The Dog That Talks Back [This is a Must Follow!!]

Hey everyone! I found this really cool Instagram account called @hunger4words and I wanted to share! The account is run by Christine Hunger, a speech pathologist who has discovered that dogs can actually… talk? Combining her interests in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), animal psychology, and her love of dogs, Christine has used her platform to show how dogs can actually have a voice.

She lives in San Diego with her dog Stella, who is the star of the show! Christine created a button-speaking device that Stella can press with her paw to communicate. There are a variety of buttons that make different words when they’re pressed, like “outside,” “eat,” “mad,” “happy,” and more. Stella is a two-year-old Catahoula/Blue Heeler mix and is the absolute cutest! It’s amazing how smart she is for being so young, too!

Below I’ve compiled some of my favorite videos from @hunger4words to show you how amazing Christine’s work is and how dogs can actually talk! Do you think your dog could do this?

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• As a speech therapist, I love watching a child’s language develop to the point where the child and parent can have a functional conversation together. • It’s a speech therapy dream come true for me to watch this same process happen with Jake and Stella! Stella makes the most progress when both Jake and I are consistent in how we talk to Stella, model language, give wait time, follow her lead, and respond to her messages. • In this video, you’ll see Jake‘s excellent example of responding to both Stella’s words and gestures, following her lead, and giving Stella wait time to form a response. • Stella requested to leave then eat, answered Jake’s question, expressed that she was happy, gestured to be scratched, commented “good” after Jake scratched her, and reaffirmed her initial request to go outside. That’s a whole lot of communication for one smart little dog! 💥💥

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Apr 14, 2020 at 11:40am PDT

In this video, Stella has a clear conversation with Christine’s partner, Jake, to tell him she wants to go outside!

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One of the hardest parts about teaching language is knowing when to be quiet! Modeling language is extremely important, but we also need to give the learner time to process what we said, think of a response, and generate a message. • In this video, I took Stella’s bed off of her board and modeled “Bed off.” Stella responded “Yes. Park want.” I told Stella it was too late to go to the park, but asked if she wanted to go for a walk instead. After the last time I asked her, I waited over 20 seconds before Stella answered, “Yes want outside.” • During those 20 seconds I almost jumped down from my stool a few times to model “yes” and “no” as examples for what she could say. I’m so glad I waited and saw that Stella could form her own response without my help! 🐶✨

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Apr 7, 2020 at 2:19pm PDT

In this video, Stella tells her mom that she wants to go to the park! Christine responds saying that it’s a little late to go to the park, but that they could go for a walk instead. Watch the whole video to see Stella’s response!

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This morning while I was working at home, Stella alertedly stood in front of me, whined, and wagged her tail. I could tell she was upset so I asked, “Stella what’s wrong?” Stella walked to her device, said “mad,” and let out her frustrated little bark. • I carried on the conversation by asking, “Why are you mad?” It’s raining today so I thought she was wanting to play outside more since she didn’t get to stay out as long as usual. Or I thought she might’ve wanted the blanket I was using. But Stella surprised me and responded, “Stella eat eat eat.” Since I didn’t leave for the day like usual, she didn’t get her typical morning snack. I’ve found that Stella often repeats words during her emotionally charged times. This reminds me of how we all change our tone of voice when we’re upset. • I gave Stella a treat like I would’ve if I left, and then she laid down and fell asleep. I wasn’t understanding Stella’s whining, so she wasn’t getting her needs met. I’m so grateful that Stella was able to tell me in a different way exactly what she needed at the time.

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Mar 13, 2020 at 11:36am PDT

This video is so cool! Stella is clearly upset and is whining and the start of the video, and then tells Christine that she is “mad” using the button-speaking device that Christine has for her.

