !
You mean expressive like a Chi. No matter how much we want them to seem like us...they are not.
People are even using this button board to train their cats to talk (and curse). It's amazing!
But cats have yet to sniff out bombs, cancer, and be of service to humans - now that would be amazing. Dog isn’t God spelled backwards for no reason. Yay Stella probably gonna be Savin lives some day
@@lde2709 cats can smell death and are smart like dogs to
@@joeschmoe2663 everyone can smell death including humans... I’m sorry but dogs are smarter than cats ., cats can’t do half the stuff dogs do
@@joeschmoe2663 someone from Nigeria told me his grandfather who was a preacher and a very spiritual person told him that sometimes when your cat dies it is because he took on Death who was coming for someone in that household .
@@joeschmoe2663 pffttt What.. LMAO.
It's been said that dogs can have a vocabulary of up to 250 words :-)
Here is a video of a Border Collie who knows at least over a thousand.
(A thousand individual toy names, the new toy, and every last command she also clearly knows)
It may be we are low balling a dog's abilities by a rather large margin...
th-cam.com/video/omaHv5sxiFI/w-d-xo.html
More like Commands but I know what you mean. But it makes absolute sense that if a Dog or any animal at that can understand commands, they should know how to give us commands back. What I think would be cool is if a dog can have a voice box almost like that movie UP. where they can talk simply by giving out different tones in their voice.
@@anthonygordon9483 actually, if you look at the video I just linked, you'd see a dog who doesn't only know the individual names to 1000 toys, and her commands, she also figures out on her own that the new name and new toy must be related. There is definitely more going on than just "commands". They aren't human but they do think in their own way. The smartest thing I ever saw my own dog (see pic) do was run to the place her ball would go instead of focusing allowing it to the wall. She obviously understood at some level the ball would bounce off the wall and go to where she ran to. It changed how I looked at her. th-cam.com/video/omaHv5sxiFI/w-d-xo.html
1,000
coincidently, there are over 250 types of treats.
OH How amazing! This is the best video. I have been talking about wanting my dogs to be able to for years! THANK YOU for your love and patience for Stella. Simply amazing and shows how smart our best friends really are!!!
This is amazing and unnerving as well. Check out Bunny the talking dog 🐩.
Since i was 5 i just KNEW dogs were smart
I wish my dog could tell me when he's not feeling good he's 14, and sometimes he curls in a ball and I know something is wrong not knowing is very difficult.
Sending prayers for you both..
Sadly you can't teach a old dog new trick but thats something to consider if you ever get another dog god willing in the farthest of the future.
@@anthonygordon9483 Maybe not so! It may take more time and patience, but old dogs can certainly learn too!
If you look up Billi Speaks, you'll see a 12 or so year old _cat_ learning these buttons as well! She's gotten quite good with them! If an old cat can do it, I'm sure an old dog can too. :)
@@anthonygordon9483 they are finding out more now that dogs learn better and faster as they mature.
Sooo happy she is doing this. Great 1st steps. I grew up with dogs and always felt we had more in common with them (and other animals) than we think. We chalk everything up to "instinct" vs. intelligence. So many studies showing that is not true. There are a number of studies with birds and primates that show we need to rethink things. There are a number of mammals that have more neurons than we do and many who demonstrate complex emotions. Once we begin to really understand animals, see them for who they really are, perhaps we can begin to see we need to do a better job of sharing the planet with them and elevate their status among us.
The talking cats video on YT are so funny, because you can really hear how demanding cats are😅
My dog is 12 years old. Over the past four years we have all been together much more than the first eight. We became aware Rex was trying very hard to communicate with us. Sounds, body language and response to our words. The more we responded to his language, the more bonded he became. As did we! He’s too old for a word board, but I have no doubt he could master one. I’d say his human vocabulary is easily 250 words or phrases. The only thing he doesn’t seem to master is time. It doesn’t matter. This old boy has taught us he is a sentient being wit feelings, but not the vocal cord structure to form human sounds. But I swear he says Mom!
I am sure he does...mostly, because he loves you and you smile when he does!! Besides, he hasn't got a watch!! Lol
Hey, a 12 year old cat named Billi learned these buttons just fine. It may take even more time and patience, but maybe your boy can too! :)
Smart dog
Thank you thank you Christina, you have inadvertently started a movement. Only people who are close to their pets know that we can really communicate with our pets. There is so much our pets are communicating with us only these loving parents would know. Now this tool would bridge the gap between humans and their pet kids! This is super commendable. I can't wait to teach my puppy these tricks or should I say these words!
