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Do you think dogs possess the cognitive ability to learn a language?

Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
I heard about this company FluentPet that sells buttons it claims allow you to communicate with your dog. It's pretty simple, you buy a board of buttons that say a word when pressed and train your dog to use them.

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This is obvious bullshit, right? I know dogs are able to communicate to some extent. My own dog dings a little bell when he needs to go out, which is actually pretty similar. If I replaced the bell with a button that said "Bathroom" it'd be identical to what this system does.

But I have a really hard time believing a dog can comprehend the meaning behind buttons like "Later," "Mad," and "I love you." Do dogs even have a concept of time? Does anyone who has ever owned a dog believe one would ask for you to do anything later?

This seems like a grift to me, selling over-priced buttons by marketing the idea that your dog can talk to you.

Check out this TikTok video from their site. Does the dog know that it gets attention by hitting the "I" button and then the "Love You" button. Sure, I can buy that. Does it actually know what it's saying, as it seems is being implied? Again, I just really, really doubt it.



I'm curious what other dog owners think. Is this something you'd be interested in? Or snake oil?

Company site: https://fluent.pet
 
davepoobond

davepoobond

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,616
www.squackle.com
I think it knows it is pushing stuff, but I'm guessing it was trained for certain rewards. Love you mom gets affection, obviously.

I don't think they can comprehend language, only actions and consequences.
 
Ryuelli

Ryuelli

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,209
I would like to think they do, but my bigger question is what kind of dog is that? The big girl looks gorgeous.
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,228
Saw this video a week or so ago, and it seemed like it was trained to hit specific buttons for specific rewards, but that if you replaced the audio with a simple beep, the results would be the same. Dogs are empathic to an extent though, or at least can discern the emotional state of people, as well as have a sense of what a person is wanting to do without words, relying on body language.
 
darz1

darz1

Member
Dec 18, 2017
7,093
If not for their long mouths and sloppy tongues they would be able to speak like us, yes.
 
The Namekian

The Namekian

Member
Nov 5, 2017
4,877
New York City
Sanctuary said:
Saw this video a week or so ago, and it seemed like it was trained to hit specific buttons for specific rewards, but that if you replaced the audio with a simple beep, the results would be the same. Dogs are empathic to an extent though, or at least can discern the emotional state of people, as well as have a sense of what a person is wanting to do without words.
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True, but wouldn't that still in effect be the dog communicating?
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,228
The Namekian said:
True, but wouldn't that still in effect be the dog communicating?
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Oh, dogs can communicate, just like most animals can. It's just that they won't be doing it on such a level as to be having a deep, and thought provoking conversation with you. It's been said that some dogs possess the intelligence of up to a five year old human too.
 
Polioliolio

Polioliolio

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,396
I sometimes think about what some other more intelligent animals would be like if given access to human like hands and fingers.
 
poseph

poseph

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
172
You could teach a dog to ask for things by pressing buttons that correspond to specific items/activities, sure. And like you said, I love you is just something it learns to press to get attention . But it's not really that different from how children learn to say cute things to get attention. I would classify this as a kind of communication for sure. I work with kids with autism and speech delays who use devices to communicate and the principles are the same. But you could like not really teach a dog to have a spontaneous conversation. I guess the illusion that it really means "I love you" feels grift-y.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,850
here
dogs can be very intelligent, in terms of dogs

not only does it range from dog to dog, but also from breed to breed, and size to size

small breeds are generally fairly smart, but there's outliers, and not all large breeds are 'dumb', a few are among the most intelligent breeds

o'course this is all relative to dogs as dogs, their capacity for learning, and their connection to their trainers/owners
 
Doom

Doom

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,817
New Jersey
I pity all of you that have never had a dog smart enough to comprehend something like this. You can easily teach most dogs 2-3 new commands every week, it's just a matter or effort and repetition. The buttons would definitely work. Just like how when you say "walk" your dog gets excited, it works with just about anything if you put in the effort to teach them.
 
