I read a book last year called ‘How to Speak Whale.’ The author pointed out that a lot of people like to define language as whatever animals don’t have, and the idea that animals don’t have language is the current thing humans insist on in order to feel special, much like what was said a few decades ago about love, and before that about the use of tools, and so on. I really recommend that book to viewers of this channel. The author goes deep.
@@reidflemingworldstoughestm1394 heheh. But, guinea fowl are fearless about motorized technologies, which is why they are killed in roads so often around farms that keep them. They are curious about machines, not afraid.
Will check out the book, thank you. What you say is absolutely true. I'd say the main thing that separates us from other animals is that humans are capable of massive despoliation of our own environment and largely refuse to understand what we are doing to our own species when we destroy biodiversity.
@@victoriabaker4400 Honestly, not even THAT is something unique to humans. Let a small herd of deer loose on a small island with no natural predators, and it's very likely that they'll have a population boom, absolutely decimate all of the plant life on the island, then starve out. When you really dig deep into it, every behavior or trait or whatever that is held up as "unique to humans," positive or negative, can be found in at least one other species, and every thing that is relegated to "something only other animals do" is... also found in humans. The only real difference between us and other species is less one of *type* and more one of *scale,* due to a combination of our physical size and worldwide population.
My dog communicated with me when her sister outside fell into the hot tub and was starting to drown. I had no idea the other dog could climb up the steps and get to the edge of the water! If she hadn't "communicated", her sister would probably have run out of energy and died. Her sister barked and barked and ran to the door until I figured it out.
There have been TV shows about Lassie and Flipper. In fact, the military has tried to use dolphins for covert underwater bomb emplacements (I believe they had to give that up because the dolphins will do things of their own volition but apparently can smell a rat[bomb]). I realize those are fictional TV shows, but they are based on real life experiences, like yours. I mean, there's the whole Livestock Guardian Dog culture-- anyone who has had exposure to that culture knows that dogs are fully capable of advanced thought. People even deny that dogs think about the future, when dogs bury bones to go dig up later-- in the human world, that is called "food caching" and thought to be quite clever. Anyway, I digress, but I'm so glad you were able to tune in to your dog in that moment! 🙂
Same thing happened to me many years ago, one dog fell in the pool, the other dogs just stood next to the pool barking and barking (they never do this) until I came out and it saved the other dog's life 100%, Im glad your dog was ok. Mine cannot access the pool directly anymore, way too dangerous.
That's so wonderful to hear. My dog did something similar for my Dad's dog. He was an excitable staffy and had gotten winded playing with her in the heat and was struggling to breathe. My dog came inside, barked incessantly which very much wasn't her normal behaviour and led us outside to a very distressed Curly. We were able to quickly get him into cool water and air con and his breathing improved. Very scary for us all and I'm just glad she was smart enough to realise he needed human help!
A friend of mine visited and spent the night. She went outside to grab something out of her car at 6AM, and locked herself out of the house. My cat noticed her trying to get in, and came in a bunch of times to try to wake me up. Unlike Lassie‘s owners, who would immediately say, “What is it, girl?“ I totally ignored him. Over and over he tried to wake me up, then would then go back and just sit and stare at my friend through the window. This went on for several hours, until he finally woke me up and enticed me to follow him to the door. Oops.
Bunny and Billi most definitely communicate. And as it was pointed out in this video: it's mostly by associating a meaning to the words their trainers are using with them. Even if the word and the meaning don't overlap perfectly it's still communication. Even language.
YES! Like code words between siblings or friends, or Special Forces being able to communicate with sign language to accomplish very strategic, complex missions. Like Code Talkers who helped the allied forces win the war using Diné (Navajo), who had picture-type words in their language (like a tank was turtle 🐢, fighter plane was hummingbird, etc). So much can be communicated with a look/glance. We do it all the time, from crude to complex. Many animals (dogs for sure) communicate heavily through smell. My dog leaves 'Valentines' in the form of urine markings for all his canine neighbors during walks, and stops often to sniff for information. It would be a fun experiment to go a day without speaking verbally with family. I'm sure we could communicate most things pretty well!
@@mel720 Absolutely. The non verbal part (smell and posture) is scientific fact in zoology, at this point. The more amazing thing is Bunny giving feedback on what she hears and sees. Or Billi requesting a specific person - Dad or "Squirrel". Our pets and potentially many other animals have preferences and a broader range of emotions.
and even in human language the meanings of words dont always overlap! as a neurodiverget person i often notice i have slightly different associations with words compared to other people. and forget about me, i often encounter people who thought a word meant something slightly different their whole lives. people who are not fluent in a language, particularly persistent and talented people might i add, can often use their very limited vocabulary to communicate what they want. words are never set in stone! and i do agree it is still communication
I'm a very skeptical person. That being said, I was never skeptical about what I see Bunny doing. The reason my skepticism doesn't apply to her is because I've done rescue and rehab for almost 40 years. I've spent almost my entire life trying to convince people that Animals have feelings, thoughts and are completely capable of communication if we just learn their language. You have made it easy for Bunny to learn our language. II have sent a lot of these to my mom. Someone that has taken me most of my life to convince that animals communicate on a constant basis and we humans tend to miss a lot of their communication because most of us are incapable of understanding simple body language. I explained The processing tin a way my mother could understanding. I told her that dogs and other animals have a slower processing chip than humans do. I compared her brand new computer to her old computer and asked her if her new computer was faster. That's when things started clicking for my mom. When I made the comparison of computer processing chips in phones and computers, it made a lot more sense to her. We're talking about a woman who didn't understand the animals have a very high emotional intelligence and they are capable of learning our language, seemingly easier than we learn theirs. Animals understand what we are saying to them when we give them the time to process what we said. You and Bunny have been instrumental in proving what I have theorized since I was a little girl. I can't thank you enough for doing that. I've seen cows using these buttons. A lot of people don't want to acknowledge that animals have this level of consciousness and comprehension because of the way they have treated animals in their lives. For some, in admitting these things, they have to face a certain level of guilt and most humans don't want to do that.
I think it's not just "processing power". While we most definitely have some of the highest "processing power" brains in nature, we also have the huge advantage that our brains are in fact optimized to understand human language and human language (and society!) is designed to be easy to understand by humans. Thus, of course it's hard for other species. Yet, other animals react and process some other types of information much faster than we humans do. For example, dogs can navigate through smells much faster than we can. That's not just their noses but also their brains. They can be roughplaying and all full of adrenaline and biting each other very hard and as soon as one squeels, the other bites softer or releases and in less than half a second they continue their game but without hurting. I know that I have to stop when I'm in a similar situation at sports. There's a video from Mind Field about this game some orangutans play where they are shown a list of numbers for like a tenth of a second on a screen and then they have to click on them in order. Humans competing with them have NO CHANCE. They instantaneusly memorize patters of up to 20 items.
@Maynard's Spaceship Yes. My comment has one sentence that states cows are using these buttons now. I haven't seen the sheep, though. If you have a link, I'll definitely enjoy it
@androkguz Yes, I realize all this. I was trying to keep it simple. For my purposes, in the discussion I was having with my mother, all this other information was not a necessity to make the point I was making. The bottom line is, when it comes to human language, animal's processing chip is slower than human processing chips. But when it comes to learning an animal's body language, a human's comprehension is slower than when trying to teach an animal how to communicate in our way. This was the only point I was trying to make in my discussion, there for none of the extra information was a necessity to the point I was trying to make. Sometimes, adding all the extra information to a discussion just makes the discussion more difficult, not more informative. There's an old anagram that has been used since I was a little girl, and probably before: K.I.S.S. ( Keep it simple stupid). Sometimes, not always, this is the best strategy in a discussion. This was one of those cases. I acknowledge and agree with what you're saying, but it didn't apply directly to what I was attempting to help my mother understand. She is the daughter of a dairy farmer. Her parents were in their twenties during the great depression, to give you an idea of her mindset where animals are concerned. She was raised to believe that animals don't have emotions and are raised either for food or to do a specific job. As you know, most people in their seventies don't do a lot of personal growth. That's usually an age of stagnation. Helping my parents grow and grasp new ideas in their seventies is a really big deal because most people of that age don't make a lot of changes to their core ideas and beliefs. Therefore, putting a lot of extra information in there doesn't help at all. Sometimes, keeping it basic is the best way to do these things. This was one of those times
It's wild to me that people think dogs are unable to understand language, but the same people probably still have to spell out the word "walk" or their dog will freak out lol.
ikr???? It's self-evident!!! It's pure human bigotry and prejudice to claim that other animals don't communicate with each other in detail. Just because we don't understand their communication systems doesn't mean they don't exist.
Right. Or I can say the word bath and my dog runs and hides. Or say do you wanna play and he gets excited and runs to get his toy. Clearly they can't understand right?? /s
My dog learned how to spell. We tried to spell "walk" for that reason, so he wouldn't freak out. But within 2 times of spelling "W-A-L-K". He knew it meant "let's go for a walk".
My dog figured out that w-a-l-k meant walk after about 2 times and now everyone in our house just refer to walks as "w's." These creatures are SO smart.
When we lost our shepherd, my dog and I really struggled with the grief. I lost 40lbs and when I wasn't doing what I had to, I would just lay in bed. My dog stopped eating and would alert me that he wanted to go outside, but when I would open the door he would run out and then run back in and stand behind me. The only way he would eat is if I sat and ate with him, we would literally go bite for bite. He wouldn't go outside unless I went outside with him. If it weren't for my dog, I wouldn't be okay today. I don't care if you realize it or not, they communicate with is in every way they possibly can. Bunny is just further proof of what they are capable of.
They are very good at mirroring our behavior for us to (hopefully) learn. They are empaths. I'm glad your fur baby took it to the extreme, knowing that we will be more likely to take care of them before ourselves.
I was skeptical but thought why not try with my dog. I felt dumb for 2 weeks pushing these buttons while my family looked at my like I was crazy. I didnt teach him to use the buttons I just modeled, each day. Then one day he asked to go outside with the buttons. That was cool. But ok he just gets I want him to push it. But the day came he blew my mind. He kept pushing outside, id open door and he runs out and then whines to come back in. Over and over. I was busy and just didn't get what he was wanting. Then he pushes outside and then play button. And it clicked. Omg he wants us to go outside and play with him. When I said oh you want to go out and play he got so excited as we walked outside with his ball together. He freaking figured out on his own to use two buttons together. Something we hadnt started modeling yet. That was the moment I knew this was real and very important.
@@bradensorensen966 We tell our dogs 'Wanna play fetch?' or 'Wanna go outside?' and they learn, just like a human baby does, to associate that word with a concept. Some words have more than one meaning, some meanings have more than one word, but we as humans learn by hearing others say them and seeing consistent results of that communication. Dogs would have trouble with that many synonyms, but then again most kids aren't exactly renowned authors with impressive vocabularies. Association as simple as what you are looking for can be found in the research of Ivan Pavlov. When certain conditions are met, they receive a benefit and associate what that benefit is. This experiment was repeated many times. Now the only missing part to the equation is how do they learn to meet the conditions when they desire the benefit without waiting for the benefit to simply occur. Clearly this last part is well and truly possible. If you've ever seen a bratty kid kicking and screaming over wanting something, you've had an example of the opposite learned behavior of associating a benefit when certain conditions are met. As babies, we also don't have a way to express our desire for our environment to change (quench thirst, eat food, change diaper, etc.) and so we cry. This is not unlike noises our dogs make when they need something and have no way of telling us. When adults continue to reward this behavior with the desired results, the young humans and dogs don't learn. However, if we present an alternative to getting those results and reward the use of them, children learn to communicate. So do pets. We have many examples of this, even without word buttons. Consider what any 'training' is for a dog: If I want the treat, I must sit. If I want outside, I must bark at the door. If I want to stay out of the crate, I must not scratch furniture. Not all conditioning is positive, but both humans and any other animal goes through this. We simply have a large vocal range with a well established set of meanings behind certain noises that we accept socially to be a normal way to meet these conditions and benefits. Dogs have understood this for years, and this is why they trust humans; the conditions are easy to understand and the benefits are great. Scientists even largely believe dogs are the only animal that CHOSE to stay with humans and domesticated themselves. And consider this: When a human child has started learning language, and have mastered stating what they desire, do they not then start asking questions about other interactions and desiring more when they discover new possibilities? Why should it be any different for dogs?
@@bradensorensen966 my dog learnt behaviours, body language, and whining cadance and multi step actions to tell us what he wanted. The thing about these buttons is that they allow a clearer communication with us... these buttons are however completely unnecessary if you learn how a dog/cat/parrot/etc communicates. You just must respond, react and interact with your pet, and not just when you want. The buttons makes it clear they are trying to communicate.
The thing that gets me about the “debunkers” is how upset they seem that others are having fun just being curious about animals, while cosplaying as Noam Chomsky, Descartes or The Amazing Randi. They’re no more “experts” than those interacting with the animals, barely put any time into their “research” and “conclusions”, and mostly come off as envious killjoys.
Well it's not just having fun to them. (and it's not) To acknowledge animals have feelings and thoughts makes the treatment of animals worldwide by humanity look downright villainous. If you acknowledge they have feelings you can't see them as just commodities or trophies.
@@JulesJuno737 seriously, it almost feels like their ego is invested in keeping animals beneath us (them really) I can’t imagine how fragile someone’s self worth must be to be so upset that an animal might be considered sentient or granted some accompanying rights.
