‘Button’ Dogs Do Understand Words — And Not Just From Their Humans

Videos of “button dogs” often go viral on social media as they tap soundboards with prerecorded words such as “walk,” “park” or “mom.” But are the pets really communicating or are they just well-trained?

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Clive D.L. Wynne, professor of psychology and director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, said dog cognition differs from how humans perceive words.

“From the dogs’ behavior, the researchers deduced that the dogs ‘understood’ what words related to going outside and playing meant, but not the words for food,” he said. “This ‘understanding’ was the kind of conditioning that Pavlov was familiar with, and you see when you say ‘walkies,’ your dog gets excited for a walk. This isn’t how your child, spouse or co-worker understands language.”

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