Can This Dog Read?

November 4, 2009 · Print This Article

dog readingAccording to an article in the October 12th issue of People magazine,  a 12-year old English terrier mix has been taught to read!

To win a bet with a friend, Manhattan dog trainer Lyssa Howells worked with Willow for 6 weeks, and got the dog to react appropriated to commands written on posterboard.  The dog can wave and sit-up, as well as my favorite, roll over and play dead when a sign is held up saying “Bang”.

Experts say the dog is not capable of reading, as you or I would experience it, but is rather learning to relate the shape of the letters drawn on the posterboard to a specific action.  Really, this is the same as teaching a dog to respond to hand signals.  I guess theoretically, you could write anything on the card and teach the dog to sit when he sees that combination of shapes.

Until next time,

Good day, and good dog!

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One Response to “Can This Dog Read?”

  1. Robert Worrall on November 5th, 2009 2:35 am

    This is some feat. However my dog writes a menu every night. Cheeky swine.

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