As a retired speech language pathologist I say you and Bunny have awesome communication. Please keep sharing. I wonder if you can use the buttons to communicate a potential danger like going in the street or moving cars. I have so many questions.
When my son started moving himself around, I was VERY worried about our portable gas heater. I held him in my lap, and held his hand in mine, with mine extending past his. I held our hand towards the heater until my skin felt uncomfortable, and pulled our hands away quickly, saying “Hot! No!” I repeated it until he showed an aversion response. He never went near the heater. I imagine a lesson for a dog could be the same…a tactile association of unpleasantness. Perhaps use “Danger!” to allow the human an easy single word for multiple problems.
"Mooooom, the neighbour's cat just walked by outside!" - very important info!!! And I agree with you: Bunny probably knows mostly what she is talking about. It's just that she is not able to express all the details that are going through her head. And then we don't understand what she means or we misinterpret it. It would be weird if there were no mammals with something like a proto-speech. We all know that evolution doesn't happen in big leaps, it's mostly gradual (exceptions exist, though). A lot of features in our brains have been around for millions of years already. So, it is only to be assumed that other social mammals have a way of thinking and communicating that may not be quite as detailed and advanced as in humans, but is still detailed and advanced enough to facilitate their cooperation. Particularly dogs, whose wild cousins need to coordinate hunts, need to be able to not only convey their own thoughts, but also to put themselves into the other's POV to understand what the other wants to convey. And then even reflect on their own thoughts and feelings again to adjust their own behaviour. Otherwise it would not work. So, they already have a lot of concepts in common with us and the only thing the soundboard does is giving them a variety of sounds to associate the various concepts with.
Now, here is where I'd disagree, sort of. Four-legged animals, I believe - I am not a scientist - have sophisticated ways of communicating thoughts and feelings to each other, using body language, smell, touch and sound. We humans are the ones lacking, because we don't have such sophistication. We do have body language, but don't consciously recognise it, relying instead on outspoken language. Four-legged animals are slower in decoding our language because they need to decode it, in the same way as we have to decode their body language and sounds.
I’m new here. I fell in love with idea that cats can “talk” to their people. Ask for food, play. And for specific toys. Then I Found Bunny. She communicates faster. She speaks in sentences. She has a sense of humor. She said she is “human” but Otter is a “dog”. I just about died laughing. Keep up the good work. And thank you for sharing your life with me. A pet lover from NC.
I appreciate your putting together a thoughtful response to the "skeptics." Having said that, many of the things the skeptics say (dogs aren't sentient, Bunny isn't communicating) demonstrate that some organisms have an indisputable ability to use language to communicate, while having little or no actual intelligent thought behind the process. 🖤 Love you and Bunny (and Otter!) and look forward to seeing and reading more of your adventures.
The thing that makes these different for me is that they are taking preexisting relationships & communication, and mapping it onto a system that uses human language. Insofar as new concepts are being introduced to her, it’s concepts that are directly relevant to her: herself, her environment, her feelings, her family. Unlike past attempts to train animals to “talk” this method is very focused on giving the animal a means to communicate things that matter to them in a way that we find easier to understand, not training them to talk about human topics. It’s easy for me to imagine what my cats would say because they DO communicate “food, mad, happy, mom, catnip, play” to me. They just do it with gentle taps and meows and bringing me toys and leading me to what they want and purring. It’s all communication.
It's not too hard to tell if a dog without buttons wants water or to go outside or inside or play but I think the buttons are really important for when a dog is sick or wants to be alone because it's not always clear. If we can do that, maybe it could even lengthen a pups life!
Wait, did u say book??? Can’t wait! But, oh my gosh, I feel sad to kind of learn that you are paying attention to the haters- who cares about them? You, Buns & Otter have helped me understand what my dogs are thinking and that has been such a gift. Our button journey here has been comedy and confusion, and yes, my own people have alternately eye rolled and been astounded by what my doggos do. But adds a dimension of fun for all of us and we r grateful for u and Christina’s insight.
As a family we love watching your videos. My son has a speech disorder (apraxia) and struggled to even attempt to use speech or his AAC device. One day we found a video of bunny using her buttons and it changed his world. So just wanted to thank you for sharing.
Well Bunny don't worry; I often mistake my A/C for rain outside. Because of light sensitivity I don't open my blinds much. My dog is really good at communicating with me without buttons. Like if he wants a bite of my steak and I am ignoring him he will yell at me with a loud sharp bark. I keep telling him that doesn't get you a bite of rib-eye. He also seems to understand that I am ADHD and need help with remembering I am cooking, or I am not hearing timers, or I am getting too hungry and need to eat. The best one is when the wind blew the door open, and he came and continuously poked my leg with his nose till I came out of my neurodivergent hyper focus and followed him downstairs to realize there was a big windstorm and it had opened our door and was blowing stuff into the house. As someone who had depended on dogs as service dogs for both my ADHD and some stability issues, I can tell you the definitely understand and communicate. If he weren't 13 years old, I would get him some buttons to play with. I am thinking maybe of just getting him a button for outside and one for food and water. Especially with my ADHD it might help him to get my attention a little faster when I am in my deep hyper focus on something much less important. By the way, I adopted him at seven and it took him days to realize he needed to help me and how to do so.
I love this. P.S., all of the cats and dogs I have lived with seem to understand I am blind and that they need to comunicate differently with me than with the other humans in the house.
It's a convenient fiction to excuse human treatment of other animals. The Tibetans believe that all animals feel all the emotions humans do. They also teach that animal rescue is among the highest work humans can do on the planet.
Yes. Mine, too. He’s a drummer. He has to swing his knee or tap his foot or fingers while processing. If there is a chance he might give a ‘wrong’ answer, he says, “I don’t know what to tell you.” There’s not a damn thing to say after that. Took me ten years to realize it is a tactic. 😂🤣😂
It was funny to me that you rattled off about every type of working dog except service dogs, who's main job is communication. You brought up some great points and it is basically what I have been telling people around me too. Worst case scenario I had a bit of fun with my (service) dog, and gave her mind something to learn and do and enjoy during quarantine in stead of being depressed because she couldn't work. That alone would be worth it to me. But I have seen actual improvements in how she does her job. And although that is anecdotal from a scientific perspective, does that really matter if she can be a better service dog to me and if I can make her hard job a little easier for her.
Best case scenario: She's making a lot of money with a brand and associated product that have no actual value. She might as well sell healing crystals. Same thing.
@@alexandersalazar9750 She is a medical alert and medical response dog. I know the difference. And her different alerts are her most important communication, but I also mean just working together all day.
I find the rain-sunny example to be really interesting. Should we assume that it's a mistake, and Bunny is pressing the wrong button? Or could she be thinking more deeply than we imagine, perhaps trying to tell us that she wants it to be sunny when it's raining, or asking us where the sun is when it's raining? The kind of experimentation and observation you're doing is the only way to start to know what Bunny is really thinking. We can learn so much more from all animals if we just open our minds to the possibility that their thoughts are as complex and rich as our own.
Very good point. We know from other circumstances that in fact Bunny does philosophize, she thinks about time in the future and the past, and she does wonder about things and she does have feelings like, I wish I could go to the beach but it's high tide.
And even if she does happen to be wrong, they are both weather related concepts , on a sound board with 50+ buttons… I just don’t get the people who think she’s randomly pressing on whatever button. I think Bunny’s IQ is higher than some of these naysayers
Our weather person also makes mistakes on the rain sunny spectrum, almost daily. I say we give Bunny a break, lol. Maybe she can smell rain in the distance when it's sunny, or maybe she wishes it would rain, or she's wanting to know why it rains some days and not others.
@@badgamerkat We've seen videos in which Bunny is wondering why this thing and not that thing, so I think it's entirely possible she might be testing propositions. Or that she can't articulate her thought. There is NO DOUBT she is trying to communicate her inner life.
Or she’s just wondering what the weather is like today. Maybe it’s been raining all week, and maybe she doesn’t get to do a daily routine walk/play outside if it’s raining. Also, if she normally does this event at 10 am daily, and it’s now noon, she might be wondering if rain is the reason why they are still inside.
Excellent breakdown of the kind of criticisms I've seen aimed at you and other people who have tried this style of communication with their pets. Healthy skepticism is good, but at the end of the day, completely dismissing it as hogwash when it's still so early in the process seems equally ridiculous to me. People will say things like "research says dogs can't understand us", but they'll forget that a 100 years ago research said we're the only galaxy in the universe. We as humans are constantly learning more, broadening our knowledge in subjects far and wide, and our understanding of our world is always shifting - as it should be, because THAT'S what science is really about.
Also that's not what research says. The reasearch on the subject says that dogs learn between 165-250 words. And that's just words. That doesn't address non-verbal communication cues. So anyone who says that "research says" that it just lying.
I’m so glad you posted this video. I’ve never really doubted Bunny or you as I’ve had very close communicative relationships with my dogs - so much so honestly, I’d be afraid of giving my current girl buttons for fear she’d completely control my life and schedule. Your love for Bunny and Otter shines through every video and that alone brings a lot of healing to difficult days in our life here. Thank you for sharing as much as you do -that is never easy online but I’m grateful for what you do.
Hahahaa - same here, except I have three Burmese cats. Years of cohabitation and close observation mean that they've usually no trouble at all telling me *exactly* what they want - not sure if I want to give my little overlords any more tools with which to rule my world - plus I'm kinda scared what they might say! 🤣🤣
I think this is the hidden perspective of most pet owners. We can see the ways in which our animal friends lives could be more ideal. And people working out of the home can't have as much time as we know our dogs need. When I was working too long hours and had to leave my dog with family he expressed his displeasure by eating seatbelts. Once he was with me on a door to door survey job amd I got out of the car for 5 minutes and he ate my seat belt. If he had a button to express he wanted something from me it would have been cheaper 😂 Before I got him as a pup he was tied up with webbing and learnt he could cut it with his teeth. In his life he ate 12 to 14 seatbelts. Amd cut Amy number of leads in half. I had to use chain leads. He went almost everywhere with me. I learnt to have outdoor jobs that he enjoyed or to leave him to take care of the farm when he was older. Obviously we communicated but he could have had so mich more to say. The buttons happened when he was maybe 11yo and I thought it was too late to start. RIP Tigger, loved every day.
I recall watching Skidboot exhibiting his amazing skills with David Hartwig. Chaser the Dog can identify over 1000 toys. I've seen Bunny use buttons to alert you to interesting things she sees and sounds outside, which you confirm. I have 2 dogs, one is 14 and I am absolutely certain that she understands a lots of words. My son is autistic and was non verbal until he was 4. He said he understood what I was saying, he chose not to speak for more than 3 years. There weren't any iPads back in his childhood, just picture exchange communication system (PECS). 25 years ago, he had OT therapy in a bin full of dinosaurs toys and rice. I stumbled on one debunking video, watched about 20 seconds. I know a lot about communicating with a nonverbal entity and I dismissed her . I moved on to watching a video of the husband & wife who talk to their chipmunk friends.
Yeah I was surprised when I saw one "debunking" video by a professional animal trainer who said that, apparently, she's the only one who doesn't have confirmation bias and that all these videos are fake based on a misunderstood sample set of 1. She went on to talk about the scientific method (this would be step 3, experiment), in which she doesn't participate. Yet it's literally her job to communicate with animals. Sad really. I guess maybe she's upset that she isn't part of this global scientific study. Anyways keep up the awesome stuff! It's so fun to watch you and Bunny learn together
I saw that too, by a woman who claims to be "scientist." I've been furious with that woman ever since and whenever I see a convincing and otherwise inexplicable animal communication, including from our own cats, I mock her inside my head.
It's crazy because that person could participate in the experiment herself, especially if she's already working with animals all the time, but she doesn't seem to be open minded enough to try
I saw that video too! she clearly tried to ridicule this whole thing! even looked like a bully. She didnt realise that its her who got ridiculed by her own video XD a pity that in this age there are still people who calls themselves experts, but doesnt accept something new
Some people automatically disagree with everything and think it makes them look smart. I love Bunny and clearly information is being exchanged and understanding achieved :)
I have been following Bunny as long as you've been on TikTok, and I use the Fluent Pet buttons with my Standard Poodle, and I notice a lot of the same things with my dog Bennett. It is communication!!! I am a huge believer in science, and we all only have our very small sample size, but there are so many animals using these types of devices to communicate with us, and it's so reinforcing for them to be able to clearly communicate with their humans. I really admire how you've presented Bunny and handled any "debunking" attempts. It helped me get started with this and my dog. Incidentally, my cats have started pressing buttons as well, to ask for water or to go outside (which they're not allowed to do, but always want to), so they might be getting their own board soon. :) Can't wait to read your book!
I disagree. I'm a skeptic, and I question just about everything. However, when someone presents indisputable facts to me, I have no problem changing my opinion. I would agree with you that there are people out there who labeled themselves as skeptics who don't adhere to this same rule. There are indeed people out there who are more interested in being right than they are in offering up factual, and she will informaton that is backed by provable evidence. Like I said, I am a skeptic, but I was never skeptical about Bunny or Billi. I was never skeptical about these things because I've done rescue and rehabilitation of several different kinds of animals for almost 40 years. I've seen and experienced animals communicating with me via body language et cetera, and watched them learn to comprehend my language ( Being both speech and sign language that I use with dogs. I've not tried to use sign language with parrots, snakes, or cats. The need just never arose).