OMG how incredibly sweet, sincere, and beautiful 😍💕
Told my dog I was not picking up his SHT and he responded by doing it in the right place. If we communicate with our fellow humans with respect we wouldn't be dependent for the love of a dog.
I remember there was a TV story about a man who had taught his dog (I think it was an Australian Shepherd) 100 words. He had named the dog's toys different names and the dog would fetch the one called for.
The most impressive part of that report was how it proved the dog could reason. When alone in the room, the man put a new unnamed toy behind the sofa and later told the dog to fetch it. At first the dog seemed a bit confused and started bringing out the wrong toy all of a sudden. But then the light bulb came on and he had to have reasoned well then, it MUST be this stranger toy. So pretty soon he fetched that one and was very proud of himself b4 receiving praise bc he *knew* he'd finally figured it out.
My shih tzu, Bella, does the same. I began teaching her by that method. I want to order the buttons now.
I think she knew over 1000. Her name was Chaser, and I believe she was a border collie.
I like finding out about the FIRST "Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger," who taught her dog Stella to communicate with buttons. Such a wonderful change from when I was growing up and "science" said we were falsely attributing "human characteristics to animals. Maybe one day we really CAN "all get along!"
Love the work Christine is doing with her dog, and it seems so much more accurate than the videos that feature "Bunny, the talking dog," whose communication buttons seem greatly "improvised by it's owner. Bravo, Ms. Hunger!
Awwww I hope this becomes a standard for doggy parents!
It's exciting to see this getting attention and encouraging people to listen to the animals they care for. I remember when Stella was just a cute dog that I followed on Instagram
Sometimes, I'm thinking about "one of my dogs" (I have quite a few) "in particular," and the dog will come to me at that exact moment, coincidentally.
reminds me of the dog with the talking collar from UP
Megan you and Stella are a positive in this crazy,sad,scary world we have been thru in 2020. It gives me hope hearing about the wonderful people who are still working hard for the people you are helping avoid isolation because of a disability. Bless you.
Love Stella!!
😘❤️
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!! My boy is happy with the basics. We have an unspoken bond.
I totally believe this. My lab understood what I was saying to him when I used specific sentences at specific times. They hear repetitive phrases in conjunction with action, of course dogs have some grasp of language.
We have the buttons for our Newf but they are too fragile for her large paws and weight. Someone needs to develop a heavy duty variety. This is a genius idea and we've enjoyed watching Stella videos since the beginning!
This is brilliant! So glad there is a movement to finally teach pets human language and so we can more effectively communicate with them.
Througout the years, some of my dogs, "past and present," have learned to say the word, "NO," to each other, especially when they irritate each other. Of course, they've learned it from me from telling them "No" repeatedly when I get irritated, too. LOL
What an amazing woman and doggo. Genius communicator. Bravo.
I love that Christina linked the movements between people & other mammals! Cats use buttons too!
I’ve been telling any and everyone about Stella! Amazing!
Wow this finally made it on television. Saw these videos months ago!!👍
AMAZING. As are the utube pet videos that are about how some have helped people in crisis situations.
I don't need this, my dog taught me how to bark
LOL
Rise to the Occasion...
😹
😆
I always talk to my dogs because I know that they understand a great deal of what you are saying and can understand even more if you actually talk to them. I've had dogs that knew the spelling of some words. Even if you tried to say or spell the word in a different tone - they knew what you were saying. Most of my dogs were also really good at having different signals for different things they wanted. If you watch your dog closely enough, they are already talking to you.
I've been watching stella in TH-cam for a while. Love this. If I ever get another dog I am going to give it a try.
Adorable Stella
She’s amazing
During my elementary school years a long time ago, I was in speech therapy for about 5 and a half years.
This is a cool idea but not sure of the colored version of this product. Dogs can’t discern red and green colors, right? Wondering if anyone has come across this issue. I guess the solve would be to have the buttons in a consistent area in a consistent arrangement.
This is SO awesome!
The day my dog puts food on the table he can have a say🤣
Where can I buy a dog communicator?
WOW!!! THIS SHOULD HAVE 1 BILLION VIEWS!!! MAY 2021
This is truly amazing to see.
But being an owner to a pair of Aluskies.
I am glad they are expressive enough to let me know what they want most of the time.
K9s are really smart if u take the time to train and understand their K9 body language.
She is so right.
🤷♂️Amazing !!! Well done Stella 🐾🐕🙏
The talking dog at the Shell Shack is SINGING!!! Come on!
