The Truth About the Self Aware Dog Who Talks With Buttons

[@KPassionate]

Watch part 1 here → kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX6zeHeljdaBhq8 See the original video → kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHPahWxqlpd3jrc What about Koko the gorilla? → kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5W4eY2qbdGmeaM My take on Billie the Cat → kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKvSq4x5fd9npck Alpha Dogs Debunked → kzbin.info/www/bejne/honWc6B6gMqpe80

[@heavymetalnewsdesk]

Well a walrus is basically a giant dog with fins, so I think you're qualified to talk about dogs. But I have a german shepard that is 8 weeks old, i didn't change the paper soon enough and she brought it to me wanting it to be changed. On the other hand, as smart as she is, she still chews up random stuff she finds outside

[@Meelsaidso]

You married ?

[@roseannarios7312]

Have you seen The Chronicles of Todd? Todd's a very intelligent cat who has alerted his owner to the fact that his sister Glamour was having back pain and wasn't feeling well. He once also told his dad that he had a sore back and his dad found a scab where another cat had snagged him with their claw. When asked "who did it" Todd replied "Glamour" (his sister). We know this to be true because it was evidenced earlier on an Todd's dad had forgotten. You should definitely check him out.

[@Donny_and_PennyPax]

My dog uses buttons. They’re an enrichment experience, and in some ways they’re a method of physical communication, like when she asks for water or to go outside, however every one of them is a conditioned response that I’ve built. She’s not “talking” to me, she’s hitting a button to get a known reaction out of me.

[@xdani_thethinkingneko]

Isn’t that what language is? You say something because it gives a certain response/ means something typically.

[@Donny_and_PennyPax]

@@xdani_thethinkingneko not all communication is language. Just because two living creatures are interacting back and forth and communicating doesn’t mean that they have language. Language has a lexicon, which button dogs are limited to only their buttons, grammar which even humans get wrong I suppose syntax which is highly important and my dog often gets wrong as she punches her buttons in different orders at times, phonemes are gifted to the dogs via the buttons, they aren’t capable of making the sounds and we never see morphemes which is “I, the, but, or”. We consider children to be “pre-linguistic” until they have at least a basic grasp on the use of these things. Children don’t really grasp literacy and understanding until they have a conduit for these parts of language and any child who is incapable of reaching a part of this language threshold is considered developmentally disabled. I’m happy that I got to use my Communications Degree today and I hope you learned something.

[@mafurock33]

THIS

[@mafurock33]

@@xdani_thethinkingneko No. There is a difference there. If you re-read and think about it, it is pretty clear.

[@TalRohan]

@@xdani_thethinkingneko dogs don't interpret language. Humans for instance can hear a phrase and consider that there might be several meanings to it and respond in several different ways . Dog learns to ring a bell to go pee by being shown that if it rings the bell when it needs to pee it gets to go outside. It can't then learn to ring the bell to get your attention because it's hungry....it's always ring bell go pee

[@AlanCanon2222]

It can't be beyond the wit of humanity to just build the poor dog a regular USB keyboard with big buttons, then we can settle all this with a simple interview.

[@doubleagentxv120]

That's another thing, right? If Bunny could speak reliably and accurately, then she would be doing it live on every talk show in the country.

[@mixedmedialife7916]

I did this. Her answer was "nope." 😂

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@mixedmedialife7916 That's still pretty good, maybe the shift key was broken!

[@rpstoval2328]

Well, you can do that now with Bing Copilot :)

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@rpstoval2328does it actually have a dog version? If not I can use the regular version and just slather it with meat or something.

[@emilypetrecca1407]

Yeah I have no idea exactly what’s going on in this video…. BUT one possibility is: maybe she’s honestly asking, “who is this dog in the mirror?” She isn’t saying this is Bunny. She’s asking “who this”? Not “this is me!” So the mirror test is kind of irrelevant here

[@cameronford5473]

She clearly only pressed one button like she said in the video

[@Dan-dy8zp]

@@cameronford5473 Asking who is in the mirror does not demonstrate understanding who is in the mirror anyway. I'm not sure why people are missing that. When asked outright, 'who's that' in other videos, she press buttons like 'dog' instead of her name button.

[@xekis]

@@Dan-dy8zp They aren't missing it. You are missing that she only pressed the "this" button. "Who" was edited into the audio, which is incongruent with the video, which means the content creator is not above lying.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

She is not looking at the dog in the mirror. She is looking directly at her owner. Do you understand how mirrors work?

[@BackTiVi]

@@xekis I'd say they *are* missing the OP's point. Sure, the video is fake, that has been demonstrated. But even if it was 100% legit, that wouldn't prove that Bunny has passed the test anyway since he appears to be asking "Who is this?" instead of saying "That's me!". As such, talking about how it has been shown in several studies that dogs don't recognize themselves in mirrors is irrelevant to begin with.

[@valkyrie1066]

Our chicken accompanied us everywhere from hatch, including medieval events. When we put on her "garb" she knew the game was on. Our friends spoke to her like any other person. Everyone knew her name, and she answered back when it was said. Picture a standard red hen, wearing an embroidered linen tunic, bronze Thor's hammer, leather belt, sword sheath, sword, and a teeny bottle of mead. She somehow realized she was more....imposing in her outfit. She would stand guard in front of the tents with passionate authority. (she did actually meet "jon snow" at Comicon) It truly felt to me that she understood herself to be...at the moment....her "warrior persona" She watched battle. (LOTS of noise. Lots of movement. No actual injuries. It took a few times for her to become accustomed to that.) She trilled to mandolin ballads, joined us at feasts (good table manners) and joined in group sings around the campfire. She seemed, to all eyes, actually enjoying and participating. She would call to favorite people in our clan. And put herself to sleep in a basket lined with sheepskin in a tent. (she knew "home" moves on the weekends) We "considered" her a person, and I think she grew to understand that. Maybe it was just us; but I'm pretty sure she was more self aware than most chickens.

[@nussknacker9827]

I went to your profile hoping to see your chicken I'd love to see her outfits and having fun 🐔💕

[@valkyrie1066]

@@nussknacker9827 Sure! There are pics of several birds, She's the red one. Most of the pics I had of her dressed up at events, including Comicon, were on a phone that got run over by a car. By the time I had purple hair, she was getting old. They only live about six years. 😟 I just adopted four prarie bluebell chicks; and I'm raising them for the same reason. I'll post as it goes.

[@alphamom8218]

You should write a book about her life!! Your comment and writing style left me wanting to read more! I’d buy it in a heartbeat!

[@rynneivarsson751]

Yes, I definitely want to now hang out with you and your chicken! What a hoot! Um, a cluck?

[@thelight3112]

Just look at the difference between the average person and the smartest humans. It's exactly the same with animals - some individual animals can be far more intelligent than what we would normally expect from their species. I've met a few horses who could unlock their stables and gates, disable electric fences, trick humans, etc. I've met other horses who shit in their water bucket and run from their own shadow.

[@Hello_Spaceboy]

I do believe animals can communicate to a certain extent with the buttons - but the existential crisis was bananas. The other day I saw a video of people who decided to get their cat put down because it was yowling/not eating/ showing signs of discomfort and the vet didn't find anything in the bloodwork, and they figured this was her way of saying "goodbye." and that was enough internet for me for one day.

[@jsthecat]

My dog communicates with me every day without buttons. I love the fact that my dog can tell me all the things without 'talking'. She is supper smart and gets all her needs met with out a single word.

[@bradensorensen966]

For all the people who are saddened to hear that your dog will never have a conversation with you with actual dialogue. It's okay. Dogs speak with body language, which is actually the backbone on the vast majority of human communications as well. If you can get along with your dog using body language, you are already speaking their language. And that's pretty cool.

[@batacumba]

I can’t believe nobody caught that about the video and noticed she didn’t even press both buttons. 😂 it’s also so depressing that the people questioning your credentials of course don’t apply the same scrutiny to the people claiming to have talking dogs. It just makes it obvious they’re being incredibly biased because they want to believe animals are like Disney characters and can talk to us like humans can.

[@John_Weiss]

OMG! I did't even think about that - you're right, the people questioning KP's credentials _never_ question the owners of these dogs and _their_ motivation or manipulation.   It's never the people making the Extraordinary Claim who are put under scrutiny, is it? It's only the people - often very, very knowledgable and experienced people - who are pointing out the flaws in the claims who come under public scrutiny. 🤦‍♂

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

And really, our dogs don’t need to be Disney characters in order for us to appreciate their amazingness.

[@pong9000]

It's not a boy or a girl or a baby; it's a _dog_ and that is a compliment because a dog is a good thing to be!

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

I don’t think most KZbin commenters can use language and I’m not exaggerating

[@aspirewot8408]

They do talk bud you've no idea Mine does. .

[@TalRohan]

An anomoly well spotted. Thanks for pointing that one out. I didnt believe she was recognising herself in the mirror anyway but seeing that she didnt even press the correct button sequence either makes this very suspect indeed (honestly I think its a load of twaddle) thanks for sharing

[@phoenafox]

There are studies on animal species recognizing their reflections as their own. This isn't too deter from the points made in the video, just to point it that animals have been shown to recognize their reflection. even human babies are taught to recognize their reflection.

