Teach Your Dog to Speak: It's Easy!
How many times have you said about your dog “he can do everything except speak” or “if only he could speak”? Well, that time has come, so be careful if your friend asks you for something and you joke saying you will tell him when dogs speak. That moment might be a lot closer than you think.
There are so many new ways to help your dog speak. Do you want to know what they are?
How to teach your dog to speak
On extreme occasions like rescues, fires and search for people, it would be very useful for dogs to communicate in a more concise way with humans. That’s why Jackson, an adjunct professor at the Institute of Technology in Georgia, has created the following invention.
What does it consist of? Jackson invented vests for dogs to wear that can transmit audible sounds that are sent to a smartphone thanks to sensors that are installed.
This invention is part of the FIDO (facilitating the interaction of dogs with occupations) program and is sponsored by DARPA, from the United States, as well as by the National Science Foundation.
Sky is Professor Jackson’s dog. He played a crucial role in making the invention function properly, since he had the ability to “say” what failed and what worked perfectly.
How the invention to make your dog speak works
As we have mentioned before, the vest has sensors that the dog activates by biting, licking, or with his nose. These allow him to “talk” by answering questions. Jackson’s goal is to use them in police dog bomb detectors, so that, through the sensors, they can tell their masters whether or not something is an explosive and what kind of explosive it is.
According to Jackson, “bomb-detecting dogs have the capacity, as they are prepared for it, to find bombs and explosives, and they also know what kind of explosives they find. The problem is that they have no way of explaining that to their owners. ” That’s why Jackson is completely convinced that her invention could save many lives and make things easier for those who risk their lives daily to save others.
At the moment this invention has commercial purposes for professional use.
How to teach your dog to speak at home
This invention may take several years to become a part of our lives. However, what if you have the urge to teach your dog to talk now? You can do it at home in a simple way. Of course, don’t expect to see your dog reading a book while reciting poetry or singing for Camilo Sexto.
However, you can get your dog to bark when you want him to, or even answer your questions by barking.
Barking on command
The challenge will be to get the dog to bark when you want him to and to be silent at your command. To achieve this, there are several things you can do:
- Reward him. Positive reinforcement is the best way to teach him. Use prizes to reward his achievements.
- Use a clicker. This teaches your dog that he has done something right.
- Pick a name for the command. This should be short and have the vowel “a”, because it is easier for them to learn. So use speak or speak for when you want to barks.
- Eliminate the reward. Little by little you should stop giving awards, because you’ve got what you wanted. The awards were only a means to achieve your goal.
Be silent on command
Once your dog already knows how to talk, now you must teach him to be silent:
- Make him bark and then tell him to be quiet.
- Give the command a short name, for example, “quiet”.
- Once he does it at home, practice with him in a park where there are more distractions. Don’t forget to bring prizes.