Video: Dog Learns to ‘Speak’ More Than 40 Words. Photo and video: Instagram @whataboutbunny
What if your dog could tell you what it wants? That’s exactly what Bunny, an 11-month-old pup, is learning from his owner, Alexis Devine.
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The Sheepadoodle has already learned more complex commands than the usual “sit” and “stay.” Using communication devices, Bunny has mastered over 40 words.
The devices used in Bunny’s training are typically employed to help people with verbal communication challenges. Each button plays a word or phrase when pressed, allowing the dog to form ideas by pressing multiple buttons in sequence.
Bunny became a viral sensation on TikTok after Alexis Devine, who lives in Tacoma, Washington, started sharing videos of her dog learning to “speak.” Bunny now has over 2 million followers on his Instagram account, with his videos racking up thousands of views.
Alexis, who initially began training Bunny for fun, was inspired by Christina Hunger, a pediatric speech-language pathologist who trained her own dog using buttons. Hunger noticed that eye contact, vocalizations, and gestures from the dog resembled the ways children communicate before they learn to speak.
Many people, including Alexis herself, wonder how effective the devices truly are. “I don’t know if this is real. I’d say I’m a hopeful skeptic,” Alexis told Today from NBC. “I think it would be irresponsible not to be skeptical. Especially now that so many people are following our journey, I just want to be as transparent as possible.”
Photo and video: Instagram @whataboutbunny. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