[@Cara-39]

@@phoenafox Children of abt 18 months old and a few animal species can pass the mirror test but dogs and cats cannot. I think this specific dog was either trained or learned to look at the mirror after pushing buttons to get a reward as who leaves a mirror on the floor like that? The whole thing just feels staged even without obvious button manipulation

[@Petequinn741]

I know both of my dogs understand about 20 words and 5 sentences..its by association, like us humans.

[@Akaeronth]

Except we associate words to concepts and not actions (unless it's verbs). Dogs can't conceptualize, unfortunately.

[@Petequinn741]

Sure they have basic time concepts base on smells, sights and hear..

[@Optimally_healthy5831]

Dogs can understand concepts to some degree in their own thoughts, but tell me how would one teach a dog what sad means? Or how about "hear" as in "to hear" something? What about even the word "who"? That word only ever makes sense in the context of a sentence about another person. Even "this" how would the dog know that "this" can refer to anything in front of them and not one particular thing? It would be confusing for them to try and wrap their brains around and likely impossible. They can learn what walk means, treat, sit, come, etc. Because they are verbs and easy for them to understand. Dogs are very intelligent but I just don't think they can learn concepts like humans can.

[@Clickmoi]

They don't understand the words, they hear the intonations, try change intonations when u use the same words.

[@giftofthewild6665]

​@@Akaeronth dogs understand concepts like their owners being gone for a while. My dog doesn't freak out if I leave the house to just hang clothes out, but she hates it when I get dressed for work and leave because she knows that is going to be a much longer absence. So dogs understand the concept of time despite this not being an action.

[@EllaBee90]

Uh, good catch. I watched only some videos of Bunny, but I preferred Billie the cat. I've always wondered what my cat would do with these buttons since he's quite talkative. I play mirror with him too. He usually sits in front of it to wash himself.

[@kensmith5694]

Try putting some light object on his head and see if he notices that it happened by the reflection. In that case, you may have an interesting result. I have seen non-sponsored videos where people do get some result. The pet may learn a button or two but not the large numbers.

[@FIRING_BLIND]

Wow....tbh props to Bunnies mom if she manages to edit the audio to say "who this"...that was pretty convincing audio editing lol But I was one of those critics in your first vid, and here youve managed to convince me! Now, i still think we can teach dogs button prompts for "food" "water" "outside", etc....but tbh the minute bunny moved past basic nouns and verbs, I was pretty shocked, and I think its right to be skeptical

[@Woug]

I love how all my favourite KZbinrs are just casually becoming A-Grade investigative journalists (also I love your top and those cool floating potted plants)

[@DannyJames-z7m]

A quick google search will tell you people with actual science degrees and study’s will tell this girl is wrong 😂 dogs are like infants according to studies

[@tetsi0815]

What I don't understand: If it was possible to teach dogs or other animals we use for important tasks to speak to us like that, how do people not see that everybody in the field of animal science and training would jump on that in a second and the people who are able to teach that would get insanely rich by teaching their skills to other animal trainers? This type of skill would be a game changer in every field where humans work with animals - rescue dogs, service animals for blind people, k9 units in police and military. Even animal rescue organizations could train e.g. apes or monkeys to talk to them. Training parrots or other talking birds to go to "air surveillance" in case of bush fires, or other natural disasters etc. Even thinking about the opportunities that would open up if we could teach this skill to only one or two species out there just blows my mind. Just imagine guide dogs that could talk to their blind owners by pressing buttons! How can people not see that this is essentially the biggest sign that there videos are not real and just play with our addiction to anthropomorphise everything?

[@John_Weiss]

Those same people who Want to Believe will come up with all manner of conspiracies behind why "‘they’ don't want us to know" . There's also, here in the US, an *_Intense Hostility_* towards anyone with years of advanced education and research experience. Americans _crave_ those, "Joe-12pack proves Eggheads/Nerds/Experts Wrong," stories. So having some average person "discover" something that "Teh Experts" don't know gets clicks from Americans.

[@theriverschool822]

Tell me how to get rich from my talking dog? Dogs like that are family. I couldn't train a dog to talk and sell that dog. Im training my kids how to train their dogs to talk, and you can watch my videos for free. My channel isn't monetized. I don't think I'll ever make any money from my dog unless I can train him to hunt morel mushrooms in March. Training my dog is a hobby, unrelated to my job. It's more fun that way. I think it would be awesome to pass on the ability to people who train service dogs. Imagine if the dog sniffing dog can tell you exactly which explosive material it's made out of, so they can judge the blast size. My service/farm dog told me he smelled "bad dogs" at the river (coyotes) and told me he heard "mama goat" when one was giving birth. There are other people on youtube doing similar things as me. It's easy to test if a dog can talk. Take large ziplock bags and put different familiar smells in the bag. Ask the dog to tell the owner what's in each bag. The owner doesn't know. It's a really quick test that proves the transfer of real information (true speech.)

[@tetsi0815]

@@theriverschool822If you could teach a dog true human speech (and IDC if by using buttons or barking morse code), literally everybody that works professionally with dogs (incl military and police and they have a lot of budget) would pay you whatever you want to teach them how to do it. If those professions even had the slightest reason to believe that this is possible, they would not only research this but spend insane amounts of money to make it happen. If the military/police is not interested in your cute dog trick - that if legit would be a game changer - your cute little dog trick isn't legit. Full stop.

[@John_Weiss]

@@theriverschool822 What you are experiencing … possibly … is the Clever Hans Effect. If you never heard of him, Clever Hans was a horse who seemed to perform all sorts of feats of intelligence. Even had someone other than the owner test Hans out. But, Hans wasn't really performing those feats of intelligence. He was, however, doing something equally-impressive yet lying hidden underneath the external tricks: _Reading Human Cues Expertly._ Clever Hans' cleverness was in reading subtle human behavior, things _so subtle,_ nobody even knew that they were doing it! That one independent examiner that tested Hans? He later realized that he was leaning forward or backward depending on how well Hans was doing … and Hans _adjusted his behavior accordingly!_ Another thing you need to beware of is Selection Bias. We humans are _excellent_ at ignoring things that don't fit a pattern we believe we're seeing. The Full Moon is the archetype-example for this: people notice things when they happen on or near the Full Moon, because the Full Moon is so _damned bright._ But, when the same "unusual" events happen on a New-Moon, nobody notices. And Full Moon days that are quiet get ignored - nothing memorable is happening on them, after all! Now, that doesn't mean your trained dog isn't helping you. But I think you're overrating the dog and underrating your own intelligence and intuition. Your dog is likely jarring you loose from distraction or clearing off the cobwebs with its button-pushing, as your own brain ignores irrelevant button-pushes. I repeat what I said in my own comment on this video: Scientific Studies attempt to *_DISPROVE_* what we think we're seeing. And scientific studies of animals are _always_ examining the question, "Are we humans projecting onto these animals?"

[@ryanleopard4869]

​@@theriverschool822"how can my talking dog get me rich" mate it doesn't even have to be able to talk to get you rich, Bunny, the dog from the video has been faked to look like it can talk and Bunny's owner is now insanely wealthy lmao tf are you on about

[@federmaus7768]

Thank you for examining those videos They might be entertaining but they are certainly not scientific proof. I have another issue with them. The owner is never shown in the same frame. So we don't see what kind of distraction or signs she is giving the dog to achieve the dogs reaction in the first place..

[@pong9000]

It appears the reward Bunny is working for is to empty her bladder.

[@travelwell6049]

bunny and others are all part of a scientific study. And the team offer suggestions to the owners. Etc. So maybe one day you’ll have to say it is scientifically proven.

[@Bunbunfunfun]

Well if the owner can give silent commands for the dog to hit specific buttons that would be impressive.

[@PoppyHapalopus]

THANK YOU!! I just saw a video about a "talking guinea pig" and it was he final straw. I am EXHAUSTED by this trend. A dog can't talk with buttons, let alone a guinea pig.

[@purpleonii]

what guinea pig? omg im depressed

[@kristybear100]

@@purpleonii The channel is called Button Pigs.

[@kensmith5694]

I could be that for some definitions of "talk" a dog can talk with a button. If it knows that pressing a button gets it let outside there is a kind of abstraction there since the button doesn't actually open the door.

[@Sea-cucumber1151]

They can learn words, and as long as you don’t move the buttons around they could learn certain words. I am a licensed Veterinary technician nurse, I have a door knob bell like store owner put above their doors to ring when the door is pushed open. I put it low by their legs, and say go potty, and use their leg to to ring it. My big dog leaned quicker because she would scratch the door, and a rang let her out. My medium dog learned quick. My small dog took 3 years for it to click, ring the bell I notice and then let him out. lol. But people who think dogs are having conversations is ridiculous. They can learn words for certain items, so yes they could learn a button but not sentences, it took my medium size dog a short while to learn between llama and Momma and then my husband would say go get momma, or llama. Etc. it’s the same as people who put a video of a dog with a reverse sneeze and say the dog is crying. Dogs don’t cry. They mourn they have depression but they don’t cry. ❤

[@Blablabla44475]

I have 11 buttons for my dog. I move them around all the time, just to prove that she knows the words, and she knows what she is wanting to communicate every time. Sometimes she will just make observations like “daddy outside” if my husband is outside, she knows yes and no and later. Sometimes she will ask me to go outside later, if I’m busy, if I say no to a treat, sometimes she will rebuke my “no” with hitting the “yes” a few times, and she’s persistent. My dog is a chihuahua/schnauzer mix, and she is one of the smartest small breeds I’ve ever seen. I’m actually amazed. It took her 4 days to start using the buttons by herself. I started with 4 simple words, and grew from there. She loves them. From what I can observe, she’s capable and interested in somewhat more complex sentence structure than most people think. The most words she has put together herself were like this, “(dogs name) want - play - outside - mommy - later -yes “, and I find that remarkable for a little dog like her. I’d suggest giving your animals more options and see how they respond. I just put them out there and started using the words and saying them in sentences, and she caught on.

