Alexis Devine said that she knew early on that Bunny, her sheepadoodle puppy, was destined to talk. A 40-year-old artist and jewelry designer in Tacoma, Washington, Devine had pored over literature on canine cognition, communication and training in the months leading up to Bunny’s arrival. Through her research, she came across the Instagram page of a speech pathologist named Christina Hunger, who was documenting how her own dog, Stella, was beginning to develop an English vocabulary. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times Stella had a soundboard made up of circular buttons, each of which dictated a word when pressed. By pawing the buttons, which together formed loosely structured sentences, Stella was supposedly communicating in English. Hunger, 27, had been working for several years with assistive technology — in particular, alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) devices — to help nonverbal children acquire vocabulary and communicate
Bunny, an internet-famous sheepadoodle, has brought attention to a new area of study within animal cognition: the use of assistive technology for language acquisition.
Can speak 92 words . Meet Bunny, the ‘talking’ dog of TikTok & an inspiration behind scientific research
SECTIONS Can speak 92 words . Meet Bunny, the ‘talking’ dog of TikTok & an inspiration behind scientific researchBy Emma Madden, New York Times
Last Updated: May 27, 2021, 04:39 PM IST
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According to Devine, Bunny can use the buttons on her soundboard to form four-word phrases.
For at least 200 years, researchers have reported several instances of nonhuman animals demonstrating remarkable languagelike capabilities. (In picture. Bunny/Instagram)
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Alexis Devine said that she knew early on that Bunny, her sheepadoodle puppy, was destined to talk.
A 40-year-old artist and jewelry designer in Tacoma, Washington, Devine had pored over literature on canine cognition, communication and training in the months leading up to Bunny’s arrival.
Woman Teaches Her Sheepadoodle How to Communicate Using Buttons — RISMedia rismedia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rismedia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.