The opening clip is hilarious. I go bk to that vid on their channel b/c he is so dramatic😅
IKR?
That was the legendary Zeus The Stubborn Husky. Miss him :(
Awesome story 🐕 Stella ❤️ beautiful story Christina and Stella ❤️
mine would just say outside and treat over and over and over again. lol
I wonder if there are improvements on such a board, with more of a true touch-screen application that can be used by canines anywhere, not just in the house. Fantastic video!
Love this story.
I really enjoy your reporter Nancy Giles.
Love this!
I've always believed my dog can understand complex English sentences!!! I joke about it to my family, but i can tell by her actions that she knows what I'm saying!
I've airways figured maybe it's just her instincts, or she can anticipate my actions based on patterns I don't know I'm replicating (getting certain supplies, standing in a certain area etc)
But seeing what Stella's capable of learning makes me return to my initial belief that she understands what I'm saying!!!
I didn't see the dog say anything. It pushed a button that said when, play, and outside.. The dog pushes a button and it gets attention, it doesn't matter what the button says.
Exactly what I was thinking. Just like humans command the dog to sit, this dog is commanding the human to take him outside. It's showing the dog is conditioned to click a certain button to get a certain outcome. Click this button and I'll be let outside, or click this button and my water dish will be filled. Some dogs sit by the door and politely bark a short little bark to be let outside and when the human doesn't respond the dog increases his bark volume. The buttons are just a different method the dog is able to employ. Look at this subjectively and it's like the dog is commanding the human.
@@mitchd949 Yep.
Stella is awesome! Great work human!
Please sacrifice the editor to an elder God. "This dog can talk, it's incredible!" [Shows dog pressing one seemingly random button and then cuts away]
One of my mothers favorites.Jane paulley.
It isn't that cats and dogs can't understand, it's that they lack the anatomy to produce language as we speak it. Cats and dogs have the hearing to take in what we say and the brains to interpret and understand. They just lack the anatomy to produce the sounds needed to speak back to us.
My wonderful cat Mimi understood many of my words and most of my actions. When she wanted to hear me play old standards on piano, she would leap to the keyboard and lay at the one end for sometimes a half hour listening. She followed me when I went outside with her, no leash, Sixteen years loving this beautiful cat. I loved her more than any human in my life. I miss her.
When the reporter predictably brings it all back to it being about humans again. 🤦🏻♀️
i am not sure about this. i’m thinking if this was true, they would been on the same level of intelligence as a human who was mute for example. i think non human animals like dogs and cats have abilities to form relationships between sounds and rewards or punishments. But i do not think that they only lack the anatomy to speak, as vocal cords are only a small part of human intelligence and communication.
@@what_do_you_want898 Cats and dogs have vocal cords. Speech requires far more anatomical specificity than that, though. Try speaking without using your tongue. Then, compare your tongue to that of an animal. And it isn't just the tongue. Consider how our jaws move and contrast that with how their jaws move. And so on.
@@AniBAretz yes i am aware they have their own sound producing anatomy. but language is more than just making sounds. it has many components. human language is by far the most complex language system withtin the animal kingdom. even the most biologically similar primates are not able to communicate like humans can. here are some interesting articles you can look at that go more depth bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-017-0405-3
news.northeastern.edu/2013/04/04/what-makes-human-language-special/
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/guy-simultaneously-raised-chimp-and-baby-exactly-same-way-see-what-would-happen-180952171/
Now that is one fun reporting job where you get to play with the doggie after the interview :)
...Heck, editing can reverse the order of events; she might've STARTED with playing with Stella!
Not the STEELLLAAAA at the end. I'm dead 😂💀
Adorable!
This is amazing and I always have said they are able to connect with us I would like to know more about this thanks
What a beautiful lady!
Dog recognizes that owner likes when it presses buttons. Dog presses buttons randomly. Owner projects intent to random button presses and assumes dog communicates with intent. This whole thing is cute, but it's really a study of human pattern recognition, and not a study of dog communication skills.
Misleading title. I have actually seen dogs that could say words
show
What a beautiful dog n a great story. ❤️
Identical to my dog, a German Shepherd Pitbull mix
😱 This is Awesome
CBS that story was too short & you didn’t even show Stella in action.
We use this kind of button by the door, and when our girls want to go out, they step on it. It says "Outside!!" in my voice. I also use it to call them to go outside. Works great
I love Stella and have been following her for a while on IG. ❤️❤️❤️
I already know what my dog is saying by his body language. But I'd love to get one of these to teach him
Stella Rocks! 🥰
Of course Stella knows how to speak-she just doesn’t do it in front of humans! 🤫 🤫 😝
@romstar Heheh! makes me think of the wonderful cartoonist Gary Larson with his chickens that would only make chicken sounds when the humans were ther & carry on other conversations later...and cows that woud stand on hind legs and chat until the humans were coming!