[@Cara-39]

I've only seen the cat with these buttons but never believed she knew which ones to push, only that she was using them to get attention. My cat knows she'll likely get treats when she bangs the cabinet door or immediately draws my attention when she climbs to the top of her scratching post and these buttons are no different. The tapping and subsequent noises elicit an immediate response from the parents and she'll just tap randomly until she gets what she wants, whether that's treats, affection or just interaction

[@lovefortruth3414]

You should watch the chronicles of Todd channel. He's a cat that was able to tell his human dad that his "head" hurt. Apparently. His mouth was still hurting after a mouth surgery. When it should have recovered already. So that lead to another trip to the vet to have it looked at again. So, zi believe it is possible for our pets to learn what words to use to commit icate what tgey want. Especially since it's already known that tgey can understan a limited level of human vocabulary the kinger they are with their human companions.

[@Cara-39]

@@lovefortruth3414 Animals can easily express pain and anyone that's dealt with a pet's health issue knows to watch closely for behavior changes, even after the estimated recovery period has ended. Animals absolutely can communicate with us but cats and dogs don't understand the individual words, they're just responding to tone of voice, body language, and learned habits.

[@lovefortruth3414]

@@Cara-39 yes it's true that pet parents can pick up on cues that our fur kids aren't feeling well. But to say that we I mals can't pick up 9n key words when we speak t9 them 8s 8gnoraht. And yes, even the most attentive pet parent can sometimes miss dignity that their fur kid is in well. Let me g8ve an example that show that it's extremely possible that animals can learn more 9f their humans' language than we know or give them credit for: True story: I had 4 cats at one time, and theyv loved to hunt, as cats usually do. They left us "gifts" by our front door alot. Mice, moles, voles, birds, squirrels, you name it. Now, we didn't mind them hunting the mice, moles and voles, because it kept them from 8nfesting our house. But we really didn't want them k8lling the other critters that we liked having around. Do you know what my mom did?,she sat with each cat one at a time and gave each one a lecture ab9ut not killing the birds and squirrels. Guess what? After that day, the only dead animals that landed in front of our door were the mice, moles and voles that we didn't want around. Not one bird or squirrels was ever left there again. Our cats knew. They new enough w9rds to get the context of the message. Sounds crazy, but it actually happened. Yes, their knowledge of vocabulary is surely limited. I jus5 strongly believe it's not as l8mited as we've Bern told it is

[@Cara-39]

@@lovefortruth3414 What I meant, and didn't convey correctly, is that dogs don't have the cognition to create sentences out of the word buttons or interpret what they see, like an ambulance for example, and string specific words together to explain it. The people using these buttons want to believe their pets are learning and processing language but it's not happening. As far as cats go, they do not understand/learn certain words like dogs do, in that they associate certain words with actions, like they know the word treat means one is coming, and they can recognize their name but they cannot interpret sentences. Essentially, cats understand human language the way we understand their meows; different sounds and tones means something but they're not actual words. I don't doubt you believe your cats understood the lectures they received as we're all biased where our pets are concerned but the lack of birds at the door may just mean you didn't see them, not that the cats stopped hunting them. In any case, anecdotes aren't considered evidence as they're just one person's interpretation of an event.

[@lovefortruth3414]

@@Cara-39 I'm not saying that our pets' knowledge of human vocabulary isn't limited. What I'm saying is, that they can put certain key words in context when we speak to them, especially after having been around us long enough to know what actions or objects are associated with those words. So, likewise, they can be trained to associate familiar words with different buttons, and then use those same buttons to tell their humans what they want. And just like anyone else some know more words and context than what we give them credit for. We can't read their minds. We can only go by body language and the tone of their meows, barks, growls and wines. But they can learn which button to push to tell us why they are mad, sad, or in pain, which has Been demonstrated with other videos.

[@snowrose101]

Try Todd Talks. This is for a cat named Todd. They have 2 other cats, but the other cats aren't interested in the buttons. They usually do an extensive loop (sped up when nothing is happening) with very little editing. I say "they," but it's actually the man who interacts on camera with the cats.

[@KPassionate]

Honestly, and no offense, but I'm done with this fad.

[@snowrose101]

​@KPassionate Up to you, of course. It was just a suggestion from someone with a degree in Psych with a minor in biology, me. I will point out that if dogs can be trained to ring a bell to go out to potty, no reason they can't be trained to use a button that says the word potty instead. If they get excited and drool at the word food or din-din, they might know the word well enough to push a button that says din-din to make a request. Potty is a request. Can they make sentences? I guess we're finding out.

[@KPassionate]

@@snowrose101 that is simple word association and is unrelated to the ability to string words together in sentences. Sorry

[@changemymind06]

Dogs learn patterns - cause & effect, which is how dogs know what emotional buttons like 'sad' mean... they know using sad, they'll get extra attention/afffection. Sure, that may be what they want when they feel sad, but that doesn't necessarily mean they ARE sad... so glad you did this video!!

[@Calvin.The.Unfindable]

another well thought out video, i have come to trust your word - for a long time. it is good to get a reality check perspective on these things... the things people put animals through for clicks is disheartening, you make me feel less alone in my thoughts about so many things, on top of learning so much from you. i admit ive seen dogs looking in mirror pictures before, and people trying to tell us they see themselves, when they are clearly looking at the owner/photographer. "humanity" gives me too much eyerolls nowadays! 😄

[@allisonwanderland9917]

I wholeheartedly agree with your analogy, KP! Thank you for another great video 👏🏼

[@espinoname2988]

My dog was extremely scared and angry at her own reflection when she first came home. Until recently she was still weary of our big balcony window in the night, and went always there to check it in detail. Now home she's completely accustomed to mirrors and completely ignored them, but on walks she often runs towards reflective windows and behaves as if they were other dogs, until she gets close enough to realise, then she comes back at me a bit scared, like confused, i think she somehow realises it's not another dog on closed inspection and gets confused.

[@estrela3889]

It's of huge importance what you're saying and it applyes to several fields! Thanks for showing up!

[@KPassionate]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@earthenchildify]

The scientists who did the mirror test with the dog must have not done a very good job because when my dog Moti turned 1 year old I made her a birthday hat. At first she didn't think much of it until we went to the mirror to look at it. As soon as she saw herself she immediately reached up with paw and knocked the hat off her head. Before the mirror she barely could tell it was one her head. If she could not recognize herself in the mirror then how do you explain her strong reaction. On top of that, I had gotten Moti the speech buttons when she was a puppy and since then she has been able to communicate in much more of a complex manner than I thought would happen. For example here is a comment from another post that I made: " No, it's not just a hit a button and get a reward type exchange. Although that does happen of course, it's much more than that. For example, after Moti, my dog, ate her meal I pressed the button HUNGRY and then GOOD and then the ? button. Some context for you: HUNGRY typically applies to anything food related so I was asking her "Was the food I just made good?". Moti's usual response to that question is either YES or GOOD or MORE. This time her response was HELP. When she pressed the HELP button I was very perplexed and confused so I responded by pressing HELP MOTI ?. She did not reply back and my slow brain was just staring at her while she started to scratch herself with her paw, wondering what on earth would she want help with. Then it came to me...duh, maybe she needs help with scratching. I didn't have a button for scratch so I verbally said MOTI DO YOU NEED HELP WITH SCRATCHES and then I pressed the ? button. She stopped scratching herself and walked over to the buttons and pressed YES. So I gave her a bunch of scratches all over her neck where I saw her scratching at. Then I pressed MORE HELP and ?. She walked over and pressed the NO button. So that whole conversation was just that, a conversation...and not a Pavlov situation. On top of that she ended the conversation with NO in which she gets nothing when she hits that button. She could have hit several other buttons in which she know that she might get something like treat, play, snuggles, etc but she chose to press NO because it applied to the topic and specific question. Dogs are highly intelligent and understand us much better than we understand them. It is because of our narrow understanding of them that limits our ability to see that. It's our own ignorance and judgement that holds us back from seeing their and other animals sentience and ability to communicate with us. "

[@giftofthewild6665]

Absolutely dogs understand what a mirror is. My dog meets my eyes in the mirror when I talk to her and she knows there aren't 2 of me, so she's very aware of what the mirror is. She doesn't really look at herself in mirrors because dogs are not vain like that and do not care for their own appearance (unlike vain humans). A different test would need to be devised to see if dogs can recognize themselves in a mirror since they won't look for a mark on their bodies (as they don't really care about appearances). Perhaps put a fake mirror up that shows an image of a different dog and see how the dog reacts to this vs a true reflection of themselves.

