American Boys Hate To Lose

This speech-language pathologist taught her dog 29 words, and he can even form full sentences.

They do understand our words. This is not true of all domesticated animals (horses, for example, can only manage to distinguish a relatively small number of spoken commands…but boy do they know what you’re really saying).

They don’t understand “just your tone of voice” as a lot of people think.

As of 2016 the record vocabulary for a dog demonstrating understanding of words is over 1,000.

So if you give them a way to talk back, they’re going to use it.

The development of language skills is probably a side effect of domestication and of being kept in close contact with humans. A dog that was a better hunting partner would be kept and bred and over time they developed a better understanding of language.

In other words, dogs are pretty dang smart because we need them to understand us.

Check out the owner Christina’s Instagram: one of the first things I saw was a video where the dog started barking and, when prompted by the owner, said “outside, look look look look look look look, come outside.” Which is basically exactly how one would expect a dog to speak. 

The owner described bringing an unknown package into the house, and the dog ran away to push the buttons for “help no no help help” which is also about what I expect goes on in a scared pup’s mind.

In another video, the dog tried to push a button, and the button wasn’t working. The dog paused and then pushed the buttons for “No. Help.” 

In yet another (which the owner seemed impressed by), Stella said “come eat come play.” The owner asked the dog which she wanted to do, to eat or to play? And the dog clarified “come eat.” After eating, then the dog tried to instigate play. So the dog may have been able to understand a short spoken question, and how “questions and answers” work, and also understands sequences, even if she can’t express them (”I want to eat, THEN I want to play”)

Stella can even recount short-term memories, like when her family returned from the beach for dinner and she said “water good, no eat, play”

By the way, the owner uses the buttons as well, which probably really helps reinforce their meaning. She uses them to say things like “Stella all done eat” or “Stella and Christina go outside, bye!”

Me, about to go on a serious reblogging spree:

There are really like 5 levels. CANNOT SURVIVE, CANNOT THRIVE, CAN THRIVE, CANNOT THRIVE WILD, and SHITTY PETKEEPER.

You’re generally upset at the first, second, and last one. We all are, if we’re like, sane.

Cannot survive are animals that are wild and literally cannot survive in captivity. They MUST be wild.

Animals like:

The Great White Shark, the Blind Snake, and the Vaquita. All of these animals become very ill or die within hours to months of captivity. They cannot survive long term.

Next is CANNOT THRIVE. Animals that have much too large space requirements, social requirements, or enrichment needs cannot thrive in captivity. Like:

Orca, Dolphins, Elephants (both African and Asian), and big cats. These guys often exhibit stereotypical behaviors in captivity settings. Most have shortened life spans, increased aggression, or social misunderstandings. Their needs can’t be met. A whales or elephants need for a large, uninterrupted family that hunts and travels together isn’t going to work in a tank or pen. They’re too complex to me kept correctly and ethically.

Next is CAN THRIVE. These guys are great! They can have all of their needs met and often have lengthened lifespans in captivity. They do not display stereotypical behaviors and are interested and active in their environment to the degree the animal needs. A bonus is these cuties are also often endangered species and receive a bolster from captive breeding. Yay! Animals like!:

Scimitar Horned Orxy, most hoofstock, most lizards, most snakes, clownfish, wild betta, gourami, a lot of fish, and some smaller songbirds! They can reproduce, thrive, interact, and be healthy in captivity in the correct setting.

CANNOT THRIVE WILD animals are domestics! They’ve been bred and adapted to life with human beings. Animals like:

Pigeons, reindeer, cattle, dogs, cats, betta splendens! These guys are hardwired to thrive with human beings. Feral pigeons do much better in captive care than in the wild. They often starve in cities and produce that acidy poo, which doesn’t happen to a healthy pigeon in captivity. They cannot and should not be released into the wild.

SHITTY PET OWNERS. Yeah. Those assholes, or those uneducated newbies (or oldies) that haven’t done research on the animal’s needs. Animals like:

Ball pythons, betta splendens, hamsters, mice… really anything, can be abused in captivity. While domestic (or occasionally exotic), they do not have their needs met. Sometimes the needs are laughably easy and sometimes incredibly difficult! The animal can survive and thrive in captivity under the correct care, but correct care must be given.