OP
OP
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
Doom said:
I pity all of you that have never had a dog smart enough to comprehend something like this. You can easily teach most dogs 2-3 new commands every week, it's just a matter or effort and repetition. The buttons would definitely work. Just like how when you say "walk" your dog gets excited, it works with just about anything if you put in the effort to teach them.
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Obviously dogs can understand what commands mean. But knowing "When my human says 'Walk,' we go outside" is a little different than understanding what "I love you" means.
 
OP
OP
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
Fat4all said:
dogs already know you love them
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... OK. What we're talking about is this company advertising a product that they seemingly claim allows your dog to express its love for you. I understand dogs can be trained to react to certain commands, and I expect that's what's happening here. The dog doesn't have any understanding of love, it doesn't have any comprehension that the sounds "I love you" mean that the dog is expressing gratitude toward its owner, it just knows "I get attention when I press these two buttons."

They might deny it if pressed but to me it really seems that in their marketing material they're implying that dogs CAN intentionally use language like "I love you" or "Later" or whatever else is on their buttons.
 
Ferrio

Ferrio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,072
Clay said:
... OK. What we're talking about is this company advertising a product that they seemingly claim allows your dog to express its love for you. I understand dogs can be trained to react to certain commands, and I expect that's what's happening here. The dog doesn't have any understanding of love, it doesn't have any comprehension that the sounds "I love you" mean that the dog is expressing gratitude toward its owner, it just knows "I get attention when I press these two buttons."

They might deny it if pressed but to me it really seems that in their marketing material they're implying that dogs CAN intentionally use language like "I love you" or "Later" or whatever else is on their buttons.
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You're most likely right, but it's still some form of communication so I don't think the product is a scam. I mean pressing "I love you" and getting pats and pets is pretty similar saying "I love you" and getting a hug from partner in response. The dog doesn't know what it means exactly, but it knows it gets pets and love from when it touches it, so mission accomplished.
 
Vex

Vex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,213
Trust me. You guys dont wanna know what dogs REALLY want to say to you...


"Where the fuck's my food, CHUMP!?"
"I NEED TO PISS, MAHFUKKA!"
"DIDNT I SAY I WANNA DOGGIE SNACK? DID I STUTTER?!"
"JUST FOR THAT, I AM GOING TO SHIT IN THE HOUSE. ENJOY!"

And all sorts of stuff. Trust me, I know dogs. They bark at me all day and I imagine they are actually saying horrible things.
 

Imperfected

Member
Nov 9, 2017
11,737
Vex said:
Trust me. You guys dont wanna know what dogs REALLY want to say to you...


"Where the fuck's my food, CHUMP!?"
"I NEED TO PISS, MAHFUKKA!"
"DIDNT I SAY I WANNA DOGGIE SNACK? DID I STUTTER?!"
"JUST FOR THAT, I AM GOING TO SHIT IN THE HOUSE. ENJOY!"

And all sorts of stuff. Trust me, I know dogs. They bark at me all day and I imagine they are actually saying horrible things.
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They're basically just doing a live reading of 4chan threads at all times, it's true.

I'm sorry to inform you that your doggo is an incel with some real social maladaptations.
 

Deleted member 17092

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
20,360
they can certainly understand words you teach them, yes.

my doggo absolutely knows

bunny

squirrel

bill

belly

what is that

among the obvious commands of

stop it

sit

rollover

etc

but I would say the less obvious commands are different. there's more I can't think of right now but bunny and squirrel are not the same reaction. Bill is a toy he is actively afraid of and also a person he isn't. etc
 
Kapryov

Kapryov

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,139
Australia
There was a rare smart dog that could understand a little more than the average (like getting specific toys when requested, a rough understanding of some adjectives). I think it was a border collie, it was on TV a few years ago so I'm a little foggy. (edit: and of course can't find anything about it now, it wasn't Chaser at least, oh well)
It's an extreme rarity though, their brains just aren't built that way.

There are other animals that can grasp a little more. I think the african grey parrot is up there, right?
 