[@astrogenetic8591]

you are absolutely reaching with the assumption at the every start of you long stupid drawn out comment, seriously how is the dog pawing at its head a sign of absolutely anything? anecdotal and flimsy and you have everythign to gain from convincing us, same as all these idiots who make up conversations after their dog rub's their butt on a button

[@StandinOnBuniss]

Yeah yeah your dog is a deep thinker

[@earthenchildify]

@@astrogenetic8591 My objective isn't to convince anyone but just to share what I've experienced and learned for myself. I think a well rounded human shares what they know. As for knocking off the hat...there was no pawing, she only pawed once. When it happened, I even questioned what I saw and asked myself "how coincidental could it be that she aimed for the hat and knocked it off on one try?" so I understand your apprehension. However, I now 100% sure that she was completely aware of herself when looking in the mirror because I've had so many experiences watching her. For example, I remember holding her and we looked into the mirror together and I said "where's mama? do you see mama?" and looked straight into my reflection's eyes. I've also learned that dogs don't really seek out or are interested in mirrors like we do because they don't have human ego.

[@earthenchildify]

@@StandinOnBuniss thanks! People say that she's a deep thinker and she's smart but I don't think she. She's pretty average. She just appears smarter because she has opportunity to access these speech buttons that allow her to express herself on our level. If all dogs had the same opportunity then I know that there are dogs out there that are sooo much more intelligent and aware than Moti. I know that to be true even without the buttons ☺ ....don't mention to Moti that I said that though 😉

[@mackerelle9789]

To me, "who this?" Seems a strange sentence from a dog. I think it would've been a little more convincing if it was just "look".

[@marymorgan285]

Loved the video KP! Even with proof some people will never accept it. However, you made me laugh with your “ skeptical science look” which you have used over the years!!! 😂😂

[@Sugurain]

Bunny videos are mostly legit. I've lived with dogs my whole life and have always been that weird kid who preferred the company of dogs than of his own family. I can communicate with them with body language and even some sounds. Yes, that means not only understand, but communicate back with them. Bunny's body language match the reaction I expect a dog to have, when verbally asked something, to the reaction I expect of a dog that has came to that same conclusion via body language. One of the greatest examples is when her owner verbally asks in one video "Yesterday Bunny went play Tango (her doggy friend). Bunny want play Tango today?" Bunny takes 5-10 seconds to process then whimpers and circles the room formulating her answer then presses excitedly " Yes - Go - Play" That's just fricking amazing. I also really like the videos where she tries to grasp notions of time, learning words like yesterday, tomorrow, today. Now, later. But also morning, night and noon. Pretty fascinating to see. Bunny mistakes it sometimes, but she trying to "speak" that now is night, or that yesterday she went to the beach is just incredible! Dogs are much, MUCH smarter than people give them credit to.

[@brandonnhunxho6772]

It amazes you that animals besides humans have senses … the same senses humans have like eyes to see its morning after being told this button that says morning in the language they were trained in while training them that button means the sun is coming up so it looks like light out. Or,, they get treats in the morning , afternoon and night. So technically, your amazed they animal can count to 3? I mean its amazing enough they have discipline to not go eat without our permission. Because let someone tell you as a whole adult not to eat til a certain time.. unless they are paying you or someone died.. your still gonna ask wheres the food? Which leads everything to the same universal language of “wheres the food”

[@Sugurain]

@@brandonnhunxho6772 That's probably how her owner taught that. "Food later, food now", etc But grasping the concept of tomorrow, today, yesterday, and using it in conversations, is what really amazed me, like the "Yester play Tango" example. She even bargains sometimes. Bunny: "Walk beach" Owner: "No, all done walk" Bunny: "Walk beach later" hahaha

[@brandonnhunxho6772]

@@Sugurain the thing about language is the confirmation is only on the receiver so to us because she said “walk beach later” we think that means no. But theres no confirmation that she actually means that.. language is trick even for humans. As an example. I ask my girlfriend if shes okay she says shes fine.. me being wise just know shes not fine.. or hey do you want to go to the beach, she may say yes just because i want to go.. but truth is she doesnt want to go.. we know these differences by HOW someone says something. The fact that its not the dog saying it. Its a recording, gives no indication of true meaning.. which implies the dog is 100% honest all the time and now whatever we as humans hear from a button is EXACTLY what the dog means. So looking at these videos its almost crazy to see the owner not understanding what the dog means but just MAKE stuff up based on human understanding.. when you GAVE the options to the dog . My point is Beach now or beach later still could full well mean beach right now. The only confirmation would be to just take the dog to the beach in which the dog definitely isnt going to say no, its going to obey its owner.. being in captive pressing buttons to communicate isnt the same thing as speaking freely.. at all.. even for humans living in nations that dont have the freedom of speech. Half their talk are lies because if they said how they felt they would beheaded or jailed.. so its weird to say look they can talk. When its like.. but can they really?

[@brandonnhunxho6772]

@@Sugurain the thing about language is the confirmation is only on the receiver so to us because she said “walk beach later” we think that means no. But theres no confirmation that she actually means that.. language is trick even for humans. As an example. I ask my girlfriend if shes okay she says shes fine.. me being wise just know shes not fine.. or hey do you want to go to the beach, she may say yes just because i want to go.. but truth is she doesnt want to go.. we know these differences by HOW someone says something. The fact that its not the dog saying it. Its a recording, gives no indication of true meaning.. which implies the dog is 100% honest all the time and now whatever we as humans hear from a button is EXACTLY what the dog means. So looking at these videos its almost crazy to see the owner not understanding what the dog means but just MAKE stuff up based on human understanding.. when you GAVE the options to the dog . My point is Beach now or beach later still could full well mean beach right now. The only confirmation would be to just take the dog to the beach in which the dog definitely isnt going to say no, its going to obey its owner.. being in captive pressing buttons to communicate isnt the same thing as speaking freely.. at all.. even for humans living in nations that dont have the freedom of speech. Half their talk are lies because if they said how they felt they would beheaded or jailed.. so its weird to say look they can talk. When its like.. but can they really?

[@DanielLionArts]

Yeah, cleeearly faked. 👍🏼 They edited the audio -you caught Bunny only pressing 1 button. Gross on Bunny’s owner’s part. 🤬👎🏼

[@ChemonV69]

Also, the awkward timing and audio quality shift of the "then look in the mirror" suggested that the "then look in the mirror" was also added post production.

[@ianfshirley]

I've been training my goldendoodle, with very little effort, how to use buttons for the past week and she already knows 4 words and how to use them. They've been training bunny with these buttons since she was 8 weeks old. It's legit

[@ianfshirley]

also the buttons are very small and she could easily push two of them with one paw

[@KPassionate]

It isn’t. Sorry. You are projecting things onto your dog that are not real.

[@ianfshirley]

@@KPassionate lol ok. Sure, it's a stretch that Bunny was actually asking "who is this", but dogs can absolutely understand certain words and their meanings, and communicate in a way once they've learned the location and sound of the buttons

[@KPassionate]

If she did press two at the same time (she didn't, as you can plainly see) then why didn't we hear the words at the same time? Even if she did, then that would have been a mistake and should have been discarded. I strongly suggest looking at the resources and links I provided in the descriptions. Dogs communicate with us through a variety of different means. These buttons are literally putting words into their mouths and there is zero evidence that the dogs are correctly associating these words with their meanings.

[@THEPAISLEYBLACKQUEEN]

@@KPassionate U R JEALOUS OF A DOG

[@samwakeel8331]

I taught my 6 dogs to use doggy sign language. I kept them next to me 24/7 they were all converted to inside dogs. They could tell me if they wanted to go outside, potty, eat food or treats, play, go for a walk, hug, ask me where's my toy sock, where's my blanket, where's my pillow, go bye bye in the car, if they heard something concerning outside like a wild animal, even stranger danger & also if they were mad at me turning their back to me & give a grumble. Also whenever I asked them a question in response to their request they knew how to answer yes or no. It was easy to teach them because their breeds are highly intelligent & motivated to please the leader of the pack. I had a pitbull boxer mix, Red Heeler, Border Collie, long hair German Shepherd & 2 Chow Chow. I rescued them when I was told they were to be euthanized because they were labeled Aggressive Alfa with histories of bitting & attacking their owners. But they lived with me for 10+ yrs, the rest of their entire lives on a chicken farm. I never saw them fight or bite anyone or attack anything. They loved working together as a pack to gather up run away chickens and guinea. Whenever i had to leave for a few days I had to take all of them with me because nobody wanted to watch them. I was told several times since the dogs knew how to communicate that well it made people feel guilty when they wanted to do something else & the dogs would undeniably keep asking for things. My brother always said nope he's not watching a "bunch of talking dogs that know how to ask for seconds & never shut up when the news came on". Hahaha.

[@Krokrodyl]

Thank you for using your platform to bring some critical thinking and scientific method into this fad! The mirror video being fake should instantly disqualify Bunny from the research. Who knows what else is being faked and not made public?

[@giftofthewild6665]

I dont use buttons but my dog talks to me and asks me for things all the time. Sometimes I just look at her and know exactly what she wants without really thinking about it (I must be reading tiny body language signals). She has also developed specific sounds she uses to ask for things (like a loud huff to ask for water, or a whiny cry to ask for me to move the cat off her bed). She communicates exceptionally well, she doesn't need words. Just like non verbal humans find other ways to communicate with us, dogs do the same.

[@Lady_Duzell]

Im glad i cam across these videos and your channel. People tend to just beleave things they see online. I had to talk my mom out of getting the buttons.. i think i should send her these videos.

[@7rino896]

I'm glad you are calling her BS out.

