I’ve always sworn my dog knows exactly what I am saying.
Especially when it comes to the words ‘treat’ and ‘outside’.
But, understanding her is not quite as easy. But one speech-language pathologist is attempting to change that.
Christina Hunger and her 18-month-old dog, Stella, are working on finding a way for pet owners to actually understand what their dog is saying to them.
Hunger, who works with small children who often need devices to help them communicate, began wondering what would happen if she could teach Stella, who was two at the time, how to talk as well?
“If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn’t they be able to say words to us? Can dogs … communicate with humans?” she asked.
Stella at the park. Photo by Christina Hunger
So Hunger, along with her fiancé Jake, created a simple button that when pushed said ‘outside’. Every time they said that particular word, or opened a door to leave, they would push the button. After a few weeks, she said, Stella was looking at the button when she wanted out. And not long after that, the blue heeler began pushing the button to go outside.
Hunger added more buttons. “Eat,” “water,” “play,” “walk,” “no,” “come,” “help,” “bye,” and “love you.”
Every day I spent time using Stella’s buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children,” she said.
“Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella’s voice and opinions matter just as our own do,” Hunger said.
Stella began asking for “water” when her bowl was empty. When she wants to play, she will push the button for “play.” Hunger said that the smart Stella will even tell guests who are leaving the home, “bye.”
“The way she uses words to communicate and the words she’s combining is really similar to a 2-year-old child,” Hunger said.
Stella with her human, Christina Hunger. Photo from Instagram
Soon, she said, Stella began forming small sentences to communicate.
Recently, Stella wanted to eat, but it was too early for her dinner. However, she kept pushing the “eat” button. When Hunger didn’t get her food, Stella pushed the phrase “love you no” and left the room.
As of today, Stella knows more than 29 words and can combine up to five at a time to communicate.
Hunger said she thinks that the work she has done with Stella can improve the bond between humans and their dogs.
“I think how important dogs are to their humans,” Hunger said.
I just imagine how much deeper the bond will be.”
Hunger said that Stella has loved learning how to talk to her and others. When Stella first began learning the word “walk”, Hunger said, the tickled pup would excitedly push and demand walks.
“I didn’t realize how much she was waiting to say (her first word),” she said.
Watch below to see Stella “talk”!