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Like many dogs, Stella is a very routine-based creature. She thrives when she knows what’s happening next. I know Stella pays attention to the overall routines of the day, but sometimes Stella‘s recognition of the details within our routines still astounds me. • In the evenings when Stella and I come inside after playing at the beach or park, I always put Stella’s Chuckit back on top of the refrigerator, then feed Stella her dinner. • The other day when we came inside from playing, I set her Chuckit on the floor momentarily while I took off my coat and sandy shoes. Stella said, “Now ball, ball now, no.” She then looked up at me, and stared down at the Chuckit. I love how Stella added a gesture after her words to make sure I knew what she was talking about. • After I placed the Chuckit back on the fridge, Stella walked over to her device and said, “Eat.” It wasn’t until Stella said “Eat” that I realized the significance of this communication event. Stella wanted me to start the process of putting her ball away because she has learned that eating comes next. • Stella constantly observes her environment and talks throughout our routine activities. She pays attention to so much more than I still can realize…🐶🧠💫 • #hunger4words

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Jan 27, 2020 at 7:18am PST

Dogs are routine creatures (just like humans) and this video clearly demonstrates that! It’s crazy to me how similar we are to dogs, more than we think we are!

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Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to 2020 as much as I am 🎉 Last year on New Year’s Day I was just starting to brainstorm how to put Stella’s 9 buttons together on one board. I can’t believe how far we’ve come in just one year! • This video is a great example of what happens when Stella asks for something that I can’t give her immediately. Yesterday Stella said “Come eat” around 3:45 PM. Typically we feed Stella around 5:00, so I replied by saying she would “eat later.” • When I didn’t feed her, Stella asked to eat again by saying, “Eat come come.” She even emphasized her message by saying “come” twice! • This time I responded both verbally and with her buttons to say “eat later.” Stella then moved on to playing with her ball on the couch instead. • Stella has learned the concept of “later” through so many situations just like this one! #hunger4words

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Jan 1, 2020 at 4:41pm PST

This video shows Stella learning the concept of “later.” It’s so amazing to see how dogs learn!

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Stella uses language differently when she’s in a heightened state versus when she’s calm! • Today when she heard some noises outside and wanted to go investigate, I told her we were staying inside. • Stella responded by saying, “Look” 9 TIMES IN A ROW, then “Come outside.” She was clearly in a more frantic state, and her language use matched that. We all sound differently than normal when we’re in distress, Stella included! • I’m impressed that Stella is communicating with language during her more heightened states, not just when she’s calm and in a quiet space. This shows me that words are becoming more automatic for her to use. It’s similar to when a toddler starts using language to express himself during times of frustration instead of only crying. That happens when it’s easy for the toddler to say words, not when he’s still learning and it takes a lot of focus to talk 🧠🗣 • • • • • #hunger4words #stellathetalkingdog #slpsofinstagram #speechtherapy #AAC #ashaigers #slp #corewords #SLPeeps #slp2be #earlyintervention #languagedevelopment #dogsofinstagram #dogmom #doglife #dogs #guarddog #animalpsychology #doglover #dogvideos #sandiegodog #catahoula #blueheeler #smartdog #dogcommunication #mydogtalks #animalcommunication #interspeciescommunication #loveanimals

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Nov 1, 2019 at 1:14pm PDT

One of Christine’s most viewed videos, Stella frantically tries to alert her owner that she hears something outside and wants Christine to look. This video clearly shows that Stella can communicate both when she feels frantic or upset but also when she’s calm and quiet.

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Last night, right before this video was taken, I accidentally said “ball” on Stella’s device while I was actually reaching for a different word. But, Stella took this very seriously! She picked up her ball, dropped it on her device, and said “Good” (Translation: Good idea, Mom!) • I started recording right after she said “Good” and caught the rest of her thought: “Happy ball want outside!” • Like all AAC users, Stella thrives when we talk to her using her device and say words that she loves. She never needs to know it was on accident! 😉 • • • • • #hunger4words #stellathetalkingdog #slpsofinstagram #speechtherapy #AAC #ashaigers #slp #corewords #SLPeeps #slp2be #aacawarenessmonth #earlyintervention #languagedevelopment #dogsofinstagram #dogmom #doglife #dogs #animalpsychology #doglover #dogvideos #sandiegodog #catahoula #blueheeler #smartdog #dogcommunication #mydogtalks #animalcommunication #interspeciescommunication #loveanimals

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on Oct 30, 2019 at 10:09am PDT

This last video I’d like to share shows Stella being happy and how she wants to go outside and play with her ball. She only uses a few words on her device but is still able to convey what she wants, which is amazing!