[@a.g.7880]

You're researchs are lacking. The owner of Bunny constantly explains in her videos and interviews that she has no idea if Bunny actually understand what she is pressing. The whole thing is very much an experiment and, although she is hopefull about the results, she remains skeptical . She also says that the clip we see are only what she deems interesting, because most of the time Bunny is just pressing buttons with no apparent meaning. This information is not hidden at all.

[@KPassionate]

So does she explain why she fakes videos like the one I outlined in my video? I’m assuming you probably didn’t actually watch my video because if you did you could not possibly defend the obvious faking of videos for social media clicks

[@a.g.7880]

@@KPassionate These are only assumptions. You cannot prove that she is deliberatly faking anything. Like she always explain, she's trying her best to make sense of what Bunny might be saying. There is a logicall explanation for all this. What probably happens is sometimes the buttons don't get picked up by the camera audio and whoever is editing the video just adds the sound effect back for better viewership. Mistakes happens sometimes. Plus, the material going into the research is probably not the same thing that is going on social media. This is rubbbing me as some stupid conspiracy theory, just because one video had an edited sound effect. Talking about views...I'm sensing the same thing on YOUR part. Let's face it, with 200 k subscribers and an average of 5k views per video, your channel is pretty much dead. I'm sensing the start of a petty witch hunt to bring in the views. Be carefull who you decide to take offense against, because needlessly starting drama about a goofy dog doing silly tricks for her transparently skeptical owner isn't gonna do wonders for you in the long run.

[@KPassionate]

@@a.g.7880 sorry you are so confused on this! Feel free to read the research. That should help

[@THEPAISLEYBLACKQUEEN]

@@KPassionate U R JEALOUS OF A DOG

[@THEPAISLEYBLACKQUEEN]

@@KPassionate U R JEALOUS OF A DOG

[@NationJJ]

The one button versus two is all I needed. I don't have any need to suspend reality about this.

[@eulalia3446]

The mirror was placed there on purpose to find out whether Bunny would be interested in her reflection and if so, whether she would recognise herself. Nothing weird.

[@doubleagentxv120]

What is weird is that the video was faked and that Bunny only pressed the "this" button and never pressed the "who" button even though we heard "who this." Maybe watch the entire video next time before commenting.

[@dr.catherineelizabethhalse1820]

Don’t make excuses for the scammers

[@ranian7]

You're right THAT isn't weird. What's weird is that the owner placed a meaning on Bunny's action. That meaning was that Bunny is self aware and then later depressed and needs pills.

[@Dan-dy8zp]

@@doubleagentxv120 The dog asking who is in the mirror video is not 'faked' since asking who is in the mirror does not imply understanding who is in the mirror, rather opposite. Nothing exciting happened in that video. If the owner was going to fake it, the dog would have actually appeared to answer the question she has often been asked, 'who is in the mirror'. She keeps pressing 'stranger', 'dog', and other buttons that are not her name button. She does NOT understand mirrors at all.

[@doubleagentxv120]

@Dan-dy8zp the dog clearly pressed only one button, yet we heard two distinct words.

[@ladyolinden]

Thank you for this! This stuff is fascinating and I have tons of "talking pet" videos from various folks saved on Facebook which I've been meaning to sift through myself. Always good to see more information and to learn more, especially regarding the background of the company and the research. I've found it a bit awkward how the FluentPet buttons are always pushed as product first, though I'm aware there are other brands of buttons and am even in a group for people who use buttons of various sorts for their pets (and beyond cats and dogs to rabbits, guinea pigs, and even horses). Been wanting to go through it all and scrutinize for myself. Also, exciting to hear from a marine biologist! Was my original career dream (though my interests were with dolphins and sharks more than anything else)

[@jamie7398]

To me it sounded like there was only sound coming from the "this" button and no sound coming from the "who" button. When the human pushes the"who" button I didn't hear anything until she pushed the "this" button. But the dog only pushed the "this" button and we (or I) heard "who this". And the mirror(that looks like it hangs on the wall) just happens to be on the floor next to the buttons the dog is playing with.

[@35406]

When you watch the entire video you are told the mirror was there to test if Bunny would react.

[@KPassionate]

@cathwilki3540 it was there to tell a fun story for social media

[@leozisser5587]

Why would she press two buttons then?..

[@sabrinawing8094]

Oy! Thank you for finally pointing out the perpetual inconsistencies int he "Bunny" videos. I've always felt they were super suss. Never trusted the mom or the dog. I think there are other, more convincing guardian/dog duos out there that feel more real. One always has to take the bias of the human into account. We think this is so cool so we make it more cool than it truly is.

[@lousielouise8716]

I got sketched out by Bunny when I learned her family had an outdoor cat that disappeared. How can you have so much empathy with a “communicating dog”, but not know that outdoor lifestyles for cats are horrible for the environment, and for the cat. Sus.

[@lilithiaabendstern6303]

Ah yes, because feral cats don't exist, or wild cats for that matter 🤦🏻‍♀️ and aren't humans the more realistic threat to the environment, by cutting down more and more green just to build streets/houses/cities - the decline of song birds is due to human interference f.e. the Italians catching them with huge nets for consumption, when they fly back to Europe at the end of winter

[@KPassionate]

Outdoor domestic cats are by far the leading threat to birds and it's not even close. In the US alone, domestic cats kill approximately 2.4 BILLION birds every year. [1] www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds [2] www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality This doesn't address the other point the original commenter made that the outdoor cat was lost.

[@Goldenhawk583]

@@lilithiaabendstern6303 some places have wild cats, they belong there, and the environment supports them being there ( nature, not humans). Feral cats are cats that do not belong in the area they live, and nature has not adapted to them being there, hence they do a lot of damage to wildlife. Not only do they take small birds, but animals up to rabbit and duck size are on their menu.

[@tanyabrown9839]

@@Goldenhawk583 just because a cat was born to a feral cat in a place doesn't mean it belongs there (unless it is a native species). Feral cats die quite young from horrible things.

[@Goldenhawk583]

@@tanyabrown9839 you think I mean that wild cats are kittens after feral cats? No I do not mean that. Feral cats get feral kittens, they dont suddenly belong in the ecossystem in less than one year. thats not how evolution works. No I mean real wild cats, like the Pallas caT, or the Ocelot, native spicies as you call them.. why would you think I meant feral cats?

[@grasshopper4lkirra655]

YES!! The bunny videos are so annoying. I am sure they can learn a few buttons but more like "if I press this button, she opens the door" "If I press this button, she pets me" "If I press this button, we go on a walk" But you would have to consistently do the things or it will fade out pretty fast. If the dog would press the "walk" button multiple times without a walk, the meaning would fade and be gone

[@juliettek.9440]

“She doesn’t even own a dog.” Comments like these are so stupid it breeds self justification and entitlement.

[@dawsie]

I had been thinking of buying the buttons for my cats, but you know how you get that back of the back of the neck feeling that something is not adding up. This was happening with me, so I started watching move videos on the buttons. I still could not work out what it was that had been bothering me. Until now that is, that’s when things fell into place about the videos I had watched. I’m glad I held off from buying the buttons now. I think I will do what so many others who I have been following for years and just buy a ring bell. They taught their cats to ring the bell twice if they are hungry and so far the cats have been ringing the bell close to the time when she normally feeds the cats. Between them both they worked out a better feeding routine that works, they have stopped ringing the bell simply because she changed the time she feeds each of her cats. Thank you for going over the video and highlight what it was I had been missing. They are so subtle it was easy to miss, once I knew what it was I was looking for, it made a huge difference on the reality of the video.

[@KPassionate]

The bell can be a very useful tool! Also recommend Karen Pryors books on pet behavior.

[@kristybear100]

The channel BilliSpeaks is about a cat who uses buttons is run by Billi's mom who is a licensed veterinarian. Billi has a chronic health problem and has been able to tell her when she is in pain and needs medicine. There is nothing esoteric about her channel, just basic communication about what I previously mentioned, and which toys Billi wants to play with, the desire to go outside, wanting food puzzles, pets, cuddles, etc. which seems useful and very bonding.

[@CatherineSTodd]

Thank God *someone* is questioning "Bunny, the talking dog" by pressing buttons.None of this made any sense to me, who has worked with and loved animals all my life. Watching all your videos now. Thanks for posting!

[@KPassionate]

@@CatherineSTodd glad you liked it!

[@CatherineSTodd]

​@@KPassionate : LOVED it! After being raised in a family of veterinarians, being around and loving dogs all my life, I could NEVER understand this "button business" for a dog to talk about FEELINGS and more. How in the world can you teach a dog to described "depressed" or "who this?" or more? Never made sense to me and you explained it so well and so easily. Especially finding out that the videos are paid for by the company that SELLS the buttons. It all made sense along with your explanations, scientific research background and current professional experience. FINALLY, a "voice of reason." THANK YOU!

[@KPassionate]

You are most welcome! It’s a disturbing trend when these companies are scamming people out of their money like this. It makes me really mad.