@@streghewitch77 in the late 1800's and early 1900's the best argument against the Bible being true was the concept of line of sight and the idea of everyone in the world being able to see the two witnesses of GOD being killed and left lying in the street. The Bible says that the whole world will see it happen at the same time.. It was a great argument until 1945 when satellites in space were suggested and then realized in the middle of the 20th century.. Those who became skeptical of the Bible because there was no way that the world world could see that event at the same time...were mislead. Their pride in their knowledge trumped the wisdom in their hearts. The devil uses our own pride to mislead us. Two phrases come to mind...."Above all...always trust in Jesus Christ" and "The devil is a liar". Two examples of wisdom that those in the past should have adhered to..... rather than the lies of the serpent.
I would call that being obstinate. They're obstinate skeptics, and yeah I do think too much selfish pride is a big reason. Some people are much more concerned with being "right" even if it means they're embarrassing themselves publicly by sticking to their wrongness. (Edited typos)
Human hubris is strong. Darwin's era really made human's think WE are the only ones with language, and feelings - the only ones who love, or fear. Nat Geo had an article a few years ago...2018? About just how much VASTLY smarter birds are than humans have ever given them credit for. And you're absolutely right in comparing them to toddlers! I have long compared my cats' intelligence to that of a toddler - they're about emotionally on the same level, too. They think of the self, and what they want...but they feel things too. They have wants...and sometimes it's just a little love. It's not just about food...just like toddlers don't only use their words for food! Human hubris. It all boils down to humans thinking no animals can possibly be similar to us in intelligence and communication...when we're the least diverse animal of all with communication, really? We mostly only verbalize! Most communication in the animal world goes unseen and unheard by us because we lack the tools to perceive it - be it scent, or a sound we can't audibly hear. Animals are talking to each other in complex ways all the time, every day, all around us... and being able to break into that in even this small way by building word associations is HUGE to me. I dreamed of this kind of stuff as a kid...and now I'm almost a month in with teaching my cats, and getting closer to them understanding button presses every day! Thank you for defending the little guys who can't speak up for themselves...most of the time! (Just give them a few more buttons and a few more years...)
Hot take: Of course dogs can communicate with words. They UNDERSTAND words. They already communicate to each other with vocalizations that change with context. People use verbal commands to work with dogs. There is no reason one could not exercise and develop that already existing capability beyond what they can do with it in nature, or the rudimentary communication they already use in work with humans.
I've wanted to get buttons for my pup for a long time! The app definitely makes it more intriguing to me & I cannot wait to learn with my puppers!!! Thank you for all that you & Bunny have done! ❤
The existential phase she went thru should put doubters to rest. She was asking the same questions that children ask, and reacting to the answers. In one she asks if "mom was dog" clearly meaning she thought she herself might grow up to become human like "mommy" was. When she was told no, mommy was never dog, Bunny was not delighted by that answer, and deflated a little.--------------- Then there was the time she used "bad stranger" to mean she had a splinter in her paw. the use of words for things she did not have vocabulary for. That is another thing children do.
My absolute favorite recently was the look she gave Alexis when told that Tenrec, the Papillion, is a dog. I think she was putting Tenrec in the "cat" or "other" category, certainly not a dog like her and Otter
Beautifully stated. As a kid I so wished I could talk with animals (read EVERY Dr Dolittle book as a kid!). As an adult, my expertise is in experiential communication/meaning-making. I now speak with my cats directly using abbreviated phrases to represent important concepts like “Back soon,” because thanks to the work you are doing with Bunny, I now know they understand far more than what we ever realized. Look forward to more fascinating insights! And yes, let’s all STAY CURIOUS!!!! 💜
Like another commenter said, I've always known animals of all species communicate. When I found you and Bunny and now Otter, (and kitty Billi) i was beyond happy and couldn't believe it took us this long to think of buttons for animals to press so most of us could understand what they've been trying to tell us all these years!! I've worked with Autistic and developmentally delayed adults and children for a bit over 20 years. We used communication boards and books and then devices were made. The children who had the most meltdowns were those who were very non-verbal. As soon as we were able to give them other ways to communicate, they were so much happier!!! I see this happiness in these sweet babies as well. Thank you for making this video and sharing your babies with us!!!
Great response to folks who are/were naysayers. (Thankfully I never noticed them.) All my unscientific life I have known that animals communicate with us and each other. And I am also 'certain' that plants communicate also with us and each other. Your response was clear and concise- I loved it. Since we humans are only 1 species and not the oldest species on the planet, we have much to learn from each other and all the life forms we share our planet with. I am thrilled to see the work you and others are doing. Meanwhile, I shall continue to believe that yes, I can communicate with my pets- cockatoo, cat and previously dogs and a multitude of other animals who have been my companions. I will understand the plants and trees are communicating with each other and me as I work in my garden and nature. I know I miss most of the signals my companions share with me, but I keep trying to understand them. They may not use my language, but often I can tell they understand more of my language than I seem to understand of theirs. Love to Bunny and Otter and their family.
I'm a scientist and it's also obvious to me that dogs communicate. Anyone who thinks they don't or can't communicate with humans isn't thinking scientifically. They're actually willfully ignoring the science on the subject. As Alexis said, dogs have been selected for centuries (millenia even) for their ability to respond to human desires and for that at least some form of understanding and communication is needed. That's what led us to form bonds with them, which was a survival advantage to them because it led us to feed and care for them, making them and their offspring more likely to survive.
I am 100% with you Alexis. I wasted my time watching a biologist 'debunking' Bunny on RUclips, where she spent ages passionately making a complete non-point. The definition of language doesn't come into it. The buttons provide animals and their humans with a shared system by which they can communicate ideas. I don't care if that's language or not - if an animal can tell you that it is in pain, that it wants to play, or just needs you to shut up for a minute, that is a useful system! (By the way, I always love your style, but you've totally outdone yourself today - your hair and outfit are fantastic!!)
Glad you made this video. There's this narcissistic "biologist" on RUclips who can't see anything beyond her own nose and has so much contempt for Bunny it's nauseating. She also enjoys replying rudely to people who stand up to her in the comments. I can't stand her and can't believe she is a scientist. She is certainly the kind of 'scientist' we don't need.
There are all types (and, hilariously, there are also stereotypes about the types of people that choose to be scientists in different fields... like you get a lot more of the anal personality types in molecular biology whereas in physics you get absent-minded-professor types who don't even know where they are standing half the time lol). There are the axe-to-grind types who have a singular mission and don't have any tolerance for ideas that aren't theirs, and there are the head-in-the-clouds types who are all theory and no groundedness. Everyone bickers constantly, no one ever agrees. There's not much you can do about it really, they are just humans... I do think there is some benefit to being these different types because even if a person is basically just a hater, their criticism still helps other scientists to hone their story and not make too many assumptions.
Nice to see I'm not the only one who caught her contemptuous attitude coming through loud and clear - not to mention that she picked a couple of Bunny's videos that were easy for her to hand wave away. She is the kind of person that keeps knowledge at a standstill.
People like she are the mediocrities of the scientific world. The day will come when a scientific genius starts taking these new data about animals' communicative and cognitive ability seriously, and then the mediocrities will just fade away.
Without showing curiosity, i am unconvinced that one is a scientist, regardless of training. Also, narcissists do not like to be questioned, they probably disapprove of questions. They dont want to learn. They just want to dominate.
Birds are in their stone age currently exchanging money for goods (corvids i think specifically). Why is it a big leap that, given the tools, an animal that already knows how to communicate and does (ie any dog trained to alert) would be capable of communicating at a higher level? I wonder if this type of communication could be used by horses or even turkeys. My brother has a turkey and we talk to each other. I talked with her for an hour yesterday. She came to sit with us while the farrier (horse hoof trimmer) came. She nestled down and sat next to us. I came and sat by her and she protested and seemed disinterested so i left and she squawked and carried on all mad i left. She even puffed up all huge until i came back. Her name is Niffers. Idk. And when i say talk i mean she made peeps and various bird noises. Not like the usual turkey noise. Imagine if she had buttons ! I bet she would assume she was a big chicken (as she is the only turkey on the farm). Am i really about to buy communication buttons for a turkey? -.-
You are an amazing woman and the reason there are skeptics is because animal communication on this level is an entirely new arena that carries so much potential for animal wellbeing. I think what is most important about what you do with Bunny and the buttons is to enforce the meanings of the words or phrases by modeling them. If she presses the button "outside", you immediately follow it with an action of going outside. Seems like basic communication through a feedback mechanism. What is truly amazing is how bunny can connect the words to communicate; which at it's core is understanding and processing language to me. I'm absolutely convinced that my dogs know what I say because I speak words slowly and they can pick up on nonverbal cues like when I reach out my arms for a hug without saying a word. Please Continue to do this work.
Skeptics haven't been following along here. It's clear ot me that her comments are reactive to their environment on nto random. Stranger paw right?.. and so much more.
Fantastic video! It's bittersweet that you felt you had to make it, but several takeaways were super important to me: 1) It is a form of communication. However that is translated in Bunny's is informative from a research perspective; 2) Your relationship with Bunny has become more intimate, insightful, and likely even more affectionate (if that's possible as a dog lover); and 3) Is there really any doubt any longer that animals are sentient? With all that we currently know, I cannot imagine the ignorance that refuses to acknowledge this. And it is ignorance in the truest sense of the word. As we learn more, we grow and do better. I appreciate all the work you do to audit your content, and I also love watching Bunny "process" her thoughts. But I can see how some audiences may not find that as entertaining. Keep doing you!
I don't know. Anyone who has ever had an animal in their home HAS to have had multiple experiences with that animal patiently/stubbornly😅/desperately trying to communicate with them. You can SEE them thinking, trying to figure things out. You'd have to be nearly insentient yourself to not understand that. I agree. Who cares if it meets the strict definition of language (I think it does)or not? It has patently exponentially increased their ability to communicate and that's just so damn cool!❤
Thank you for making this video ❤ I’ve seen some debunking videos floating around but there has never been a doubt in my mind that Bunny is communicating
I love love love watching your bunny videos! There will always be naysayers. To some people ignorance is truly bliss. Last but not least my daughter bought some " bunny buttons" and says they work so well she had to take up button they made for peanut butter lol
I consider myself a skeptic but I have no doubts that your dog is communicating with you. I have been amazed by her description of dreams, her disapproval of Otter when they first met, the time she thought there was a stranger in the house and then said oops when she realised she was wrong. 🤣 It's amazing to see her grasp of the lingo grow and she's so sweet. I think over the next few generations, we are going to see a huge change in people's understanding of animal intelligence - especially if AI starts translating for them.
You and your fur kids are amazing!! anybody that spends that much time with their pets is amazing. Haters are gonna hate. And with all that we’ve seen come out of people in the last few years, we shouldn’t be surprised of the cretins out there. The more I watch animals in general the more respect I have for their intelligence and social structure. If people were paying attention, they would see animals are communicating with us. All the time is giving them another way to do that so that us stupid. people can understand it in our own terms. I can’t wait to see more! Bunny is so smart and sweet! Know there is more love out here for you all than the haters will ever know!❤😂
To all those who complain that you give her so much time to respond, it is these very pauses that firmly cement my belief. Just looking at Bunny's expressions, the cocking of her head, you can envision the wheels turning as she contemplates what has been asked/stated to her. Additionally, her ability to combine words when the choices she has aren't quite right, like "sound settle" for shut up or "poop play" for fart and many others. As for her making a mistake about the weather? There are humans with degrees in meteorology who do that every day!
Oh yes! I just gave someone else the examples of "night talk" for dreams and "upstairs bird" for airplanes, but "sound settle" and omg "poop play" are two of my all time faves.
I love to watch Bunny talking with you, but my favorites are her "tantrums." When she stands there staring at you and pressing her buttons with her back feet, it totally cracks me up! Tantrums around here are usually just barking. I enjoy the stomping more. 🤣
Thank you for your insightful, practiced, knowledgeable AND tasteful video. I watch BUNNY sometimes. I totally get the time to process. My cat, 18, needed time like that too. Slower that a dogs reaction even when she was young. She knew outside? Come in? Jump up! Lay down. Roll over. Stay in. Want food? Go night night? No! Ok! And many others. When she'd hesitate, she was thinking. And when it was between 2 choices like, Go Out or Stay In? It took a few seconds for her to decide. She'd let me know by going over to the door or walking away from it. Nevermind the ignorant haters. They've never been close to a pet, obviously 😢.
If Bunny says rain outside when it’s sunny could mean she’s feeling depressed. Is Bunny sentient? DEFINITELY! I read a sci-fi book years ago about alien “pets” that learned to talk via hand signals but only after one of the pets finally got the link between speech and communication. As these pets couldn’t talk (they were telepathic) bridging the gap only took one to get it and then pass the information to others in their clan. My point is, when I saw Bunny said ouch and then you asked if it was stomach ouch and Otter said outside and Bunny agreed… I felt like it was those pets in the story learning to talk with each other. It’s early days but I’m convinced that our dogs and cats have more going on in their heads than food and play. So ignore the skeptics. Some people think the Earth is flat. I don’t take notice of those idiots either. ❤ Bunny and Otter to bits.
