Bunny the talking dog

[Jessica]

Has anyone else seen this dog?
She is being taught to assign meaning to buttons she can press that play prerecorded human words.
http://www.instagram.com/what_about_bunny

Thoughts?

[neonspectraltoast]

I love this so much Jessica. Yes, animals are real people. We live in dark ages where we have questions like...are animals conscious? Uh...yeah! Duh!

But this is so sweet. I just want to cuddle with that big furry dog.

[Undies]

does she really assign meaning to the buttons though? i only watched a couple videos, but it seemed like she's pressing them pretty randomly.

i do agree that i want to cuddle with her though.

[neonspectraltoast]

Thoughts are random. I love this. I watched the one where she asked "where's dad" and then "is he taking a poop?"

I'm just saying it can seem random and isn't the most efficient means of communication, but it is communication.

This opens up whole new doors of snuggling. I want to snuggle with a great big bear and watch the Office.

[Audiogen]

It seems like Bunny understands the concept to a certain extent. I got the impression there was some volition involved and it didn't appear to be all conditioned response, but as words were strung together it seemed to become more random.

[Sooz]

yeah i saw it.
Very cute.

[Jessica]

does she really assign meaning to the buttons though? i only watched a couple videos, but it seemed like she's pressing them pretty randomly.

but as words were strung together it seemed to become more random.

Well I can understand how it's quite simple to teach a dog to press a certain button when it wants to go outside or eat. An owner can usually tell when a dog wants these things anyway, and so associating those buttons with what the dog wants isn't too much for most dogs, given enough repetition. It gets a little more uncertain with words like "Please" ...I think the dog is learning that she's more likely to get what she wants if she adds that button.. mostly i've seen her only use that after her initial request has been denied. It would be the next logical step to just use it in the first place. But that doesn't mean Bunny knows what it MEANS, just that it works. Maybe that says something about "manners" in humans and how weird they are, haha. Does a child really feel any different asking for something with or without saying please? We just learn over time that this is considered "polite" and gets a better response.

I don't think dogs really think about abstract concepts like yesterday/today/tomorrow, but what I find interesting is if she can be taught how to use the words correctly, will that actually change how she thinks? The human brain physically changes when we learn an instrument. Could a focus on abstractions and language actually alter this dog's brain and affect its potential capability?

I've seen words strung together that make more sense, and less sense. "Concern. Home. Poop. Soon." (i might have that slightly wrong but that was essentially it) were a string of four buttons that seem to imply obvious meaning. I think the owner seems fairly honest about when she doesn't understand, or what Bunny says doesn't make sense. I don't think she is trying to force a narrative. But without actually being involved, we don't know for sure that the sentence was proved to have meaning by seeing that Bunny did actually want to go outside and poop. There was the famous (amongst her followers) incidence of "Dad. Went. Poop." after the owner's partner had recently been to the bathroom. That demonstrates possible understanding.. it seems more unlikely to me that she would press those buttons randomly at a time it made sense, than that it WAS random.

There is definitely a lot of healthy skepticism, but one thing I keep reminding myself is that this dog is only a year old, and a year old human being taught to speak often makes less sense than this. I am fascinated to see where it goes, and whether in a few years there is a marked improvement or not.

[Audiogen]

I don't think dogs really think about abstract concepts like yesterday/today/tomorrow, but what I find interesting is if she can be taught how to use the words correctly, will that actually change how she thinks? The human brain physically changes when we learn an instrument. Could a focus on abstractions and language actually alter this dog's brain and effect its potential capability?

I believe brain neuroplasticity is a function of brains and not necessarily relegated to human brains so I'd assume the translator pad could alter the dog's brain. However, they have a much smaller and less neuronally dense frontal lobe than humans, which is thought to be integral in a lot of our ability for conceptualizing and analyzing abstract concepts. So they probably have a lower ceiling for being able to alter the way they think.

[neonspectraltoast]

Dogs make pooping fun.

[Jessica]

this should be a t-shirt

[Dr. Doom]

my old Spaniel used to walk in a circle while pooping on the floor.

[Audiogen]

Which breed of dog is most likely to press the Poop Button?


A Shih Tzu




*ducks* 🍎🍏🍐🍓

[Jessica]

I actually first saw someone who was teaching their cat to use these buttons, but that was less interesting overall.

More interesting in some ways, because the cat was already twelve at the time of lessons commencing.. and has clearly picked up "food", "pets" , "play" and "outside" very well. Owner notes that the cat no longer miaows as much. For some reason though I just stopped watching the videos. I only have so much time to waste on instagram.

[Undies]

I would assume a cat would mostly just use the "fuck" "you" buttons.

[Jessica]

pretty accurate. she has a button for "mad" and it's a favourite.

[Sooz]

Have seen dogs being taught to get items out of the fridge. Saw one that was taught to get a beer out of the fridge

[Audiogen]

Even if this parrot doesn't really know what it's saying, this level of memorization is impressive.