[@matthewpitre8159]

The 1 I can say struck me is the 1 where the cat is pressing daddy daddy where is daddy where is daddy where is daddy mad mad where is daddy over and over again So happen that daddy Was away on a trip where they would be gone for a couple weeks it got to the point Where the catsMommy Female owner Had to literally phone The daddy Put him on speaker phone So the cat wasn't worried about him It makes sense that an animal maybe worried about it's owner if they don't see them for a day or 2 they may think oh they've got hunting and we're killed and we're trapped and can't make their way back Which I understand cats are not pk animals but they can learn to love their owners and worry about them Either way that cat was determined to see their daddy she wasn't giving any treats or anything she was kind of offended Mommy wasn't enough at the time but was joking about it

[@ncwordman]

Thank you, KP. I always learn something from you. Here, you reminded me of the importance of critical thinking, and how much we need to practice it to be able to do it when we need to, and how dependent that is on our familiarity with studying science. Every art and science requires practice: time spent in that particular way of thought and action. The more science we study and put into action, the easier that way of critical thinking will come to us. This is the reason musicians listen to music and practice their scales, why boxers work with the bag, and why runners jog.

[@Sarah-hw7ok]

Bunnies owner put the mirror there to see what bunnie would do. It didn’t just happen to be there.

[@KPassionate]

That's what tipped me off and why I gave the video a very close look. I hope you watched more than just the intro of my video.

[@endangeredmarmot4518]

Awesome video, KP - bringing the science back into the discussion. I love the balance from debunking the sensationalist interpretation with substituting a better-reasoned, and yet still fascinating, interpretation.

[@KPassionate]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kacklina]

My dog ​​is super smart, he understands a lot of words like "where?" "Meat" certain toys, "sleep" "garden" he also knows how to identify certain toys by name, etc. I never need much training for that, but I have realized that he also understands concepts through my body movements when training him to give his paw, lie down etc. When he wants to go to the garden he barks at me one way, and it moves a certain way when he wants to go to the bathroom another, when he wants me to see he made his bathroom buisness where he should, he calls me and takes me to the place, when he wants to show me that he poop in a place that shouldn't, because of a tantrum he approaches me and rubs his paws against the floor, When we play with my 2 year old niece out of jealousy he wants to learn how the toys are used (toys that hammer things and stuff like that), he cries anxiously watching and scratching the toys, never learned to use use them thought, and I am not going to make a huge effort to teach him because I think a) They don't need it, b) they are not going to learn it. xD when he listens to us when we sing the mañanitas he haull and barks IMITATING US. As a puppy he growled in frustration when he tried to stand and his legs opened. All of this is to say that I am sure of 4 things. 1 I stole from him a KZbin or tiktok Carrier now that he is 13. 2 I am never going to have an other pet that is this smart. 3 chihuahuas and sausage dogs are not the stupid dogs people think they are.(it's a mix of the two) 4...I won't teach him to use those buttons, it is not necessary, he do not need them to make himselve understood, and he do not need to pretend to have a human language deep understanding(which he will never have despite understand human words in their most superficial form as the prelude to a consequence) to communicate or make known he is super smart. Animals don't need a deep understanding of human language and concepts to be smart, They do not need to make sentences, with nouns, verbs and predicates. Humans are too egotistical, a thing that animals cannot ever be. They can understand single word sounds as the antecedent of the consequence of something, and that, although it is not necessary, is a sufficient luxury as long as it is something that the animal wants to do. The truth is, my very intelligent dog that I think I abused showing off in my comment xD, has never had to have much training even to learn that. He is just very observant... (Note )My dog ​​as a puppy one time did act very excited, turning around and looking at himself in a mirror, running from one side to the other and stopping to look at himself. I don't know if he thought it was another dog that one time or He had a fleeting idea of ​​"I", haha

[@youdj_app]

toujours au top tes videos :) merci!!

[@katiekane5247]

I've probably only spent 1 year total of my 65 years without the company of at least one dog. Made a career in pet care. Instead of trying to get them to use my language, I learned theirs. I've always said, it's not what you can teach a dog that impresses me, it's what you've learned from them. I have to go, Molly is ready for more sunshine time.

[@Soundhypno]

Nailed it!

[@noD1va]

I needed this! Cant belive how many people thinks Bunny can talk and form sentences. It's just over interpreting.

[@jimjimgl3]

Glad to have come across your post. I've seen, randomly, posts of the "talking" dog Bunny and every time I would see one it got under my skin.

[@KPassionate]

They irk me so much. As you might have guessed hahaha

[@xobelladonna2443]

Omgggg I caaaannottt with bunny’s owners lmao. This video just made my life.

[@KPassionate]

@@xobelladonna2443 I know right 😂

[@xobelladonna2443]

@@KPassionate their followers are the types of people that think dogs are smiling when they’re panting 🤣

[@goodgrief888]

Since Bunny became popular there’s now a huge array of “talking” pets with these buttons, with various types of very obvious BS being peddled.

[@HollyHlokk]

I did get my dog buttons, just 4. My boy is sweet, adorable and playful, but not so gifted with smarts. If he wants something, he just sits. I am hoping he will learn to let me know he has to go out, or wants a treat or wants to play, but I'm not holding my breath....I love him no matter what!

[@KPassionate]

I think a button for outside or potty is a great use of these buttons. I've also seen people use a bell that works just as well. I'm sure your boy is wonderful! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

I don't believe any of the talking button animals unless I can see the words on or next to the buttons. If they were live-streamed they would be more believable.

[@beccahauck5452]

I think when people say you have never had a dog they probably meant you never had a dog like theirs. We have a lot of dogs in our extended family but only one of them is an excellent communicator. Toby, a Chorkie, is my dog. Human infants learn that their communications either do or do not cause their needs to be met. A baby whose crying is ignored, doesn't cry to get their needs met. I believe my dog learned early on that if he keeps trying, I will eventually understand and his needs will be met and possibly his desires as well. The other family members don't pay half as much attention to their dogs as I do to mine and all of them are typical dogs. My dog, we had this game where he would drop a toy off the back of my office chair and I would ask, "where is it?" He would keep prodding me to find it and I would say,"I don't know! Where is it?" Thousands of times. One day I asked him where is it and he says,"I don't know" in the exact tone of voice I use. He was mimicking me like a bird would. (He has also said,"No." ) Usually I have zero proof when he does things like this but that time my grown daughter heard him say it. But he does understand from repetition. Another time, I bought him a self-filling water bowl and the gurgle scared him so he didn't want to use it. He got my attention and showed me where the water bowl was and wagged his tail. I said, "Water. Good boy." He laid down for about a minute and chewed his bone and then he got my attention again and laid down by his bowls as he must when I fill his bowls. He has to lie down and wait for me to finish and say,"Okay." before he can get up and approach the bowls. But also, before the self-filling bowl, he had a tiny bowl (he's a tiny dog) and I would have to fill it about 10 times a day and when I fed him, I always filled his water bowl too. Another thing to note, I feed him when he asks for it because some days he is hungrier and some days less and he will not overeat unless it involves cheese. Anyway, so he laid down by his bowls, perks his ears (which is always asking a question), wags his tail and waits for me to fill his bowls. I put a scoop of food in the bowl, sit down and say,"Okay." He gets up, sniffs the food, looks at me with his ears perked again, sniffs the water and then looks me in the eye again. I point at the new bowl and say "Water. Good boy." So he laid down and chewed his bone for about 2 minutes this time and then gets my attention. This time he shows me the bathroom sink and licks his lips. I pointed to the new bowl and said, "Water. It won't hurt you, try it." So he laid down with his bone for another couple minutes and then shows me my water bottle. This helps the stupid-feeling human because I get an idea. I know he prefers bottled water to tap water and I also know that even if he didn't, he respects me and so he will eat or drink whatever I do even if he hates it. SO, I take my water bottle and begin pouring it into the new self-filling bowl and he drinks from the water as it flows out but when it's all in his bowl, he went ahead and drank from the new bowl and got a lot of praise. The next time he needed water (self-filling bowl was empty), he dropped a half-full water bottle into my lap. I have dozens of situations with my dog where you can tell he understands quite a few things that I say and he communicates back. He's super creative and super smart. Mirrors make him uncomfortable though. He doesn't recognize himself. However, he doesn't like to be called a dog. It's fine that other dogs are dogs, including my daughter's dog, Apricot, who lives in the same house. But once I realized how angry he got when anyone referred to him as a dog, I told him that people don't poop on the sidewalk, dogs do (in a normal tone of voice), and he pooped in my living room for two days. I understand that people will think that we must use "dog" negatively and probably with a negative tone of voice but we don't. He wants to be a people and not different from me. My dog also doesn't drag his behind across the floor, he shows me his butt and I wipe it with a baby wipe. He rarely barks but he has tons of vocalizations. My daughter wants me to teach him to talk using the buttons but I figured we don't need buttons since he's really good at getting his point across. However, yesterday he tried to trade my son his current favorite toy for some popcorn and now I am curious how much popcorn he feels like his toy is worth. I can figure out on my own with him whether that new brand of popcorn holds more value than a hot dog or some cheese but the trading aspect has me curious.

[@bevsfrybreadwisdom5854]

Thank you! I do have a neighborhood cat that rings my door bell when it wants food.... can I get a research grant too? LOL

[@KPassionate]

I actually think bells are a great tool. Especially as an alternative for dogs who like to scratch at a door when they want to go outside.

[@GiovannaIwishyou]

Hahah, I used to feed a cat that would jump to my window and meow each morning at 6:30 to wake me up 😅

[@k.wegner]

I taught my cat to recognize herself in the mirror since she was a baby. I caught her several times looking fascinated at herself when she didn't notice me, so I'm convinced you can teach pets to recognize themselves in mirrors.