What a cool outfit! I had no idea about the toddler experiments. If a toddler and a dog have really similar results I don't feel like anyone can argue that they don't or can't really understand, right?
If it were random it wouldn't make sense in context, which it does. I mean, how many words does she have to choose from, 50? 100? Humans have thousands. Still, Bunny makes sentences, novel unique concepts that lead to her learning a new word-- for instance "[what is] night talk" led to the word "dream", and "upstairs bird" led to "airplane".
Can't wait for your book! Thank you for the great explanation. I honestly find Bunny and your button work so fascinating, it's really helped me better communicate with my Chihuahua. Really changing the way I think from: she couldn't or would never understand to well you know what I think I'm getting her and she getting me. She's learned so many new tricks lately and even has started to get the gist of what I mean when I ask things like: Do you want cuddles? Not now maybe later.(my favorite because she will go lie down and try to get in my lap again after like 10 mins.) I want to try buttons some time soon. Thank you for explaining that you don't use treats.
Good for you! We can see that there is definitely intelligence in dogs and finding a way to communicate, even in a rudimentary fashion, builds a bond between us and our dogs! Bravo!
Love your hair do today! Best. Just sayin’. Of course I’m typically very serious here but you’ve covered it. And by the way, those colors and lines on your wardrobe today, spot on! Hope you see this comment so you feel very affirmed. Will do your book for sure. Chilled and more than curious dear Bunny’s mom. Give my regards to B & O. You got this.
I started doing that with my cat 4 weeks ago (and did so with my previous cat, but only 3 buttons because I imagination did not work as it should have) with new buttons. He never had any training and in the first 3 weeks, he did not get how to press. I did paw targeting and if he accidently actually hit the button I would do what the button said. After 3 weeks he started pressing the buttons. 2 days later he did it constantly. I have the buttons: ouside, food, play, cuddly and brush. I am not sure yet about the play button. but damn does he know the others already by heart. He presses cuddle and flops down, baring his belly even before I start cuddling. So he def knows that one. He presses outside an goes to the door already. He of course presses food button about 20 times a day. He presses button Brush and goes directly where the brush is. So within now 4 weeks of training, my cat knows the meaning of at least 4 buttons. Play I am not sure yet, that might still be accidental. Today I introduced an all done button, because i need to put a stop to the constant pressing. I do not know if 70 words is realistic, but it DOES work.
or she just wants to talk about the difference. toddlers do that. mommy it's raining. it's not raining, sweet heart. oh, it's sunny out? yes, it's sunny out.
I got buttons for my puppy after seeing Bunny’s videos, and while I only have a few they are a game changer. Ada (my dog) didn’t take to them right away (and I wasn’t consistent in training her), but one day she just ‘got’ it. And now she slams the ‘cuddles’ button more than other and it’s so awesome (makes my heart melt). I don’t know if I will get more, and I’ve thought about experimenting with just having sounds she can put together but that might be too big a conceptual leap. But even having a few has been fantastic in improving communication. So thank you!
Love how people have to hate on every last cool thing they see. You're doing something amazing with your dog, and people can't help but bash it. Keep going, keep Bunny and Otter going. If the haters keep crawling outta the woodwork even though youve made an educational and informational video like this and refuse to hear you, just ignore them.
It's not hate to be sceptical and present different hypotheses about what Bunny might be doing. Obviously as long as it's done respectfully and all that. It's exactly what the scientists who are studying Bunny will be doing.
Those haters are just jealous and don't understand how a dog could use those buttons to communicate. They probably wish they had a dog who could do what Bunny does. And...... Because they don't, they have to try to destroy everyone else beliefs.
You're not a hater if you don't just blindly accept everything. A lot of people could do with a bit more scepticism. That's why this video is so great; you get the answers.
I love how you specifically state WHO you're talking about in regards to the negativity, and people are responding that skepticism is allowed. That's not WHAT WAS SAID. Speaking of communication. Damn lol!
There absolutely is a definitive difference between skepticism and hate. Skepticism is doubt until *facts* are given. Hate and hateful comments are meant to tear people down solely for the purpose of causing damage despite reason or facts. Its *healthy* to be skeptical. It's *pathological and damaging* to be hateful.
I love that you shared this. Bunny is so interesting and seems like a sweet fur-baby, and it's fascinating to watch her as she figures things out. I don't have buttons for my dogs, but I do know this: I say, "Who wants to go outside?" No body language cues or movement toward the door. Yet both of my dogs get up and run for the door. When I say, "It's bedtime," they both go upstairs. They may not understand the meaning of the words, but they have heard that series of sounds from me often enough, and gotten the same result, that it is a reliable cue to them. I would argue that *that* is the basis of verbal communication. And I love that the buttons give them the opportunity to communicate back.
Great video. Many of your explanations have become apparent as I’ve watched carefully. E.g. that Bunny/dogs take longer to think about or ponder for their understanding vs. human typically quick response. Keep up the great work and research.
I have 3 cats that verbally say "hello" n 1 of my dogs say "Mama" every once in a while. The cats are generally in heat when they do that and the dog is looking for me (she has separation anxiety really bad). My nextdoor neighbor's dog uses the buttons. He's slowly learning more all the time. Regardless of the haters, YOU'RE getting results that strengthens your bonds with your dogs
Bunny is amazing I have been around dogs my whole life and I know that they talk to us Normally through body language and sometimes vocally But you guys have taken that to the next level I really love how you have shared this journey with us 🐾🐾💕 And of course love Otter too It's really great of you to address these things for people At the end of the day what matters is your love for Bunny & Otter 🐾🐾💕
I enjoy your posts about your journey with Bunny! We have so much to learn about how animals perceive the world! Bunny learning to communicate with the buttons and show us her thoughts is amazing! In one of the videos I watched earlier this week, she asked you, "why sleep?" She has big thoughts!
This is a very informative and insightful video, addressing many questions and concerns. I have watched a number of videos with different dogs and I’m convinced that it does work. The only issue I have with Bunny is that I am concerned, it could make doodle dogs mores popular. That’s driving backyard and other unethical breeders to pump out. More puppies for profit. There are so many now in shelters because people didn’t realize they were not hypoallergenic, and they needed grooming. If you want to doodle, please look in the shelters in rescues there are plenty out there..
In this case, the communication versus language issue reminds me of Edsger W. Dijkstra’s response to a similar issue: “The question of whether a machine can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.”
Wait I love when toddler mysteries reveal themselves (?) - one of my favorite surprises of just being alive? I mean, the rice/dino thing happens pretty frequently just communicating daily w toddlers. Anyway I didn't k know it was a thing! I love language anyway, just writing/grammar/meaning - but I never connected that w the toddler reveal thing. That is so neat! I was having a blast watching the dogs - any time this channel wants to explain the theoretical part, I'm down for it. I'll have to look at more vids here and check out the book. This is so neat! Lol I already said that but I seriously enjoy this new (to me) idea idk
this is a really good breakdown on the value in giving the benefit of the doubt to ongoing projects like this. studies with alex, the famous african gray parrot, were groundbreaking as a lot of people had believed birds would "parrot" sounds, not understanding that they could be "words." but alex's training showed that he was able to communicate and learn in a way a nonautonomous or nonsentient creature or object wouldn't. and now, two of my favorite youtubes are those of apollo and gizmo, two african grays. i think there's a risk of anthropomorphizing animals, where an understanding of human behavior and patterns is applied to an animal and as a result, that animal's needs aren't met. for example, i read something a few years ago where a guy was adamant that his pet snake was showing affection to him by wanting to be inside his sleeve while he carried him around. and somebody had to break it to him that the snake was cold, and he shouldn't be carrying the snake around so much. the snake won't be showing affection the way a child or even a dog would, so you have to read its behavior as such or your neglecting something the snake IS trying to communicate. that danger isn't present here. like you said, what's the worst case scenario if bunny pressing "why am dog?" ISN'T an existential question, and is just bunny seeing what her favorite woman in the world says and does? there's no harm there. you're not withholding her basic needs or even emotional payoff and forcing her to use the board to get your attention. it's just a new, bonus way she and otter get to hang out with you. anyway you're probably not gonna read all this i just wanted to say that poodles are the best dogs - this is unarguable, scientific fact actually - and that i enjoy your content and your lipstick.
You are fantastic! Bunny is fantastic! That's all that matters ❤ I have a 28 year old autistic daughter so I am fully aware that communication comes in many forms and consistency is vital ❤ Please keep posting. I've read "How Stella Learned To Talk" also and I am working on training my teacup poodle! Pray for us!!!😂
I love your thoughtful response here. And I don't have the scientific background, but I like the point that whether or not it is language s we understand it, it is definitely communication. I don't know that I will ever be able to "speak" dog or that my dog or cat will ever become "fluent" in English, but we seem to be able to communicate pretty well and that is excellent.
Thank you for this. It enriched my understanding of what you see happening with Bunny and her words. The two of you are obviously intelligent and have a great relationship. I’m tired of people who seem to have to criticize everything instead of simply being entertained for a few minutes of a fantastic dog interacting with her loving owners.
I don't know how anyone could watch Bunny's videos and still think she is not talking.... she makes observations about her environment, how her dad is pooping, and she lets her mom know how she's feeling and what she wants to do...! It could not be more clear that she is communicating with the buttons. This lady's work is pretty groundbreaking, and I hope Bunny lives a very long, healthy life. That being said, Bunny probably gets lonely. Does she have other smart dogs to interact with regularly ?
Lovely that you take the time to make a video about the topic. I can really feel all the feeling you put when you are presuming competency.... Your voice and to e and patience have inspired me about how I perceive communication not only from animals, but from people with special needs which I work with and students I teach Spanish... And we'll anybody ... I'm taking a step back at how I listen to people trying to communicate with me... Can't wait to see more data about bunny's data!!! So much we can learn from your journey together... Thank you for Lovingly finding ways to understand her ... I would love to keep track of her insights and realizations !! Ohh bunny! Is so cute to hear you explain how you understand the world ! Lots of love to all!!
When I saw this update I was hesitant to watch... Very Concerned! You did a great job with explaining to us in terms that I can understand. Thank you, Bunny and Otter! Now that I have a little extra money I am buying this, finally, for my now 2 year old pup.
I understand your frustration because I feel it too. These "debunkers" seem to want to make a name for themselves by skimming these kinds of videos for ones that fit the point they're trying to make vs watching ALL of them to really study Bunny's development with using her buttons to communicate, and it's a very deceitful practice. Those of us who have been here for a long time now have seen Bunny's grasp of concepts grow, and I for one get very amused when she puts together words to get across her point - like when she came up with "poop play" for fart when Otter was having a lot of them that day. It just proves that Bunny has learned how to think about her button words and how to use them to make her point.
I have a pet rabbit and he actually reliably understands at least 30+ words that I use (combined with hand gestures) and he's a RABBIT. I can only imagine that dogs and cats (with a longer attention span) would be able to memorize even more words.
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I read a book last year called ‘How to Speak Whale.’ The author pointed out that a lot of people like to define language as whatever animals don’t have, and the idea that animals don’t have language is the current thing humans insist on in order to feel special, much like what was said a few decades ago about love, and before that about the use of tools, and so on. I really recommend that book to viewers of this channel. The author goes deep.
That's silly. Everybody knows the trait that separates us from animals is that we're the only species who aren't afraid of vacuum cleaners.
@@reidflemingworldstoughestm1394 Speak for yourself! I firmly believe that vacuum cleaners are out to eat my toes.
@@reidflemingworldstoughestm1394 heheh. But, guinea fowl are fearless about motorized technologies, which is why they are killed in roads so often around farms that keep them. They are curious about machines, not afraid.
Will check out the book, thank you. What you say is absolutely true. I'd say the main thing that separates us from other animals is that humans are capable of massive despoliation of our own environment and largely refuse to understand what we are doing to our own species when we destroy biodiversity.
@@victoriabaker4400 Honestly, not even THAT is something unique to humans. Let a small herd of deer loose on a small island with no natural predators, and it's very likely that they'll have a population boom, absolutely decimate all of the plant life on the island, then starve out.
When you really dig deep into it, every behavior or trait or whatever that is held up as "unique to humans," positive or negative, can be found in at least one other species, and every thing that is relegated to "something only other animals do" is... also found in humans. The only real difference between us and other species is less one of *type* and more one of *scale,* due to a combination of our physical size and worldwide population.
My dog communicated with me when her sister outside fell into the hot tub and was starting to drown. I had no idea the other dog could climb up the steps and get to the edge of the water! If she hadn't "communicated", her sister would probably have run out of energy and died. Her sister barked and barked and ran to the door until I figured it out.
I am so glad your dog was okay! Thank goodness your dog helped rescue her sister
There have been TV shows about Lassie and Flipper. In fact, the military has tried to use dolphins for covert underwater bomb emplacements (I believe they had to give that up because the dolphins will do things of their own volition but apparently can smell a rat[bomb]). I realize those are fictional TV shows, but they are based on real life experiences, like yours. I mean, there's the whole Livestock Guardian Dog culture-- anyone who has had exposure to that culture knows that dogs are fully capable of advanced thought. People even deny that dogs think about the future, when dogs bury bones to go dig up later-- in the human world, that is called "food caching" and thought to be quite clever. Anyway, I digress, but I'm so glad you were able to tune in to your dog in that moment! 🙂
Same thing happened to me many years ago, one dog fell in the pool, the other dogs just stood next to the pool barking and barking (they never do this) until I came out and it saved the other dog's life 100%, Im glad your dog was ok. Mine cannot access the pool directly anymore, way too dangerous.
