If you are a fan of Sci-Fi movies, you must have seen one that shows animals slowly progressing and taking over the world.
Not to scare you right away, we haven’t found (yet) such an animal, but the dog from today’s story is certainly on the right track.
This uncanny canine didn’t get the title, “talking dog”, for nothing, given that her abilities are beyond the scope of standard.
And, her mom, who helped her get to that level, made sure that all of us mere mortals see what her pup is capable of.
“Talking Dog” Video Went Viral
From artificial intelligence to futuristic robots, 21st-century technology knows no bounds.
However, we would bet that you have not yet seen a dog that communicates with its owner with ease on a daily basis.
We will not exaggerate and say that Copper, a 3-year-old red fox Labrador Retriever, just opened her mouth and suddenly spoke like a real human being.
Nevertheless, the fact that her owner, Tia Herrel, a speech pathologist from California, can successfully communicate with her with the help of augmentative and alternative communication methods is impressive enough.
It is an automated method that does not include speech in communication, but for which, the means of communication is the so-called “Risk” game-esque motherboard.
In a viral TikTok video with an astronomical number of views, this intelligent dog demonstrates it.
Copper used her buttons to show she was concerned moments after Tia was coughing. The clip shows Copper using a button that shouts ‘Worried’, to which Tia uses a button that says ‘Why’.
Copper moves to another button and says ‘Mommy’. Tia says: “You’re worried about Mommy?’ and taps the buttons for ‘Why? Worried. Mommy.’
To answer this question, clever Copper clicks the button “Sound” and Tia immediately realizes that she is concerned about her coughing. She quickly taps the button for ‘Ouch’, but assures Copper that mommy is fine.
We don’t know about you, but we’ve agreed that Copper is the Einstein of dogs, although some would say, given the way she communicates, that she’s Stephen Hawking. However, her mother did not fully agree.
“I would say that Copper is the ordinary dog that is just extremely emotionally intelligent,” she said in an interview with the New York Post.
Took Her First “Talking Steps” When She Was A Puppy
Tia didn’t immediately create the TikTok account, @thechattylab. It was actually a long learning process that brought Copper to this level.
She explained that she read about a fellow speech pathologist using this communication method with her pet and decided to follow suit by ordering recordable buttons and building a talking board.
“Copper started with buttons when she was four months old and it really helped her with potty training,” Tia told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “She took to it very quickly and started using the buttons the first week.”
She also said that since then, Copper has learned to use the buttons to request different toys, ask where family members are, ask for a treat, tell how she’s feeling, tell someone if she’s worried, ask to go for a ride, ask where her human sister, Savannah, is, and more.
As time passed, her personality changed, and Tia could notice it better than most owners since she could communicate with Copper.
“When she was younger, she talked about her toys and playing a lot of the time. Now she talks way more about her family and how she feels. I think that Copper is very emotional and loves her family immensely.” Tia said.
Followers Were Shocked, But Impressed
The aforementioned video is certainly not the only one that Tia has shared with her followers on TikTok. Numerous other videos in which she communicates with her dog impressed many people and caused numerous reactions.
Viewers were flabbergasted at her ability to communicate, with one fan writing, “This is amazing! How clever and beautiful is your dog.”
The other one added: “Animals are SO much smarter than people realize. This is amazing!”
A third quipped, “A dog can know as many words as a 3-year-old human … Idk about you but 3-year-olds are know-it-alls.”
However, not everyone was so impressed with this chatty dog. Some viewers attributed the dog’s so-called “talking” to a case of extreme anthropomorphization.
We could also hear the opinions of experts, such as Sarah-Elizabeth Byosiere, director of the Thinking Dog Center at Hunter College. She told the Washington Post that she believes “our dogs have been ‘talking’ to us this whole time, but we just haven’t been ‘listening.”
Be that as it may, Copper has certainly demonstrated her oratorical skills in front of a large audience. We are definitely looking forward to new scientific discoveries that will (maybe) allow us to one day hear our best canine friend asking us “How are you?”
Who knows? We have certainly been living in the “Brave New World” for a long time.