Professor Ades coordinates research in the department of Experimental Psychology at the University of São Paulo.
Here, he and his team developed a world pioneering study;
they trained a dog to communicate with humans through signs, and words, selected on a keyboard-controlled device.
-I want to go to sleep
-We imported the first keyboard from the United States.
-It is used by children who have speech difficulty.
Research is done using Sophia, a female dog whose breed origins are unknown, and trained from two months of age.
After being trained, Sophia learned how to express her wishes and interests spontaneously
-I would like some water
The keys have symbols that express thirst, hunger,...
-I want food! -Wow, very good!
a desire to go for a walk....
-What do you want? -I want to go for a walk! -Very good!
If she wants to rest,she requests to be let into her cage
-I want to go to sleep -Ahhh!!!
Studies on Sophie went on for two years,...
the first study in the world to show the ability of dogs to understand a verb and an object,...
and in this manner communicate with humans.
I think that the main principle is not that it speaks like a human being,...
but that the use of a symbol is at times what simplifies the mechanism of communication.
We once played a trick on her.
We showed her a guinea pig for the very first time in her life.
We wanted to see what she was going to choose on the keyboard.
We thought that she would would choose the symbol of a toy.
But no! Instead she chose the symbol of food!
Sophia, is but the first in a long journey to understand what passes through the minds of dogs
Professor Ades team is continuing with its studies,...
with Laila,...
Laci,...
and Pinga.
-These scientific studies might appear very abstract
-In reality, they lead you to understand better the animal with which you live
-When you have a better understanding of it, you are able to take care of it better.
-It's a change in our thinking.
-An animal is not just a means of satisfying human needs,
-but it's a being in itself that has to be respected.
-and so I believe that it's a big change in our thinking...
-that makes us look at animals with more sympathy, with more empathy, and with more care.
