People have known that dogs talk for a long time. the thing that is finally being settled is that dogs actually mean what they say... that things that they say are not simply random. And, what is maybe the biggest thing that humans are finding out? That dogs don't really love their owners like they thought their dogs did.
Dogs TALK with humans using soundboards for first time... and it's what they DIDN'T say that's depressing
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14177583/Dogs-TALK-humans-using-soundboards-study.html?ico=article_preview_xp_mobile
Dogs are capable of forming two-word combinations when using a soundboard to communicate with humans, a groundbreaking study has found.
In the last few years, thousands of dogs have been trained to use soundboards with buttons that can be pressed to produce human words or phrases.
Some have even become social media sensations, like the TikTok famous sheepadoodle Bunny.
But scientists still weren't sure whether these 'talking' dogs were pressing buttons randomly, or deliberately.
Now, a new analysis has revealed that the dogs' behavior cannot be explained by random pressing, and that certain two-button combinations appear too often to be the result of random chance, the study states.
The researchers found that the most commonly used buttons were related to the dogs' essential needs, such as 'outside,' 'treat,' 'play' and 'potty.'
Combinations like 'outside' + 'potty' or 'food' + 'water' also occurred too frequently to be accidental, and were used in meaningful ways.
What's more, the researchers identified differences between the dogs' button pressing behavior and that of their owners.
For example, buttons like 'I love you' were pressed far less frequently by dogs than by their humans, suggesting that dogs are not imitating their owners' presses. This will be a blow to owners who believe the feelings of utter devotion are mutual.
...
Dogs TALK with humans using soundboards for first time... and it's what they DIDN'T say that's depressing
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14177583/Dogs-TALK-humans-using-soundboards-study.html?ico=article_preview_xp_mobile
Dogs are capable of forming two-word combinations when using a soundboard to communicate with humans, a groundbreaking study has found.
In the last few years, thousands of dogs have been trained to use soundboards with buttons that can be pressed to produce human words or phrases.
Some have even become social media sensations, like the TikTok famous sheepadoodle Bunny.
But scientists still weren't sure whether these 'talking' dogs were pressing buttons randomly, or deliberately.
Now, a new analysis has revealed that the dogs' behavior cannot be explained by random pressing, and that certain two-button combinations appear too often to be the result of random chance, the study states.
The researchers found that the most commonly used buttons were related to the dogs' essential needs, such as 'outside,' 'treat,' 'play' and 'potty.'
Combinations like 'outside' + 'potty' or 'food' + 'water' also occurred too frequently to be accidental, and were used in meaningful ways.
What's more, the researchers identified differences between the dogs' button pressing behavior and that of their owners.
For example, buttons like 'I love you' were pressed far less frequently by dogs than by their humans, suggesting that dogs are not imitating their owners' presses. This will be a blow to owners who believe the feelings of utter devotion are mutual.
...