By now many people know of Bunny, the intelligent Sheepadoodle that uses an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to communicate with her owner Alexis Devine. The AAC is a communication tool usually used by human’s who need communicative assistance. But now for the first time, a study at the Comparative Cognitions Lab at the University of California San Diego seeks to delve into the phenomenology of our dogs.
What Does Bunny’s Communication Mean for Our Dogs?
The big question everyone wants to know is – are these results reliable and valid for our own dogs? The factors we need to consider are numerous, and unfortunately not in favour of the common house hold dog at this time. But they do hold promise for the future of dog and human communication.
What Makes Bunny’s Abilities so exceptional?
Bunny was only 15 months old at the time she started showing up is Reels across social media. This is very young, and a very trainable age for any average dog. To Bunny’s additional benefit is her breed mix.
Bunny is a mix of English Sheep dog and Standard Poodle. A designer breed known as “Doodles”. These dogs are very clever, eager to learn, and catch on easily to advanced training tasks for basic obedience and advanced skills.
Sheepadoodles are very trainable and very motivated to learn and please. They have an above average intelligence and focus. They are easily motivated and enjoy “learning” with their closest human companions. Does this sound like your dog?
unfortunately, most dogs are not this focused or this “willing to please”. And that’s okay, that’s what makes all our dogs – ours! We chose a fuzzy buddy not based solely on their intellect, in most cases, we chose a dog that we feel a close connection with, someone who actively wins our affection. So if you are trying to train your dog to “sit” and they walk away, look bored, or stop paying attention, they are not likely to be tapping out their deepest dog thoughts on an AAC tool. They are not ready for that level of trainability and focus.
Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
Another thing Bunny has going for her is her age. At 15 months old she has spent over 1 year consistently training everyday with Alexis to learn the buttons, the images to learn question and answer communication – which is much deeper than simple command and follow through.
Can You Guess How Many Hours a Day Bunny Trains?
Bunny and Alexis don’t just practice for 10-20 minutes a day – they work together for HOURS a day! This far exceeds the time most of us train our dogs on a daily basis. Alexis says they spend 3-4 hours a day working with the buttons and conversing.
Conclusion
Bunny is a 15 month old Sheepadoodle who communicates her thoughts and feelings using an AAC machine. What makes Bunny amazing is that she finally gives us insight into our dog’s lives in a way we can understand. The more we see how straight forward Bunny’s thoughts are, the more we feel validated that we have understood these canine creatures well all along!
Although Bunny’s achievement generally hold promise for canine-human communication innovations for future, we also need to realize that most family dogs are not this easily trainable, and it involves much more work than play. It is fun and entertaining to see what Bunny has to say – but is it really that much of a surprise?