That's so wonderful to hear. My dog did something similar for my Dad's dog. He was an excitable staffy and had gotten winded playing with her in the heat and was struggling to breathe. My dog came inside, barked incessantly which very much wasn't her normal behaviour and led us outside to a very distressed Curly. We were able to quickly get him into cool water and air con and his breathing improved. Very scary for us all and I'm just glad she was smart enough to realise he needed human help!
A friend of mine visited and spent the night. She went outside to grab something out of her car at 6AM, and locked herself out of the house. My cat noticed her trying to get in, and came in a bunch of times to try to wake me up. Unlike Lassie‘s owners, who would immediately say, “What is it, girl?“ I totally ignored him. Over and over he tried to wake me up, then would then go back and just sit and stare at my friend through the window. This went on for several hours, until he finally woke me up and enticed me to follow him to the door. Oops.
Bunny and Billi most definitely communicate. And as it was pointed out in this video: it's mostly by associating a meaning to the words their trainers are using with them. Even if the word and the meaning don't overlap perfectly it's still communication. Even language.
YES! Like code words between siblings or friends, or Special Forces being able to communicate with sign language to accomplish very strategic, complex missions. Like Code Talkers who helped the allied forces win the war using Diné (Navajo), who had picture-type words in their language (like a tank was turtle 🐢, fighter plane was hummingbird, etc). So much can be communicated with a look/glance. We do it all the time, from crude to complex. Many animals (dogs for sure) communicate heavily through smell. My dog leaves 'Valentines' in the form of urine markings for all his canine neighbors during walks, and stops often to sniff for information. It would be a fun experiment to go a day without speaking verbally with family. I'm sure we could communicate most things pretty well!
💖
@@mel720 Absolutely. The non verbal part (smell and posture) is scientific fact in zoology, at this point. The more amazing thing is Bunny giving feedback on what she hears and sees. Or Billi requesting a specific person - Dad or "Squirrel". Our pets and potentially many other animals have preferences and a broader range of emotions.
and even in human language the meanings of words dont always overlap! as a neurodiverget person i often notice i have slightly different associations with words compared to other people. and forget about me, i often encounter people who thought a word meant something slightly different their whole lives. people who are not fluent in a language, particularly persistent and talented people might i add, can often use their very limited vocabulary to communicate what they want. words are never set in stone! and i do agree it is still communication
@@lrizzard This as well, yes.
I'm a very skeptical person. That being said, I was never skeptical about what I see Bunny doing. The reason my skepticism doesn't apply to her is because I've done rescue and rehab for almost 40 years. I've spent almost my entire life trying to convince people that Animals have feelings, thoughts and are completely capable of communication if we just learn their language. You have made it easy for Bunny to learn our language. II have sent a lot of these to my mom. Someone that has taken me most of my life to convince that animals communicate on a constant basis and we humans tend to miss a lot of their communication because most of us are incapable of understanding simple body language. I explained The processing tin a way my mother could understanding. I told her that dogs and other animals have a slower processing chip than humans do. I compared her brand new computer to her old computer and asked her if her new computer was faster. That's when things started clicking for my mom. When I made the comparison of computer processing chips in phones and computers, it made a lot more sense to her. We're talking about a woman who didn't understand the animals have a very high emotional intelligence and they are capable of learning our language, seemingly easier than we learn theirs. Animals understand what we are saying to them when we give them the time to process what we said. You and Bunny have been instrumental in proving what I have theorized since I was a little girl. I can't thank you enough for doing that. I've seen cows using these buttons. A lot of people don't want to acknowledge that animals have this level of consciousness and comprehension because of the way they have treated animals in their lives. For some, in admitting these things, they have to face a certain level of guilt and most humans don't want to do that.
I think it's not just "processing power". While we most definitely have some of the highest "processing power" brains in nature, we also have the huge advantage that our brains are in fact optimized to understand human language and human language (and society!) is designed to be easy to understand by humans. Thus, of course it's hard for other species.
Yet, other animals react and process some other types of information much faster than we humans do. For example, dogs can navigate through smells much faster than we can. That's not just their noses but also their brains. They can be roughplaying and all full of adrenaline and biting each other very hard and as soon as one squeels, the other bites softer or releases and in less than half a second they continue their game but without hurting. I know that I have to stop when I'm in a similar situation at sports.
There's a video from Mind Field about this game some orangutans play where they are shown a list of numbers for like a tenth of a second on a screen and then they have to click on them in order. Humans competing with them have NO CHANCE. They instantaneusly memorize patters of up to 20 items.
Have you seen the cow (and I think sheep) with buttons?
@Maynard's Spaceship Yes. My comment has one sentence that states cows are using these buttons now. I haven't seen the sheep, though. If you have a link, I'll definitely enjoy it
@androkguz Yes, I realize all this. I was trying to keep it simple. For my purposes, in the discussion I was having with my mother, all this other information was not a necessity to make the point I was making. The bottom line is, when it comes to human language, animal's processing chip is slower than human processing chips. But when it comes to learning an animal's body language, a human's comprehension is slower than when trying to teach an animal how to communicate in our way. This was the only point I was trying to make in my discussion, there for none of the extra information was a necessity to the point I was trying to make. Sometimes, adding all the extra information to a discussion just makes the discussion more difficult, not more informative. There's an old anagram that has been used since I was a little girl, and probably before: K.I.S.S. ( Keep it simple stupid). Sometimes, not always, this is the best strategy in a discussion. This was one of those cases. I acknowledge and agree with what you're saying, but it didn't apply directly to what I was attempting to help my mother understand. She is the daughter of a dairy farmer. Her parents were in their twenties during the great depression, to give you an idea of her mindset where animals are concerned. She was raised to believe that animals don't have emotions and are raised either for food or to do a specific job. As you know, most people in their seventies don't do a lot of personal growth. That's usually an age of stagnation. Helping my parents grow and grasp new ideas in their seventies is a really big deal because most people of that age don't make a lot of changes to their core ideas and beliefs. Therefore, putting a lot of extra information in there doesn't help at all. Sometimes, keeping it basic is the best way to do these things. This was one of those times
Your comment is an important addition to this topic. Thank you
It's wild to me that people think dogs are unable to understand language, but the same people probably still have to spell out the word "walk" or their dog will freak out lol.
🙌 O-U-T-D-O-O-R-S. Always spelled when talking to another human. Said aloud when talking to the dogs.
ikr???? It's self-evident!!! It's pure human bigotry and prejudice to claim that other animals don't communicate with each other in detail. Just because we don't understand their communication systems doesn't mean they don't exist.
Right. Or I can say the word bath and my dog runs and hides. Or say do you wanna play and he gets excited and runs to get his toy. Clearly they can't understand right?? /s
My dog learned how to spell. We tried to spell "walk" for that reason, so he wouldn't freak out. But within 2 times of spelling "W-A-L-K". He knew it meant "let's go for a walk".
My dog figured out that w-a-l-k meant walk after about 2 times and now everyone in our house just refer to walks as "w's." These creatures are SO smart.
When we lost our shepherd, my dog and I really struggled with the grief. I lost 40lbs and when I wasn't doing what I had to, I would just lay in bed. My dog stopped eating and would alert me that he wanted to go outside, but when I would open the door he would run out and then run back in and stand behind me. The only way he would eat is if I sat and ate with him, we would literally go bite for bite. He wouldn't go outside unless I went outside with him. If it weren't for my dog, I wouldn't be okay today. I don't care if you realize it or not, they communicate with is in every way they possibly can. Bunny is just further proof of what they are capable of.
It sounds like your dog was forcing you to eat by not eating unless you would.
They are very good at mirroring our behavior for us to (hopefully) learn. They are empaths. I'm glad your fur baby took it to the extreme, knowing that we will be more likely to take care of them before ourselves.
I was skeptical but thought why not try with my dog. I felt dumb for 2 weeks pushing these buttons while my family looked at my like I was crazy. I didnt teach him to use the buttons I just modeled, each day. Then one day he asked to go outside with the buttons. That was cool. But ok he just gets I want him to push it.
But the day came he blew my mind. He kept pushing outside, id open door and he runs out and then whines to come back in. Over and over. I was busy and just didn't get what he was wanting. Then he pushes outside and then play button. And it clicked. Omg he wants us to go outside and play with him. When I said oh you want to go out and play he got so excited as we walked outside with his ball together. He freaking figured out on his own to use two buttons together. Something we hadnt started modeling yet.
That was the moment I knew this was real and very important.
❤ Real & Very Important ! ❤
How did you get your dog to associate play with the play button? Without a genuine, repeatable test, we have no reason to believe what you have said.
🤣@@bradensorensen966
@@bradensorensen966 We tell our dogs 'Wanna play fetch?' or 'Wanna go outside?' and they learn, just like a human baby does, to associate that word with a concept. Some words have more than one meaning, some meanings have more than one word, but we as humans learn by hearing others say them and seeing consistent results of that communication. Dogs would have trouble with that many synonyms, but then again most kids aren't exactly renowned authors with impressive vocabularies.
Association as simple as what you are looking for can be found in the research of Ivan Pavlov. When certain conditions are met, they receive a benefit and associate what that benefit is. This experiment was repeated many times. Now the only missing part to the equation is how do they learn to meet the conditions when they desire the benefit without waiting for the benefit to simply occur. Clearly this last part is well and truly possible.
If you've ever seen a bratty kid kicking and screaming over wanting something, you've had an example of the opposite learned behavior of associating a benefit when certain conditions are met. As babies, we also don't have a way to express our desire for our environment to change (quench thirst, eat food, change diaper, etc.) and so we cry. This is not unlike noises our dogs make when they need something and have no way of telling us. When adults continue to reward this behavior with the desired results, the young humans and dogs don't learn. However, if we present an alternative to getting those results and reward the use of them, children learn to communicate. So do pets. We have many examples of this, even without word buttons.
Consider what any 'training' is for a dog:
If I want the treat, I must sit.
If I want outside, I must bark at the door.
If I want to stay out of the crate, I must not scratch furniture.
Not all conditioning is positive, but both humans and any other animal goes through this. We simply have a large vocal range with a well established set of meanings behind certain noises that we accept socially to be a normal way to meet these conditions and benefits. Dogs have understood this for years, and this is why they trust humans; the conditions are easy to understand and the benefits are great. Scientists even largely believe dogs are the only animal that CHOSE to stay with humans and domesticated themselves.
And consider this: When a human child has started learning language, and have mastered stating what they desire, do they not then start asking questions about other interactions and desiring more when they discover new possibilities? Why should it be any different for dogs?
@@bradensorensen966 my dog learnt behaviours, body language, and whining cadance and multi step actions to tell us what he wanted. The thing about these buttons is that they allow a clearer communication with us... these buttons are however completely unnecessary if you learn how a dog/cat/parrot/etc communicates. You just must respond, react and interact with your pet, and not just when you want.
The buttons makes it clear they are trying to communicate.
The thing that gets me about the “debunkers” is how upset they seem that others are having fun just being curious about animals, while cosplaying as Noam Chomsky, Descartes or The Amazing Randi. They’re no more “experts” than those interacting with the animals, barely put any time into their “research” and “conclusions”, and mostly come off as envious killjoys.
Noam Chomsky.
Well it's not just having fun to them. (and it's not) To acknowledge animals have feelings and thoughts makes the treatment of animals worldwide by humanity look downright villainous. If you acknowledge they have feelings you can't see them as just commodities or trophies.
@@JulesJuno737 seriously, it almost feels like their ego is invested in keeping animals beneath us (them really)
I can’t imagine how fragile someone’s self worth must be to be so upset that an animal might be considered sentient or granted some accompanying rights.
@@bonusgolden12 Gnome Chompski
They are upset that this fraud is making money off gullible people who believe such nonsense.
As a retired speech language pathologist I say you and Bunny have awesome communication. Please keep sharing. I wonder if you can use the buttons to communicate a potential danger like going in the street or moving cars. I have so many questions.
When my son started moving himself around, I was VERY worried about our portable gas heater. I held him in my lap, and held his hand in mine, with mine extending past his. I held our hand towards the heater until my skin felt uncomfortable, and pulled our hands away quickly, saying “Hot! No!” I repeated it until he showed an aversion response.
He never went near the heater.
I imagine a lesson for a dog could be the same…a tactile association of unpleasantness. Perhaps use “Danger!” to allow the human an easy single word for multiple problems.
"Mooooom, the neighbour's cat just walked by outside!" - very important info!!!
And I agree with you: Bunny probably knows mostly what she is talking about. It's just that she is not able to express all the details that are going through her head. And then we don't understand what she means or we misinterpret it.
It would be weird if there were no mammals with something like a proto-speech. We all know that evolution doesn't happen in big leaps, it's mostly gradual (exceptions exist, though). A lot of features in our brains have been around for millions of years already.
So, it is only to be assumed that other social mammals have a way of thinking and communicating that may not be quite as detailed and advanced as in humans, but is still detailed and advanced enough to facilitate their cooperation. Particularly dogs, whose wild cousins need to coordinate hunts, need to be able to not only convey their own thoughts, but also to put themselves into the other's POV to understand what the other wants to convey. And then even reflect on their own thoughts and feelings again to adjust their own behaviour. Otherwise it would not work.