[@L.K.Rydens]

I'm a librarian: when you said the study was funded by the button company, I choked on the water I was drinking from laughing so hard and I hadn't even gotten to the marketing bit yet 😂 also it's important to note: one of the reasons researchers don't reveal their studies early is that they don't want to market their research before they are sure of the results (because ethical researchers that can be trusted would have to acknowledge the mistake), and just like with journalism (and not everyone knows this is a real thing in research): they don't want someone to steal their work/results and publish it before them, because good studies with interesting results are marketing both for the researchers involved and the institution(s) they are associated with, and will make it more likely that they get funding for future studies. It's career building for scientists and researchers. If someone else publishes the result, you lose the reward for all your work (which is usually at least months of work, usually years of it) which goes to someone else (proving someone has stolen your research isn't easy), and that also means you have wasted time and funding, which can damage your career (in some context, if you don't achieve what you are supposed to, you actually have to repay the money). So, from a librarian: this isn't a study, and you wouldn't get away with using this as a legitimate source in a basic bachelor degree paper. This is entertainment and product marketing, not research 😊❤️ so do as KP says: sources, sources, sources! Never believe anything until you can confirm the accuracy of the sources, people! 🤗❤️

[@KPassionate]

Oh my gosh yes to all of this!!!! It drives me crazy how little people understand about scientific studies and then come in my comment section saying "you know the dogs are part of a study right?" Ugh

[@L.K.Rydens]

@@KPassionate 100% 😂😂 I spend half of my time online trying to educate people about this (while trying to maintain some degree of sanity at the same time) 😂🫠🫠 it's interesting that they never seem to think of 93% of human communication being non-verbal and only 7% actually using words (unless recent research has changed that, but in that case I haven't seen it, so to anyone who doesn't know about source-checking, also fact-check me! 😂). I always wonder why people spend so much time trying to teach their pets human language, when we can (fairly easily) learn theirs and don't mainly rely on using words ourselves 🤦😅 I haven't worked a lot with wild animals, but I've spent most of my life around domesticated animals and worked with them (especially horses, dogs and bunnies), and I don't need English to communicate with them. Non-verbal communication is also a lot easier 😅 my best friend's cat doesn't use English, but after her mental health went down substantially for a couple of years, his howling (so loudly I hear it over the phone) when it's her bed time (she needs to go to bed at 9 pm to stay healthy) sends a pretty clear message, since he has learnt her behavioural patterns, and his wellbeing is tied to hers 😅 and the reason I "know" this (as far as knowing and understanding animal behavior goes) is because it only started after the mental health issues, it happens every night (during the times she is doing badly, he will attack her until she stops doing whatever she's doing and goes to bed - with an emphasis on him stopping when she does - when she is doing better he just complains - which we can hear on his tone 😂) which means it's not random, he doesn't get anything additional around that time that would motivate him to howl for other reasons, and if she does worse he gets more intense about it again 😂 and when I'm there, even for month-long stays, he never does is to me, and after she's asleep he comes to keep me company without complaint 😂 not a word of English needed 😂 but yes, suggesting they don't know English, that's human supremacy (sarcasm is my coping mechanism) 🙄😅😂

[@manuelsanchez365]

I typically avoid commenting, but in this instance, I believe it merits an exception. The evolution in this trio of videos is evident. The first struck me as overly sensationalist, sparking my skepticism. The second felt more realistic, but it's the third that truly lays the groundwork for effective science communication. I appreciate the inclusion of research references, the honest portrayal of the stance of behavioral scientists in acknowledging the limitations and scope of their studies, and, most importantly, the emphasis on protecting institutions dedicated to scientific inquiry. Nice!

[@KPassionate]

Thanks!

[@MrIzzydoodle]

One of my dogs., would jiggle the loose door knob when he wanted or needed to go outside. Then I lived in a house without a loose door knob, so I would take his paw and hit the springy doorstop when he wanted outside -- he caught on fairly quickly. When I got a second dog, I installed a small bell on the other side of the door in the hopes that one would use it to signal when that one wanted to go outside -- it's been a year, and the second one just barks at me when he needs to go outside. Conditioning, plain and simple -- the first dog is conditioned to hit the doorstop when he wants out; the second dog conditioned me to let it out when it barks at me.

[@OneMadApple]

Yeah, my shorts feed kept pushing this channel on me for some reason, and my BS meter went off immediately, that this dog was just pressing buttons randomly, and editing chicanery and bad acting filled in the rest. If she'd legitimately taught her dog to talk, even in rudimentary phrases, in a way that could be easily proven by letting someone see it happen with no editing or audio tricks, she'd have already been on every crappy morning show out there, every day for the rest of Bunny's life. Don't get me wrong, animals can learn plenty of words if you regularly talk to them like a person. But I'm not going to pretend they can speak back to you as anything other than an exercise in sound mimickry. (Or coincidence, because they have a limited phonetic range, and if your dog is constantly vocalizing through its jowels, everntually somethings' going to sound like "mama" or "ri rove rou," or whatever you're listening for.) If Koko the gorilla could only "speak" if you mimicked the signs at her one by one from behind the camera, and then slap-chop edited them together into sentences, you're not going to convince me a random internet doggo (who only ever seems to do the trick when one or two people with a vested financial interest in their success are watching) is really the first animal in history to figure it out.

[@Jynxedlove]

I trained my dog to "talk" with a sign for "yes" and "no". Theres a handful, maybe 30 or so words he knows and from there I can ask what is bothering him. Its not "talking", he just knows these words are related to different objects and actions and he knows "yes" will get him the thing most of the time.

[@kensmith5694]

My cat quickly learned that the cat in the mirror wasn't real. My sister had a cat that never worked that out. I think the cats and dogs with buttons things are communicating but not the complex things that people claim they are. The animal has mostly learned that this button gets them a treat and that one gets the door open and a third one gets their food and water checked. As what it is, this can be very useful. There may be some more complex things but I doubt it is more than just multiple ideas leading to multiple presses. It is not a sentence in most cases. Dogs can learn "where is X" is different from "go get X" and have X be one of several toys. I don't expect a dog to launch into "To be or not to be...."

[@rzella8022]

Thank you for your actual proofs the buttons were manipulated. I had seen a few of the videos and wasn't sure what to make of them, just thinking a well-trained dog.

[@KPassionate]

She is a very well trained dog. She's absolutely been trained to press the buttons in exchange for a reward like going outside, attention, and even affection. But what she's been trained to do is different than what the videos claim is happening.

[@nicolespeck3254]

To all my treat trainers. Treats are one of many effective tools to Reinforce a desired response. When the association has been made, please remember… You are A slot machine, not an AtM. Sometimes you give verbal praise, or scratch, or a snack. If you’re my young dog and you “leave it” when the neighbor kitty darts through our yard, you might just get a NY strip. 🐶💕 Rely on more than treats for a well balanced and reliable pooch. Then you have trained them before they’ve trained you.

[@SaskiaSketches]

reminds me of Koko the "talking" gorilla

[@KPassionate]

This is my next video!!!

[@SaskiaSketches]

yooooo I'm so excited!!! can't wait to hear your take@@KPassionate

[@TheCrosshare]

From watching the video, there's also the chance that all the buttons have the same sound in them. It certainly looks like the one button Bunny presses says "who this", and the lady then only presses one button and the sound plays "who this"(same soundclip) before the second one is even pressed. That being said: Even IF we give all the benefit of doubt to this, and say bunny pressed "who this" and looked in the mirror, then that should be repeatable, or any of her behaviour should be. Even 3 buttons could prove this by repetition.

[@John_Weiss]

2:30 Umm… _why_ are the "who" and "this" buttons both next to each other, and _next to the mirror?_ You could put a doggie treat behind the mirror, and a dog will be statisticially likely to randomly step on the "this" and "who" buttons while walking over to the mirror. Place the "this" button closer to the mirror, and you'll even get them stepped on in the right order.

[@KPassionate]

Also true 😂

[@THEPAISLEYBLACKQUEEN]

@@KPassionate U R JEALOUS OF A DOG

[@stacypalermo3506]

My Catahoula that I lost in June of last year would use mirrors to watch me. She would lay where she could see me if I moved around the house. When I would go into one bathroom she would sit up in her spot and I could see her watching me in the mirror. The other bathroom she could see me from her spot on the bed or she would just lay in the bathroom. As smart as she was to use the mirrors to keep an eye on me she was trained to “find me” anyway she could. She would go play on the beach or fields and I would see her look for me and then go back to playing. Maybe she thought I was just in the mirror 🤷🏻‍♀️ who knows. It was still a cool party trick when we had friends over 😂

[@anna9072]

I was briefly associated with a miniature American Eskimo. She happened to be out for a ride with me one day, and I’d left her in the car to go do something. I returned to the car from behind, and as I approached I could see her sitting in the driver’s seat, relaxed, looking around, and then she caught my reflection in the side mirror. Her mouth snapped shut, her ears came to full alert, and she stared at the reflection for a moment, then whipped her head around and looked at me walking up towards the car, and then back at the reflection. You could practically see the gears stripping out in her little brain. One of the funniest things I’ve seen in my life.

[@StopProject2025]

I like the idea of animals having an ouch button to tell us they are in pain, but i don’t think we should necessarily assume they can create phrases.

[@UndergroundHound]

Another thing that you see hapoen a lot, is that bunny just walks over buttons and somehow presses just the right button.

