Can dogs communicate using buttons? Here's what researchers have to say (video).

The dog Bunny and her soundboard with buttons became a viral sensation on TikTok during the pandemic in 2020. In the videos, the shepherd presses buttons related to play, the outdoors, or poop, while her human owner and trainer responds to her requests, engaging in a manner reminiscent of a two-way conversation.

Scientists have been investigating whether Bunny and similar dogs press buttons to communicate with their humans, or if people are simply projecting their desires onto the dogs. This is discussed in an article by popsci.

At times, Bunny's button presses are straightforward: she asks for attention or a walk. However, in other instances, they seem to lean towards abstract and concerning topics, such as when the dog appears to interrogate her own reflection.

Early scientific assessments may disappoint skeptics. According to a study published in December in the journal Scientific Reports, dogs use button boards intentionally and in ways that differ from their owners.

The research also indicates that certain combinations of two-word buttons may not be random, and that dogs can intentionally link together short phrases.

"They are asking for things that make sense for dogs; it's not just matching training, and the combinations are not random," says Federico Rossano, the senior author of the study and an associate professor of cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego, where he leads the Comparative Cognition Lab.

So far, this is the second peer-reviewed empirical study of dogs using a soundboard published by Rossano's lab. The first, released in August, established that dogs seem to understand and respond to sound signals from the button panel, indicating comprehension. The new study builds on this, demonstrating that dogs have flexible control over their button presses.

"The fact that [multi-button sequences are rare] calls for further research," he says.

The new study is somewhat unique as it shows that dogs can not only understand us but can also utilize our communicative signals in response.

Rossano's lab turned to citizen science, relying on dog owners who trained their pets to use the buttons. They recruited participants online and asked people to report each time they or their dog pressed a button.

The study analyzed data from 152 dogs, each of which interacted with their soundboard at least 200 times over 21 months. In total, 194,901 cases of button presses by dogs were evaluated, of which 56,676 were multi-button combinations. Additionally, there were 65,682 instances of button presses by humans during event modeling or training sessions.

The button names were standardized by categories, such as "food," consisting of specific phrases like "piece" or "dinner." The researchers statistically compared how dogs used the buttons to how humans did.

They found that the number of button presses varied significantly from dog to dog. The median number of presses was 10.9 per day, but the highest individual average was 90 daily presses, while some dogs pressed buttons once a day or less. Nevertheless, despite the differences, clear trends emerged.

The majority of dogs pressed buttons related to their daily activities and needs, such as in the categories of "food," "play," "go outside," or "potty." Common combinations created by dogs that occurred more frequently included variations of "food" + "treat" and "own name" + "want." In contrast, humans tended to press button combinations indicating "love" or "later" more often than their canine counterparts.

"This confirms what I already believed to be true," says Amrita Mallikardjhun, a cognitive science researcher focused on dogs at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. "It makes perfect sense that if a dog presses a button and I then do something they like, they will press that button again."

Mallikardjhun emphasizes that dogs likely do not interpret buttons in the same way humans do. For instance, for a dog, the button "ball" may be associated with what their person does in response to pressing that button—not necessarily with the ball itself. Through reinforcement and response, humans teach their pets to link specific buttons and sounds with desired outcomes.

She agrees that the study convincingly demonstrates that dogs press buttons not randomly, but intentionally. "We and dogs have evolved together over thousands of years to communicate with each other. So, the idea that dogs use any tools we give them to communicate with us makes sense," she adds.

Currently, the project includes 10,000 self-registered participants, making the study with 152 dogs "a tiny fraction of the data we are collecting," says Rossano.

Researchers are currently evaluating how dogs use the "help" button and interact with less specific concepts. They are also trying to understand why some dogs interact with buttons more than others. Early data suggests that it may not be breed, extroversion, or cognitive abilities, but rather anxiety levels that motivate a dog to use the soundboard.

"Those who tend to be a bit anxious may view this device as a way to gain more control over their environment and receive some reassurance from people about what is happening," asserts Rossano.

Furthermore, researchers aim to assess longer word combinations, whether dogs report on objects invisible to them, how they interpret buttons related to time, and if dogs can combine different buttons to convey new meanings. The last point touches on the classic edge of human language ability.

When faced with a forgotten or unknown word, people will mix phrases to convey their thoughts. Perhaps some dogs do the same. Rossano mentions having seen footage of a dog pressing the buttons "squeaker" and "car" in response to a passing ambulance outside.

Another dog pressed the buttons "water" and "outside" when its "beach" button, which it was used to, was taken away. Yet another dog seemingly created the phrase "water" + "bone," which its owner interpreted as ice.

"This device may help us, as scientists, find evidence that dogs can think about things we didn't know they were capable of," says Rossano. "Perhaps it will allow us to see abilities we were unaware of."

Previously, we reported that a humpback whale male crossed three oceans for sex. He broke the species record by swimming over 13,000 kilometers. Along the way, he likely mated with various females from other populations.