So, they already have a lot of concepts in common with us and the only thing the soundboard does is giving them a variety of sounds to associate the various concepts with.
Now, here is where I'd disagree, sort of. Four-legged animals, I believe - I am not a scientist - have sophisticated ways of communicating thoughts and feelings to each other, using body language, smell, touch and sound. We humans are the ones lacking, because we don't have such sophistication. We do have body language, but don't consciously recognise it, relying instead on outspoken language. Four-legged animals are slower in decoding our language because they need to decode it, in the same way as we have to decode their body language and sounds.
Actually, reading your comment again, we're really on the same page. 😊
@@helenslater6869 Yes, I think so too. :)
I’m new here. I fell in love with idea that cats can “talk” to their people. Ask for food, play. And for specific toys. Then I Found Bunny. She communicates faster. She speaks in sentences. She has a sense of humor. She said she is “human” but Otter is a “dog”. I just about died laughing. Keep up the good work. And thank you for sharing your life with me. A pet lover from NC.
And it seems the dogs use the buttons to chat too
I appreciate your putting together a thoughtful response to the "skeptics." Having said that, many of the things the skeptics say (dogs aren't sentient, Bunny isn't communicating) demonstrate that some organisms have an indisputable ability to use language to communicate, while having little or no actual intelligent thought behind the process. 🖤 Love you and Bunny (and Otter!) and look forward to seeing and reading more of your adventures.
The thing that makes these different for me is that they are taking preexisting relationships & communication, and mapping it onto a system that uses human language. Insofar as new concepts are being introduced to her, it’s concepts that are directly relevant to her: herself, her environment, her feelings, her family. Unlike past attempts to train animals to “talk” this method is very focused on giving the animal a means to communicate things that matter to them in a way that we find easier to understand, not training them to talk about human topics. It’s easy for me to imagine what my cats would say because they DO communicate “food, mad, happy, mom, catnip, play” to me. They just do it with gentle taps and meows and bringing me toys and leading me to what they want and purring. It’s all communication.
It's not too hard to tell if a dog without buttons wants water or to go outside or inside or play but I think the buttons are really important for when a dog is sick or wants to be alone because it's not always clear. If we can do that, maybe it could even lengthen a pups life!
Wait, did u say book??? Can’t wait! But, oh my gosh, I feel sad to kind of learn that you are paying attention to the haters- who cares about them? You, Buns & Otter have helped me understand what my dogs are thinking and that has been such a gift. Our button journey here has been comedy and confusion, and yes, my own people have alternately eye rolled and been astounded by what my doggos do. But adds a dimension of fun for all of us and we r grateful for u and Christina’s insight.
As a family we love watching your videos. My son has a speech disorder (apraxia) and struggled to even attempt to use speech or his AAC device. One day we found a video of bunny using her buttons and it changed his world. So just wanted to thank you for sharing.
That's so awesome! I bet lots of non-verbal kids could benefit from watching Bunny, Billi, and a number of other button-talking pets.
I am amazed at what you're doing with your dogs and appreciate that you share it. It's truly wonderful.
Well Bunny don't worry; I often mistake my A/C for rain outside. Because of light sensitivity I don't open my blinds much. My dog is really good at communicating with me without buttons. Like if he wants a bite of my steak and I am ignoring him he will yell at me with a loud sharp bark. I keep telling him that doesn't get you a bite of rib-eye. He also seems to understand that I am ADHD and need help with remembering I am cooking, or I am not hearing timers, or I am getting too hungry and need to eat. The best one is when the wind blew the door open, and he came and continuously poked my leg with his nose till I came out of my neurodivergent hyper focus and followed him downstairs to realize there was a big windstorm and it had opened our door and was blowing stuff into the house. As someone who had depended on dogs as service dogs for both my ADHD and some stability issues, I can tell you the definitely understand and communicate. If he weren't 13 years old, I would get him some buttons to play with. I am thinking maybe of just getting him a button for outside and one for food and water. Especially with my ADHD it might help him to get my attention a little faster when I am in my deep hyper focus on something much less important. By the way, I adopted him at seven and it took him days to realize he needed to help me and how to do so.
Billy started when she was, what, ten? I say try them out.
What a great doggie parent you are to a very great doggie.
Your dog sounds like a really good friend to have
I love this. P.S., all of the cats and dogs I have lived with seem to understand I am blind and that they need to comunicate differently with me than with the other humans in the house.
Whoever thinks animals aren't sentient either don't understand sentience or have no empathy.
It's a convenient fiction to excuse human treatment of other animals. The Tibetans believe that all animals feel all the emotions humans do. They also teach that animal rescue is among the highest work humans can do on the planet.
Yep, it tells more about those people than about the animals they observe.
Communicating with animals is very interesting! Bunny is very interested in communicating and that’s what makes it so fun to watch for me..
As a linguistics geek and an animal lover, I say Bravo 🤩
My husband needs quite a lot of processing time before responding to questions, and he is human.
Yes. Mine, too. He’s a drummer. He has to swing his knee or tap his foot or fingers while processing. If there is a chance he might give a ‘wrong’ answer, he says, “I don’t know what to tell you.”
There’s not a damn thing to say after that. Took me ten years to realize it is a tactic. 😂🤣😂
It was funny to me that you rattled off about every type of working dog except service dogs, who's main job is communication. You brought up some great points and it is basically what I have been telling people around me too. Worst case scenario I had a bit of fun with my (service) dog, and gave her mind something to learn and do and enjoy during quarantine in stead of being depressed because she couldn't work. That alone would be worth it to me. But I have seen actual improvements in how she does her job. And although that is anecdotal from a scientific perspective, does that really matter if she can be a better service dog to me and if I can make her hard job a little easier for her.
Best case scenario: She's making a lot of money with a brand and associated product that have no actual value. She might as well sell healing crystals. Same thing.
Good for you two. ❤ The more 'WE' in teamwork, the better the team work!
If you have a service dog it's trained to do something for you. If you mean emotional support that's a different thing. That's a a pet.
Can the dog relay a message? If so I could see a group of dogs set out in the streets to just get some information or prosecute in the court of law 🤣.
@@alexandersalazar9750 She is a medical alert and medical response dog. I know the difference. And her different alerts are her most important communication, but I also mean just working together all day.
I find the rain-sunny example to be really interesting. Should we assume that it's a mistake, and Bunny is pressing the wrong button? Or could she be thinking more deeply than we imagine, perhaps trying to tell us that she wants it to be sunny when it's raining, or asking us where the sun is when it's raining? The kind of experimentation and observation you're doing is the only way to start to know what Bunny is really thinking. We can learn so much more from all animals if we just open our minds to the possibility that their thoughts are as complex and rich as our own.
Very good point. We know from other circumstances that in fact Bunny does philosophize, she thinks about time in the future and the past, and she does wonder about things and she does have feelings like, I wish I could go to the beach but it's high tide.
And even if she does happen to be wrong, they are both weather related concepts , on a sound board with 50+ buttons… I just don’t get the people who think she’s randomly pressing on whatever button. I think Bunny’s IQ is higher than some of these naysayers
Our weather person also makes mistakes on the rain sunny spectrum, almost daily. I say we give Bunny a break, lol. Maybe she can smell rain in the distance when it's sunny, or maybe she wishes it would rain, or she's wanting to know why it rains some days and not others.
@@badgamerkat We've seen videos in which Bunny is wondering why this thing and not that thing, so I think it's entirely possible she might be testing propositions. Or that she can't articulate her thought. There is NO DOUBT she is trying to communicate her inner life.
Or she’s just wondering what the weather is like today. Maybe it’s been raining all week, and maybe she doesn’t get to do a daily routine walk/play outside if it’s raining. Also, if she normally does this event at 10 am daily, and it’s now noon, she might be wondering if rain is the reason why they are still inside.
Excellent breakdown of the kind of criticisms I've seen aimed at you and other people who have tried this style of communication with their pets. Healthy skepticism is good, but at the end of the day, completely dismissing it as hogwash when it's still so early in the process seems equally ridiculous to me. People will say things like "research says dogs can't understand us", but they'll forget that a 100 years ago research said we're the only galaxy in the universe. We as humans are constantly learning more, broadening our knowledge in subjects far and wide, and our understanding of our world is always shifting - as it should be, because THAT'S what science is really about.
Also that's not what research says. The reasearch on the subject says that dogs learn between 165-250 words.
And that's just words. That doesn't address non-verbal communication cues.
So anyone who says that "research says" that it just lying.
Based and Bunnypilled. Thank you for your hard work.
I’m so glad you posted this video. I’ve never really doubted Bunny or you as I’ve had very close communicative relationships with my dogs - so much so honestly, I’d be afraid of giving my current girl buttons for fear she’d completely control my life and schedule. Your love for Bunny and Otter shines through every video and that alone brings a lot of healing to difficult days in our life here. Thank you for sharing as much as you do -that is never easy online but I’m grateful for what you do.
Hahahaa - same here, except I have three Burmese cats. Years of cohabitation and close observation mean that they've usually no trouble at all telling me *exactly* what they want - not sure if I want to give my little overlords any more tools with which to rule my world - plus I'm kinda scared what they might say! 🤣🤣
I think this is the hidden perspective of most pet owners. We can see the ways in which our animal friends lives could be more ideal. And people working out of the home can't have as much time as we know our dogs need. When I was working too long hours and had to leave my dog with family he expressed his displeasure by eating seatbelts. Once he was with me on a door to door survey job amd I got out of the car for 5 minutes and he ate my seat belt. If he had a button to express he wanted something from me it would have been cheaper 😂 Before I got him as a pup he was tied up with webbing and learnt he could cut it with his teeth.
In his life he ate 12 to 14 seatbelts. Amd cut Amy number of leads in half. I had to use chain leads. He went almost everywhere with me. I learnt to have outdoor jobs that he enjoyed or to leave him to take care of the farm when he was older. Obviously we communicated but he could have had so mich more to say. The buttons happened when he was maybe 11yo and I thought it was too late to start. RIP Tigger, loved every day.
I recall watching Skidboot exhibiting his amazing skills with David Hartwig. Chaser the Dog can identify over 1000 toys. I've seen Bunny use buttons to alert you to interesting things she sees and sounds outside, which you confirm. I have 2 dogs, one is 14 and I am absolutely certain that she understands a lots of words. My son is autistic and was non verbal until he was 4. He said he understood what I was saying, he chose not to speak for more than 3 years. There weren't any iPads back in his childhood, just picture exchange communication system (PECS). 25 years ago, he had OT therapy in a bin full of dinosaurs toys and rice. I stumbled on one debunking video, watched about 20 seconds. I know a lot about communicating with a nonverbal entity and I dismissed her . I moved on to watching a video of the husband & wife who talk to their chipmunk friends.
I think teaching dogs buttons is very similar to teaching PECS. They started with requests too (outside, play, etc).
Yeah I was surprised when I saw one "debunking" video by a professional animal trainer who said that, apparently, she's the only one who doesn't have confirmation bias and that all these videos are fake based on a misunderstood sample set of 1. She went on to talk about the scientific method (this would be step 3, experiment), in which she doesn't participate. Yet it's literally her job to communicate with animals. Sad really. I guess maybe she's upset that she isn't part of this global scientific study.
Anyways keep up the awesome stuff! It's so fun to watch you and Bunny learn together
Frankly, any "dog trainer" who doesn't see what is happening here isn't worth her salt.
I saw that too, by a woman who claims to be "scientist." I've been furious with that woman ever since and whenever I see a convincing and otherwise inexplicable animal communication, including from our own cats, I mock her inside my head.
It's crazy because that person could participate in the experiment herself, especially if she's already working with animals all the time, but she doesn't seem to be open minded enough to try
I saw that video too! she clearly tried to ridicule this whole thing! even looked like a bully. She didnt realise that its her who got ridiculed by her own video XD a pity that in this age there are still people who calls themselves experts, but doesnt accept something new
I don’t like that person uses bunny’s fame to make money. If you go to her channel, the second viewed video is the one.
Some people automatically disagree with everything and think it makes them look smart. I love Bunny and clearly information is being exchanged and understanding achieved :)
The dog owner is projecting meaning into otherwise meaningless random button presses.
@@bradensorensen966 How did you come to this conclusion?
I'm not typically a tattoo person, but dang, those are the most beautifully done floral tattoos ever. Love them 💕
I have been following Bunny as long as you've been on TikTok, and I use the Fluent Pet buttons with my Standard Poodle, and I notice a lot of the same things with my dog Bennett. It is communication!!! I am a huge believer in science, and we all only have our very small sample size, but there are so many animals using these types of devices to communicate with us, and it's so reinforcing for them to be able to clearly communicate with their humans. I really admire how you've presented Bunny and handled any "debunking" attempts. It helped me get started with this and my dog. Incidentally, my cats have started pressing buttons as well, to ask for water or to go outside (which they're not allowed to do, but always want to), so they might be getting their own board soon. :) Can't wait to read your book!
Skepticism also blinds you to the truth because our pride overcomes our wisdom. Bunny is definitely communicating using those buttons.