[@curiousnerdkitteh]

Apparently every pet owner is a language AND cognition expert.

[@vanessarae4746]

Thanks for substantiating what i saw with my own eyes with your professional background and life experience.

[@weaviejeebies]

I think it does our animal friends a great disservice to expect human cognitive experiences and human consciousness when dog cognition and consciousness (and walrus, cat, bird etc) is a beautiful thing in itself. They don't need to speak English and think like us. Then, in pursuit of our priorities, all their other uniqueness takes a back seat or even becomes a barrier to our acceptance of them. They communicate their feelings, needs, and intentions just fine already. This idea that now animals can and should speak our language and process thought the way we do is frankly frivolous and selfish, food for a child's loving imagination, not grown adults. Also...As a self-aware talking human with ADHD, I can absolutely confirm that responding to every novel stimulus IS a maladaptive waste of personal resources.😅

[@h.calvert3165]

Looks to me like the "who" & "this" buttons are side by side, so Bunny could have pressed both simultaneously. 🤔

[@KPassionate]

Feel free to slow it down and watch it yourself. One button is pressed. Sorry

[@Camilou2]

I just started my dog on the buttons a few weeks ago. He definitely understands simple words such as play and outside. The best way to judge if this works would be doing it on your own with a dog or cat or watch someone demonstrate this in Person. I don’t think it’s fair to analyze whether a technique works or not based on watching a few videos and researching the concept. Educate yourself 😊

[@KPassionate]

Sorry. It is all a scam.

[@Camilou2]

One thing I will agree with you on is that I don’t know if Bunny can use all the words that her owner believes. But there are thousands of KZbin videos demonstrating the authenticity of the buttons and I’m seeing it working with my own dog. 😊

[@KPassionate]

@Camilou2 simple word associations is one thing. Stringing multiple words together is not possible. And it is far more effective to just learn how to understand your dog rather than try to force them to become human. I recommend Karen Pryor’s “Don’t shoot the dog"

[@sarahfox2644]

Anyone with a psychology degree (or education degree - considering I have both) will know exactly what you mean by the mirror test

[@bearivermedia]

I think you're right, I've been watching different 'talking button' videos for dogs and cats, and almost all of them seemed straight forward responses, that is, cause and effect, much the same as if a person was talking to them. I had two cats for almost 20 years and could get a good feeling about what they needed; when one cat died the other cat needed to look into every cabinet and high shelf to see if Boris was there. And when he found he wasn't there, could relax somewhat, so I know animals have layers and can grasp time when they are left alone, but Bunny fascinated me because of the 'sideways' aspect in how the dog communicated, like it was struggling to ''learn' but what you described makes more sense in a spiritual way too. Animals can talk, no doubt about it, and they are part of a group soul, but I do not believe God would give them a kind of self awareness that would become torture to them, it's tough enough being a sentient being. And so thank you for going out on a limb and addressing an aspect I didn't even consider. It needed to be done. That mirror was a set up, and if that was set up it puts the rest in doubt as well. Thanks!

[@r.b.8061]

You are right, the talking dog is too curated. It is not a scientific experiment, it is more content for people who like that dogs maybe could speak 🐶

[@akwaabab8504]

i appreciate your videos because they make sense!

[@PrettySure-jq5jn]

My dog definitely knows a range of words, but I'm not sure that any dog is capable of comprehending abstract concepts.

[@kerrzai]

The greatest truth about all of this is that Bunny is not having a crisis

[@screamo4211]

i just hope the dog is not really on medication because of this nonsense like they claim. that’s messed up.

[@KPassionate]

Bunny's owners have confirmed that Bunny is on Prozac. Originally, they said it was because of an existential crisis after supposedly realizing she was a dog. But that video has been deleted, and they've clarified that Bunny has generalized anxiety. But yes, my biggest problem with these videos is that people believe they are real and are making medical decisions for their animals based on the buttons.

[@Paravetje]

Bunny doesn't even press the "this" button, but the one next to it, it looks like.

[@CatherineSTodd]

BUSTED! Thanks, @KPassionate, for posting the factual truth.

[@matreyia]

Yeah, so much fake stuff online it's absurd. Man, the things people do to get attention or make money. TIk Tok is the absolute worst.

[@JeremyTheOtter]

Great video. I hate how much information and access people have in today’s day and age and yet are so quick to believe something with pretty obvious indicators of manipulation and manufacturing of lies for personal gain. You did a great service here.

[@iole96792]

I have a mirror hanging low specifically for my dogs to look into. They do look at themselves often. I don't have buttons so I don't know what their thoughts are but they are definitely recognizing themselves and not seeing "another dog".

[@geoffstockton]

If you have worked with Seals, in my book, you are pretty much a dog expert as I consider seals to be ocean dogs.

[@KPassionate]

Sea doggos!

[@petrairene]

Bunny steps onto the buttons too randomly, hardly looking at them. Which gives me the impression she is just pressing any button to gain attention from her owner. Plus, Bunny wasn't filmed all day long where we get to see her attempts when she produced gibberish. There was a real scientific study where they taught horses to point their nose at two diferent signs when they either were cold and wanted a blanket to be put on or the blanket to be removed because they were too warm.

[@jonservo]

I don’t believe any animals in these videos understand truly what they are doing, but I never underestimate any creature’s ability to learn how to get what they want be it food or attention. Especially when it comes to animals that use vocalizations to communicate, I think they have an ability to learn certain sounds relate to certain outcomes. However, there is a big difference between awareness and complex thought of abstract ideas, and knowing hearing the noise “treat” means something good is coming. I tend to agree with those that believe 80-90% of the meaning instilled in these button pressing videos are put there by the people in them. We love to find patterns and want to believe we can talk with our pets or animals. This leads to a heavy confirmation bias and most objectivity is out the window. I watched a video discussing why most of the ape language studies don’t stand up to peer review and the conclusion at the end was, in my opinion, insightful. Though it seems animals do not think or understand our language like many want them to, this doesn’t mean that they don’t have their own type of understanding and way of communicating, done from their frame of reference. Instead of always trying to get an animal to communicate like we do, we should apply ourselves to understanding and communicating with them on their level.

[@pong9000]

The reward Bunny is trained with is less obvious - because her "treat" is getting to empty her bladder. It's a form of punishment conditioning: increasing discomfort until she correctly performs the trick.

[@magical762]

Thank you so much for this video, I was skeptical of it but I was worried when i saw some people talking about how the dog became self aware and that led to him being depressed and stuff, it made me so sad even though I didn’t believe it, now I’m glad I found your video.

[@darlamartin8486]

Thank you, that was a very good report video. Learn something new every day! 🐕

[@embfixer]

I've got pretty good communication skills with my dog, but none of its verbal per say. She response to certain words or phrases, but only if they are said in a particular cadence or with a particular action. I can ask her if she wants to go outside in a monotone way and get no response. If I say it the way I normally would, she jumps up and heads to the door, but more importantly, I can give her a head nod towards the door with no verbal communication and she gets up and heads to the door. When she wants out she stands in front of me a stairs eyes wide open, if she wants attention she squints a bit and if she wants to be picked up she stands on her hind legs. When she is hungry she paws my leg while standing in front of me and if she needs water she pushes the bowl around. The funniest ones are when she want pets. Head and ear scratches is multiple paw taps and for belly rubs she simple gets in my lap and rolls over. I think she understands her name(s), but its more tone then words. Her name is Olympia, I also call her "Little Wolf" or I have a particular whistle (musically it's c--gg---e-- in a cadence that sounds like Olympia), she response to the whistle better then words. She responds to tone while using either name. If I say her name in a monotone voice she ignores it, but if i am very animated its like another dog barking, she response quickly and come back towards me or at least looks at me. She likes to ride in the car and when I grab a set of keys she comes running, but if we have grocery bags to go to the store or I have my work uniform on, she stops and sits down. Otherwise she is pushing at the door wanting to go. She also communicates with time. Not sure how dogs understand time, but she has a schedule, knows our schedule and has expectations and behaviors based on that. She knows when I leave and get back from work, or when its lunch time or when I normally wake up. If the action that normally happen at those times are not met, she offers subtle reminders by pacing or scratching at doors etc. I guess my point is, we can communicate quite a bit with each other, but I have to understand how she communicates and we train each other. My wife has her own communication with her that is different from mine, but they seem to understand each other. I think a dog can learn buttons, but I would guess that its the position, cadence and reaction that they are learning and not the words themselves. I am sure I can get mine to push a button when she needs water instead of pushing the bowl around, but she isn't learning a the word water, she is learning how to make me do something and I can change the word everyday as long as I get her water. Just like I can call my dog multiple names as long as I use the proper force or sharpness when I use it, I get the same results no matter what I call her.

[@mbagirl9567]

I have 3 dogs. I learned their personalities, behaviors, and different barks and other sounds. They communicate with me just fine without word buttons. Is it riveting long conversations? Absolutely not. Do I get what they need or want most of the time? Yup. It’s being an engaged pet parent.

[@Iflie]

My cats ignore mirrors and often refuse t look at them. One of my cats was sitting in front of one when we made eye contact in the mirror and he saw I woke up and turned around right away to interact. He' just used the reflection to notice something, he doesn't care if it's him or not in the mirror because he doesn't get anything from that. It's lik a tv to them, they don't care.