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Aaronrules380

Aaronrules380

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,470
There's no evidence that dogs understand language. They can recognize specific words in the same way they would other sounds like a scream or a loud crash, but that's not the same as language as we understand it. Aside from some dolphins and whales, I'm not sure there's another species we currently believe might have language that works similarly to what we use (and even those are not closed cases yet)
 
affeinvasion

affeinvasion

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,951
Language is not just knowing what words mean. I could learn the meaning of every French word and not know how to form a sentence. Grammar and syntax are vital aspects of language and our propensity towards them are hard wired into our brains.
 
fleet

fleet

Member
Jan 2, 2019
644
dogs have the cognitive ability to pair certain sounds with certain behaviours, yes. it's why pupper gets all excited when you say "walk" and all nervous when you say "vet".

it gets less clear when you start chaining words together. could i dog press "i" "love" and "you" sequentially? if you paired a reward with that behaviour, yes. does that mean the dog knows what "i love you means"? no. does that mean that dogs don't feel or communicate "love"? also no.
 
OP
OP
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
Kapryov said:
There was a rare smart dog that could understand a little more than the average (like getting specific toys when requested, a rough understanding of some adjectives). I think it was a border collie, it was on TV a few years ago so I'm a little foggy. (edit: and of course can't find anything about it now, it wasn't Chaser at least, oh well)
It's an extreme rarity though, their brains just aren't built that way.

There are other animals that can grasp a little more. I think the african grey parrot is up there, right?
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I know parrots can learn a lot of words and use them in response to commands. Like you can say "Laser!" and they'll go "Pew pew!" or whatever. But I'm not sure how capable they are of understanding what they're saying. I don't think a parrot would ever be capable of holding a conversation, even a simple one. They can probably say stuff like "I'm hungry" if they're trained to expect food in response.

ZOONAMI said:
Bill is a toy he is actively afraid of and also a person he isn't. etc
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Haha! What kind of toy is Bill?
 
Kapryov

Kapryov

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,139
Australia
Clay said:
I know parrots can learn a lot of words and use them in response to commands. Like you can say "Laser!" and they'll go "Pew pew!" or whatever. But I'm not sure how capable they are of understanding what they're saying. I don't think a parrot would ever be capable of holding a conversation, even a simple one. They can probably say stuff like "I'm hungry" if they're trained to expect food in response.
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This guy seemed pretty smart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)
he could distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger", "smaller", "same", and "different", and that he was learning "over" and "under".... Alex showed surprise and anger when confronted with a nonexistent object or one different from what he had been led to believe was hidden during the tests.
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Xterrian

Xterrian

Member
Apr 20, 2018
2,798
I'm sure cats and dogs can use pattern recognition. It's not too bold to assume they could understand "I love you." has a positive connotation, going off of our body language and tone of voice when saying it.

As for them understanding language and not just certain words/phrases, I would guess no. No other species on this planet has demonstrated any communication close to our own.

And we still don't know much about how we hominids came to have language in the first place. It's a complex beast.
 
subpar spatula

subpar spatula

Refuses to Wash his Ass
Member
Oct 26, 2017
22,129
I think a lot of folks see reports about how smart X animal is and think, "damn, that is smart" it actually isn't. Like, rats are "smart" but they essentially just got really good response mechanisms so if you do X and they see it a lot they will remember it. They don't understand the concept of it, though. It's the same with all these smart animals. The concept is important though. You can teach a parrot to say Hello but it doesn't know what that is.
 
Aaronrules380

Aaronrules380

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,470
Xterrian said:
I'm sure cats and dogs can use pattern recognition. It's not too bold to assume they could understand "I love you." has a positive connotation, going off of our body language and tone of voice when saying it.

As for them understanding language and not just certain words/phrases, I would guess no. No other species on this planet has demonstrated any communication close to our own.

And we still don't know much about how we hominids came to have language in the first place. It's a complex beast.
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Some cetaceans might have language close to ours, but the research is still ongoing and it's a major challenge when you consider that our vocal structures are so different and you've got to imagine that if they do have language it'll vary from pod to pod the same way not all humans speak the same language
 
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