I disagree. I'm a skeptic, and I question just about everything. However, when someone presents indisputable facts to me, I have no problem changing my opinion. I would agree with you that there are people out there who labeled themselves as skeptics who don't adhere to this same rule. There are indeed people out there who are more interested in being right than they are in offering up factual, and she will informaton that is backed by provable evidence. Like I said, I am a skeptic, but I was never skeptical about Bunny or Billi. I was never skeptical about these things because I've done rescue and rehabilitation of several different kinds of animals for almost 40 years. I've seen and experienced animals communicating with me via body language et cetera, and watched them learn to comprehend my language ( Being both speech and sign language that I use with dogs. I've not tried to use sign language with parrots, snakes, or cats. The need just never arose).
@@streghewitch77 in the late 1800's and early 1900's the best argument against the Bible being true was the concept of line of sight and the idea of everyone in the world being able to see the two witnesses of GOD being killed and left lying in the street. The Bible says that the whole world will see it happen at the same time.. It was a great argument until 1945 when satellites in space were suggested and then realized in the middle of the 20th century.. Those who became skeptical of the Bible because there was no way that the world world could see that event at the same time...were mislead. Their pride in their knowledge trumped the wisdom in their hearts. The devil uses our own pride to mislead us. Two phrases come to mind...."Above all...always trust in Jesus Christ" and "The devil is a liar". Two examples of wisdom that those in the past should have adhered to..... rather than the lies of the serpent.
I would call that being obstinate. They're obstinate skeptics, and yeah I do think too much selfish pride is a big reason. Some people are much more concerned with being "right" even if it means they're embarrassing themselves publicly by sticking to their wrongness.
(Edited typos)
@@streghewitch77 ❤ so true
@@tenshimoon ❤ amen! 🙏🏼
All the folk who think it's bull, and animals aren't capable of this level of communication, really need to spend more time with animals😂
I figure humans learn through positive reinforcement too.
Human hubris is strong. Darwin's era really made human's think WE are the only ones with language, and feelings - the only ones who love, or fear. Nat Geo had an article a few years ago...2018? About just how much VASTLY smarter birds are than humans have ever given them credit for. And you're absolutely right in comparing them to toddlers! I have long compared my cats' intelligence to that of a toddler - they're about emotionally on the same level, too. They think of the self, and what they want...but they feel things too. They have wants...and sometimes it's just a little love. It's not just about food...just like toddlers don't only use their words for food!
Human hubris. It all boils down to humans thinking no animals can possibly be similar to us in intelligence and communication...when we're the least diverse animal of all with communication, really? We mostly only verbalize! Most communication in the animal world goes unseen and unheard by us because we lack the tools to perceive it - be it scent, or a sound we can't audibly hear. Animals are talking to each other in complex ways all the time, every day, all around us... and being able to break into that in even this small way by building word associations is HUGE to me. I dreamed of this kind of stuff as a kid...and now I'm almost a month in with teaching my cats, and getting closer to them understanding button presses every day! Thank you for defending the little guys who can't speak up for themselves...most of the time! (Just give them a few more buttons and a few more years...)
Hot take: Of course dogs can communicate with words. They UNDERSTAND words. They already communicate to each other with vocalizations that change with context. People use verbal commands to work with dogs. There is no reason one could not exercise and develop that already existing capability beyond what they can do with it in nature, or the rudimentary communication they already use in work with humans.
I've wanted to get buttons for my pup for a long time! The app definitely makes it more intriguing to me & I cannot wait to learn with my puppers!!! Thank you for all that you & Bunny have done! ❤
This is amazing work and thank you so much for the time and energy you've invested into it.
The existential phase she went thru should put doubters to rest. She was asking the same questions that children ask, and reacting to the answers. In one she asks if "mom was dog" clearly meaning she thought she herself might grow up to become human like "mommy" was. When she was told no, mommy was never dog, Bunny was not delighted by that answer, and deflated a little.--------------- Then there was the time she used "bad stranger" to mean she had a splinter in her paw. the use of words for things she did not have vocabulary for. That is another thing children do.
I agree. That phase was touching. It made me wonder what other questions she had about life. Not unlike any human should.
My absolute favorite recently was the look she gave Alexis when told that Tenrec, the Papillion, is a dog. I think she was putting Tenrec in the "cat" or "other" category, certainly not a dog like her and Otter
Beautifully stated. As a kid I so wished I could talk with animals (read EVERY Dr Dolittle book as a kid!). As an adult, my expertise is in experiential communication/meaning-making. I now speak with my cats directly using abbreviated phrases to represent important concepts like “Back soon,” because thanks to the work you are doing with Bunny, I now know they understand far more than what we ever realized. Look forward to more fascinating insights! And yes, let’s all STAY CURIOUS!!!! 💜
Like another commenter said, I've always known animals of all species communicate. When I found you and Bunny and now Otter, (and kitty Billi) i was beyond happy and couldn't believe it took us this long to think of buttons for animals to press so most of us could understand what they've been trying to tell us all these years!! I've worked with Autistic and developmentally delayed adults and children for a bit over 20 years. We used communication boards and books and then devices were made. The children who had the most meltdowns were those who were very non-verbal. As soon as we were able to give them other ways to communicate, they were so much happier!!! I see this happiness in these sweet babies as well. Thank you for making this video and sharing your babies with us!!!
I’ve had similar experiences!! Bunny just confirms all we knew with those communication boards! 😊
Your response was very professional and your character is gentle and kind.
Great response to folks who are/were naysayers. (Thankfully I never noticed them.)
All my unscientific life I have known that animals communicate with us and each other. And I am also 'certain' that plants communicate also with us and each other.
Your response was clear and concise- I loved it.
Since we humans are only 1 species and not the oldest species on the planet, we have much to learn from each other and all the life forms we share our planet with. I am thrilled to see the work you and others are doing.
Meanwhile, I shall continue to believe that yes, I can communicate with my pets- cockatoo, cat and previously dogs and a multitude of other animals who have been my companions. I will understand the plants and trees are communicating with each other and me as I work in my garden and nature. I know I miss most of the signals my companions share with me, but I keep trying to understand them. They may not use my language, but often I can tell they understand more of my language than I seem to understand of theirs.
Love to Bunny and Otter and their family.
I'm a scientist and it's also obvious to me that dogs communicate. Anyone who thinks they don't or can't communicate with humans isn't thinking scientifically. They're actually willfully ignoring the science on the subject.
As Alexis said, dogs have been selected for centuries (millenia even) for their ability to respond to human desires and for that at least some form of understanding and communication is needed. That's what led us to form bonds with them, which was a survival advantage to them because it led us to feed and care for them, making them and their offspring more likely to survive.
I am 100% with you Alexis. I wasted my time watching a biologist 'debunking' Bunny on RUclips, where she spent ages passionately making a complete non-point. The definition of language doesn't come into it. The buttons provide animals and their humans with a shared system by which they can communicate ideas. I don't care if that's language or not - if an animal can tell you that it is in pain, that it wants to play, or just needs you to shut up for a minute, that is a useful system! (By the way, I always love your style, but you've totally outdone yourself today - your hair and outfit are fantastic!!)
Glad you made this video. There's this narcissistic "biologist" on RUclips who can't see anything beyond her own nose and has so much contempt for Bunny it's nauseating. She also enjoys replying rudely to people who stand up to her in the comments. I can't stand her and can't believe she is a scientist. She is certainly the kind of 'scientist' we don't need.
But she seems to represent most of the, especially younger, "scientists" we have.
There are all types (and, hilariously, there are also stereotypes about the types of people that choose to be scientists in different fields... like you get a lot more of the anal personality types in molecular biology whereas in physics you get absent-minded-professor types who don't even know where they are standing half the time lol). There are the axe-to-grind types who have a singular mission and don't have any tolerance for ideas that aren't theirs, and there are the head-in-the-clouds types who are all theory and no groundedness. Everyone bickers constantly, no one ever agrees. There's not much you can do about it really, they are just humans... I do think there is some benefit to being these different types because even if a person is basically just a hater, their criticism still helps other scientists to hone their story and not make too many assumptions.
Nice to see I'm not the only one who caught her contemptuous attitude coming through loud and clear - not to mention that she picked a couple of Bunny's videos that were easy for her to hand wave away. She is the kind of person that keeps knowledge at a standstill.
People like she are the mediocrities of the scientific world. The day will come when a scientific genius starts taking these new data about animals' communicative and cognitive ability seriously, and then the mediocrities will just fade away.
Without showing curiosity, i am unconvinced that one is a scientist, regardless of training.
Also, narcissists do not like to be questioned, they probably disapprove of questions. They dont want to learn. They just want to dominate.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Bunny is an amazing dog ❤
Love your style, your smartness and your empathy.
Birds are in their stone age currently exchanging money for goods (corvids i think specifically). Why is it a big leap that, given the tools, an animal that already knows how to communicate and does (ie any dog trained to alert) would be capable of communicating at a higher level? I wonder if this type of communication could be used by horses or even turkeys. My brother has a turkey and we talk to each other. I talked with her for an hour yesterday. She came to sit with us while the farrier (horse hoof trimmer) came. She nestled down and sat next to us. I came and sat by her and she protested and seemed disinterested so i left and she squawked and carried on all mad i left. She even puffed up all huge until i came back. Her name is Niffers. Idk. And when i say talk i mean she made peeps and various bird noises. Not like the usual turkey noise. Imagine if she had buttons ! I bet she would assume she was a big chicken (as she is the only turkey on the farm). Am i really about to buy communication buttons for a turkey? -.-
You are an amazing woman and the reason there are skeptics is because animal communication on this level is an entirely new arena that carries so much potential for animal wellbeing. I think what is most important about what you do with Bunny and the buttons is to enforce the meanings of the words or phrases by modeling them. If she presses the button "outside", you immediately follow it with an action of going outside. Seems like basic communication through a feedback mechanism. What is truly amazing is how bunny can connect the words to communicate; which at it's core is understanding and processing language to me. I'm absolutely convinced that my dogs know what I say because I speak words slowly and they can pick up on nonverbal cues like when I reach out my arms for a hug without saying a word. Please Continue to do this work.
Skeptics haven't been following along here. It's clear ot me that her comments are reactive to their environment on nto random. Stranger paw right?.. and so much more.
Fantastic video! It's bittersweet that you felt you had to make it, but several takeaways were super important to me: 1) It is a form of communication. However that is translated in Bunny's is informative from a research perspective; 2) Your relationship with Bunny has become more intimate, insightful, and likely even more affectionate (if that's possible as a dog lover); and 3) Is there really any doubt any longer that animals are sentient? With all that we currently know, I cannot imagine the ignorance that refuses to acknowledge this. And it is ignorance in the truest sense of the word. As we learn more, we grow and do better. I appreciate all the work you do to audit your content, and I also love watching Bunny "process" her thoughts. But I can see how some audiences may not find that as entertaining. Keep doing you!
I don't know. Anyone who has ever had an animal in their home HAS to have had multiple experiences with that animal patiently/stubbornly😅/desperately trying to communicate with them. You can SEE them thinking, trying to figure things out. You'd have to be nearly insentient yourself to not understand that. I agree. Who cares if it meets the strict definition of language (I think it does)or not? It has patently exponentially increased their ability to communicate and that's just so damn cool!❤
Thank you for making this video ❤ I’ve seen some debunking videos floating around but there has never been a doubt in my mind that Bunny is communicating
I love love love watching your bunny videos! There will always be naysayers. To some people ignorance is truly bliss. Last but not least my daughter bought some " bunny buttons" and says they work so well she had to take up button they made for peanut butter lol
It seems that most people who are pursuing the buttons express regret if they ever used a food button.
I consider myself a skeptic but I have no doubts that your dog is communicating with you. I have been amazed by her description of dreams, her disapproval of Otter when they first met, the time she thought there was a stranger in the house and then said oops when she realised she was wrong. 🤣 It's amazing to see her grasp of the lingo grow and she's so sweet.
I think over the next few generations, we are going to see a huge change in people's understanding of animal intelligence - especially if AI starts translating for them.
That "stranger in the house...oops" video is one of my favorites! :)
You and your fur kids are amazing!! anybody that spends that much time with their pets is amazing. Haters are gonna hate. And with all that we’ve seen come out of people in the last few years, we shouldn’t be surprised of the cretins out there. The more I watch animals in general the more respect I have for their intelligence and social structure. If people were paying attention, they would see animals are communicating with us. All the time is giving them another way to do that so that us stupid. people can understand it in our own terms. I can’t wait to see more! Bunny is so smart and sweet! Know there is more love out here for you all than the haters will ever know!❤😂
To all those who complain that you give her so much time to respond, it is these very pauses that firmly cement my belief. Just looking at Bunny's expressions, the cocking of her head, you can envision the wheels turning as she contemplates what has been asked/stated to her. Additionally, her ability to combine words when the choices she has aren't quite right, like "sound settle" for shut up or "poop play" for fart and many others. As for her making a mistake about the weather? There are humans with degrees in meteorology who do that every day!
Oh yes! I just gave someone else the examples of "night talk" for dreams and "upstairs bird" for airplanes, but "sound settle" and omg "poop play" are two of my all time faves.
Also, rain may not have been about the current weather. she could have been asking when it would rain again.