FREAKING AMAZING.
This is actually great there's a whole bunch of humans here that are smarter than their dogs it's a very rare thing to run into the mistakes I see dog trainer make
Me: Wow! What a professional journalist!!! Clear-spoken, informative, a true wordsmith of our generation.
Her: 3:46
Me:
Very smart combo of breeds
If prairie dogs have grammar, then I have no doubt dogs can communicate. I've been following Christina for over a year now ever since I saw a report on CNN, and it's amazing how smart dogs are. When you think about it, our brains evolved from other animals before us so it makes sense to me that language would evolve also, and probably many other social animals have it. I'm surprised that scientists haven't wanted to include Stella in experiments on dog cognition. There's a lot of those going around nowadays.
My dog communicates very well...he has us all trained.
Animals are amazing people
It's not exactly language, but it's a cool step. But so far the words I heard Stella use in this vid are concepts that most dogs can already convey to their owners in a more natural way, such as standing at the door and wagging their tail. I don't see how this gives more expression to the dog. It gives them a more artificial way of communicating the things they can already communicate naturally.
I am interested in how she uses the word "when." That's an exception to what I just said. Can a dog understand the concept of indefinite, quantified or relative time? (Later, in a minute, tomorrow, or after Dad gets home, for example.) I'm also interested whether this opens up possibilities for memory and cognition testing. How long can they really hold an idea?
Go to Christina's youtube channel. Better yet, read the book. It's pretty clear that Stella's language skills are beyond what is shown in this video.
Stella can make simple sentences.
Love this.
How does the dog remember which buttons say something in particular when they all look the same and there are so many of them? On her board Stella has 48 buttons. How does she keep all those words straight in her head? Most humans would have a difficult time with this.
Look at your computer’s keyboard. Do you look at your keys while you type? Because the average typist doesn’t.
I think Christina Hunger started her dog with just colored coded buttons. Now the dog must use the position of the button to determine the topic. I think I would limit the number of buttons and colors for my dog.
It’s also important to note which colors a dog can see. They see Aqua as grey. I can’t remember all the other colors, but you can easily search the web for the list, or ask me later and I’ll look them up.
Depending on the intelligence and patience of your dog, you might be able to combine size of buttons to denote a difference in some words. Scientists could even use scent. It’s difficult for us to do that at home. I don’t think my dog would understand that. She can be a little distracted and I just recently adopted her. She’s also 6 years old.
@@bzh7648 So many variables, so many questions. It's a fascinating subject, especially in recognition that non-human animals also have intelligence. Any dog owner would verify that. It's fascinating also that even birds give evidence of being something more than a "bird-brain," in particular the parrot family. As for your dog, it's wonderful that you adopted her at 6 years of age. She probably appreciates being with you.
Stella started with a limited number of buttons. When Christina first placed them on a board, Stella needed to learn the location of each button. Hunger explains that over time, Stella developed the muscle memory of where each word was, like a typist using a keyboard.
@@bzh7648 Dogs have limited color vision; their eyes have cones for yellow and blue, but not red. Therefore they can see yellow and blue light, and green (which is yellow + blue). Dogs may be able to see the yellow and blue components of other colors. For example, yellow + red = orange. Because dogs cannot see the red portion of the spectrum, orange would appear as yellow.
Dogs have very poor near vision. Basically, anything within approx 18 inches of their face is a blur. There is some slight variation depending on breed characteristics, but not important to this topic. You can frequently see this characteristic of canine near-sightedness when dogs go to pick up an object. Even when they KNOW what the object is, they often pause for a nano-second to give that object a quick sniff before they pick it up. They verify with scent, because they can't verify what the object is visually.
So, as the dog nears the buttons, the buttons become blurry. At this point, the dog is unable to distinguish visual characteristics (color, shape, etc.) of the buttons. The dog must memorize the position of each word (button) on the board.
This is not new. Just the first time CBS cared to document it.
It's cats too- there is a lady who records her cat with these buttons - her page is called Bili Speaks
and her favorite word is 'mad'
a697ag
Yes! 😄 it's too funny! 'Mad, mad." I need one of those buttons!
Thank you...off to find that page now!!
I can see my four dogs demanding water, play, treat, toy, mom, mom, mom all day long. I’d end up being a servant.