Talk to Your Dog and Have Him Talk Back!

One professor in Arizona thinks we are only 10 years from the technology to make that happen!  Con Slobodchikoff (that's a mouth full!),  a professor at Northern Arizona University, has been working on a device that can interpret prairie dog barks, and translate them into English.  He thinks technology should reach a point in the next 10 years where we will be able to interpret what other animals are saying.... including farm animals, wild animals, and even cats and dogs. He hopes this technology will enable us to save animals lives!  He said:

"Four million dogs are euthanized every year because of behavioral problems.  Most problems are because of the lack of communication between animal and human. If we had the chance to talk back and forth, the dog could say, 'You're scaring me.'  And you could say, 'Well, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I was scaring you.  I'll give you more space."

It's so neat that I ran across this story today. Just yesterday, my 1 year old Shihtzu, Sky, wanted me to pick her up. I have a habit of holding her like a little kid, her head up and she kind of sits on my arm. Her face was so full of emotion and her eyes seemed so full of knowledge it struck me that she is an intelligent species, I just don't know her language.  It made me see my pets differently. Don't think I'm crazy, but I kind of saw them as little human beings, with souls and feelings! By the way, that pic up top is my oldest dog child, Lucy. She is 8. :)

Do you agree with Professor long name? Do you think we will ever be able to communicate with animals (better than we do now?)

Happy Thursday!

Kendra

P.S. Don't forget to vote for Texarkana, TEXAS to win $100,000 for their very own dogpark. You can vote on Facebook (search for Petsmart) or go to www.petsafe.com to vote! Thanks!