I love to watch Bunny talking with you, but my favorites are her "tantrums." When she stands there staring at you and pressing her buttons with her back feet, it totally cracks me up! Tantrums around here are usually just barking. I enjoy the stomping more. 🤣
Thank you for your insightful, practiced, knowledgeable AND tasteful video. I watch BUNNY sometimes. I totally get the time to process. My cat, 18, needed time like that too. Slower that a dogs reaction even when she was young. She knew outside? Come in? Jump up! Lay down. Roll over. Stay in. Want food? Go night night? No! Ok! And many others. When she'd hesitate, she was thinking. And when it was between 2 choices like, Go Out or Stay In? It took a few seconds for her to decide. She'd let me know by going over to the door or walking away from it. Nevermind the ignorant haters. They've never been close to a pet, obviously 😢.
If Bunny says rain outside when it’s sunny could mean she’s feeling depressed. Is Bunny sentient? DEFINITELY!
I read a sci-fi book years ago about alien “pets” that learned to talk via hand signals but only after one of the pets finally got the link between speech and communication. As these pets couldn’t talk (they were telepathic) bridging the gap only took one to get it and then pass the information to others in their clan.
My point is, when I saw Bunny said ouch and then you asked if it was stomach ouch and Otter said outside and Bunny agreed… I felt like it was those pets in the story learning to talk with each other. It’s early days but I’m convinced that our dogs and cats have more going on in their heads than food and play.
So ignore the skeptics. Some people think the Earth is flat. I don’t take notice of those idiots either. ❤ Bunny and Otter to bits.
I walk in a circle when I'm thinking. Every darned day.
What a cool outfit! I had no idea about the toddler experiments. If a toddler and a dog have really similar results I don't feel like anyone can argue that they don't or can't really understand, right?
When you watch Bunny, it's very clear that she is thinking. And that she presses her buttons deliberately, not at random.
If it were random it wouldn't make sense in context, which it does. I mean, how many words does she have to choose from, 50? 100? Humans have thousands. Still, Bunny makes sentences, novel unique concepts that lead to her learning a new word-- for instance "[what is] night talk" led to the word "dream", and "upstairs bird" led to "airplane".
Your Lucille Ball Aesthetic is off the charts, and I am loving it.
Can't wait for your book! Thank you for the great explanation.
I honestly find Bunny and your button work so fascinating, it's really helped me better communicate with my Chihuahua. Really changing the way I think from: she couldn't or would never understand to well you know what I think I'm getting her and she getting me. She's learned so many new tricks lately and even has started to get the gist of what I mean when I ask things like: Do you want cuddles? Not now maybe later.(my favorite because she will go lie down and try to get in my lap again after like 10 mins.) I want to try buttons some time soon. Thank you for explaining that you don't use treats.
Explained simply and nicely. Now, why can't everyone present their thoughts this way? Cee from the little haunted cottage in ireland 💚💚💚🍀🍀🍀
Good for you! We can see that there is definitely intelligence in dogs and finding a way to communicate, even in a rudimentary fashion, builds a bond between us and our dogs! Bravo!
Love your hair do today! Best. Just sayin’. Of course I’m typically very serious here but you’ve covered it. And by the way, those colors and lines on your wardrobe today, spot on! Hope you see this comment so you feel very affirmed. Will do your book for sure. Chilled and more than curious dear Bunny’s mom. Give my regards to B & O. You got this.
I started doing that with my cat 4 weeks ago (and did so with my previous cat, but only 3 buttons because I imagination did not work as it should have) with new buttons. He never had any training and in the first 3 weeks, he did not get how to press. I did paw targeting and if he accidently actually hit the button I would do what the button said. After 3 weeks he started pressing the buttons. 2 days later he did it constantly. I have the buttons: ouside, food, play, cuddly and brush. I am not sure yet about the play button. but damn does he know the others already by heart. He presses cuddle and flops down, baring his belly even before I start cuddling. So he def knows that one. He presses outside an goes to the door already. He of course presses food button about 20 times a day. He presses button Brush and goes directly where the brush is. So within now 4 weeks of training, my cat knows the meaning of at least 4 buttons. Play I am not sure yet, that might still be accidental. Today I introduced an all done button, because i need to put a stop to the constant pressing. I do not know if 70 words is realistic, but it DOES work.
When bunny says it's raining when it's actually sunny out...she's probably just testing mommy. 😂
or she just wants to talk about the difference. toddlers do that. mommy it's raining. it's not raining, sweet heart. oh, it's sunny out? yes, it's sunny out.
@@kerilaponsie7846 Yes. We've seen Bunny do that on other subjects, for instance exploring time.
I got buttons for my puppy after seeing Bunny’s videos, and while I only have a few they are a game changer. Ada (my dog) didn’t take to them right away (and I wasn’t consistent in training her), but one day she just ‘got’ it. And now she slams the ‘cuddles’ button more than other and it’s so awesome (makes my heart melt). I don’t know if I will get more, and I’ve thought about experimenting with just having sounds she can put together but that might be too big a conceptual leap. But even having a few has been fantastic in improving communication. So thank you!
Love how people have to hate on every last cool thing they see. You're doing something amazing with your dog, and people can't help but bash it. Keep going, keep Bunny and Otter going. If the haters keep crawling outta the woodwork even though youve made an educational and informational video like this and refuse to hear you, just ignore them.
It's not hate to be sceptical and present different hypotheses about what Bunny might be doing. Obviously as long as it's done respectfully and all that. It's exactly what the scientists who are studying Bunny will be doing.
Those haters are just jealous and don't understand how a dog could use those buttons to communicate.
They probably wish they had a dog who could do what Bunny does. And...... Because they don't, they have to try to destroy everyone else beliefs.
You're not a hater if you don't just blindly accept everything. A lot of people could do with a bit more scepticism. That's why this video is so great; you get the answers.
I love how you specifically state WHO you're talking about in regards to the negativity, and people are responding that skepticism is allowed. That's not WHAT WAS SAID. Speaking of communication. Damn lol!
There absolutely is a definitive difference between skepticism and hate. Skepticism is doubt until *facts* are given. Hate and hateful comments are meant to tear people down solely for the purpose of causing damage despite reason or facts. Its *healthy* to be skeptical. It's *pathological and damaging* to be hateful.
I love that you shared this. Bunny is so interesting and seems like a sweet fur-baby, and it's fascinating to watch her as she figures things out. I don't have buttons for my dogs, but I do know this:
I say, "Who wants to go outside?" No body language cues or movement toward the door. Yet both of my dogs get up and run for the door. When I say, "It's bedtime," they both go upstairs. They may not understand the meaning of the words, but they have heard that series of sounds from me often enough, and gotten the same result, that it is a reliable cue to them. I would argue that *that* is the basis of verbal communication. And I love that the buttons give them the opportunity to communicate back.
I use sign language with my deaf dog. It helps me communicate to her. It’s an important tool.
I am such a nerdy fan! Can’t wait. Great info!
Great video. Many of your explanations have become apparent as I’ve watched carefully. E.g. that Bunny/dogs take longer to think about or ponder for their understanding vs. human typically quick response. Keep up the great work and research.
I have 3 cats that verbally say "hello" n 1 of my dogs say "Mama" every once in a while. The cats are generally in heat when they do that and the dog is looking for me (she has separation anxiety really bad). My nextdoor neighbor's dog uses the buttons. He's slowly learning more all the time. Regardless of the haters, YOU'RE getting results that strengthens your bonds with your dogs
Bunny is amazing
I have been around dogs my whole life and I know that they talk to us
Normally through body language and sometimes vocally
But you guys have taken that to the next level
I really love how you have shared this journey with us 🐾🐾💕
And of course love Otter too
It's really great of you to address these things for people
At the end of the day what matters is your love for Bunny & Otter 🐾🐾💕
Never been sceptical about Bunny, she's exceptional. Thank you for sharing her with us
I enjoy your posts about your journey with Bunny! We have so much to learn about how animals perceive the world! Bunny learning to communicate with the buttons and show us her thoughts is amazing! In one of the videos I watched earlier this week, she asked you, "why sleep?" She has big thoughts!
Thank you for doing all you have and continue to do. Bunny and Stella inspired me to use buttons to communicate with my aussie doodle
Love love love. Your explanation holds so true and is eye opening and thought provoking!
This is a very informative and insightful video, addressing many questions and concerns. I have watched a number of videos with different dogs and I’m convinced that it does work. The only issue I have with Bunny is that I am concerned, it could make doodle dogs mores popular. That’s driving backyard and other unethical breeders to pump out. More puppies for profit. There are so many now in shelters because people didn’t realize they were not hypoallergenic, and they needed grooming. If you want to doodle, please look in the shelters in rescues there are plenty out there..
In this case, the communication versus language issue reminds me of Edsger W. Dijkstra’s response to a similar issue: “The question of whether a machine can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.”
Wait I love when toddler mysteries reveal themselves (?) - one of my favorite surprises of just being alive? I mean, the rice/dino thing happens pretty frequently just communicating daily w toddlers. Anyway I didn't k know it was a thing! I love language anyway, just writing/grammar/meaning - but I never connected that w the toddler reveal thing. That is so neat! I was having a blast watching the dogs - any time this channel wants to explain the theoretical part, I'm down for it. I'll have to look at more vids here and check out the book. This is so neat! Lol I already said that but I seriously enjoy this new (to me) idea idk
this is a really good breakdown on the value in giving the benefit of the doubt to ongoing projects like this. studies with alex, the famous african gray parrot, were groundbreaking as a lot of people had believed birds would "parrot" sounds, not understanding that they could be "words." but alex's training showed that he was able to communicate and learn in a way a nonautonomous or nonsentient creature or object wouldn't. and now, two of my favorite youtubes are those of apollo and gizmo, two african grays.
i think there's a risk of anthropomorphizing animals, where an understanding of human behavior and patterns is applied to an animal and as a result, that animal's needs aren't met. for example, i read something a few years ago where a guy was adamant that his pet snake was showing affection to him by wanting to be inside his sleeve while he carried him around. and somebody had to break it to him that the snake was cold, and he shouldn't be carrying the snake around so much. the snake won't be showing affection the way a child or even a dog would, so you have to read its behavior as such or your neglecting something the snake IS trying to communicate.
that danger isn't present here. like you said, what's the worst case scenario if bunny pressing "why am dog?" ISN'T an existential question, and is just bunny seeing what her favorite woman in the world says and does? there's no harm there. you're not withholding her basic needs or even emotional payoff and forcing her to use the board to get your attention. it's just a new, bonus way she and otter get to hang out with you.
anyway you're probably not gonna read all this i just wanted to say that poodles are the best dogs - this is unarguable, scientific fact actually - and that i enjoy your content and your lipstick.
You are fantastic! Bunny is fantastic! That's all that matters ❤ I have a 28 year old autistic daughter so I am fully aware that communication comes in many forms and consistency is vital ❤ Please keep posting. I've read "How Stella Learned To Talk" also and I am working on training my teacup poodle! Pray for us!!!😂
Bunny is so darling and smart...amazed my husband and I when she talked about "night talk" meaning dreams.
I love your thoughtful response here. And I don't have the scientific background, but I like the point that whether or not it is language s we understand it, it is definitely communication. I don't know that I will ever be able to "speak" dog or that my dog or cat will ever become "fluent" in English, but we seem to be able to communicate pretty well and that is excellent.
Thank you for this. It enriched my understanding of what you see happening with Bunny and her words. The two of you are obviously intelligent and have a great relationship. I’m tired of people who seem to have to criticize everything instead of simply being entertained for a few minutes of a fantastic dog interacting with her loving owners.
I don't know how anyone could watch Bunny's videos and still think she is not talking.... she makes observations about her environment, how her dad is pooping, and she lets her mom know how she's feeling and what she wants to do...! It could not be more clear that she is communicating with the buttons. This lady's work is pretty groundbreaking, and I hope Bunny lives a very long, healthy life. That being said, Bunny probably gets lonely. Does she have other smart dogs to interact with regularly ?
Lovely that you take the time to make a video about the topic.
I can really feel all the feeling you put when you are presuming competency.... Your voice and to e and patience have inspired me about how I perceive communication not only from animals, but from people with special needs which I work with and students I teach Spanish... And we'll anybody ... I'm taking a step back at how I listen to people trying to communicate with me...
Can't wait to see more data about bunny's data!!! So much we can learn from your journey together...
Thank you for Lovingly finding ways to understand her ... I would love to keep track of her insights and realizations !! Ohh bunny! Is so cute to hear you explain how you understand the world !
Lots of love to all!!
I love bunny soo much. Blows my mind
When I saw this update I was hesitant to watch... Very Concerned! You did a great job with explaining to us in terms that I can understand. Thank you, Bunny and Otter! Now that I have a little extra money I am buying this, finally, for my now 2 year old pup.
You are adorable and bunny is sweet as pie. Congratulations on your book!
I understand your frustration because I feel it too. These "debunkers" seem to want to make a name for themselves by skimming these kinds of videos for ones that fit the point they're trying to make vs watching ALL of them to really study Bunny's development with using her buttons to communicate, and it's a very deceitful practice.
Those of us who have been here for a long time now have seen Bunny's grasp of concepts grow, and I for one get very amused when she puts together words to get across her point - like when she came up with "poop play" for fart when Otter was having a lot of them that day. It just proves that Bunny has learned how to think about her button words and how to use them to make her point.
Love this, thank you! Great plug for your book! I know l want to buy it now 😄
I loved that video. Well done and a great message, “stay curious “. Perfect.
I have a pet rabbit and he actually reliably understands at least 30+ words that I use (combined with hand gestures) and he's a RABBIT. I can only imagine that dogs and cats (with a longer attention span) would be able to memorize even more words.