Who has never dreamed of being able to communicate with their animal? Unusual as it may seem, this young Frenchwoman has found a way through an ingenious soundtrack. Because of this, his dog is now free to express his wishes and needs.
Coco understands and can “speak” 34 words such as “eat”, “play” or even “cuddle”. And no, Coco is not a child, but an 11 month old Border Collie. The animal owes this surprising peculiarity to its mistress Meiyun Xu. The young woman is a doctoral student of linguistics at the University of Burgundy and has decided to use her many skills to create an innovative system: a sound mat adapted to her dog.
This object consists of several push buttons, each associated with a specific word. Goal ? Let Coco express herself at any time of the day by pressing the right button. And after a few months of learning, the results are already there! Today, the animal knows how to demand special attention, such as a caress, to indicate a toy it needs or even to express an emotion, such as the love it has for its owner.
Meiyun Xu shares the progress of her four-legged friend on social networks, as evidenced by these three stunning videos:
Coco wants to go out
Coco wants to play
Coco wants to eat
To scientists who study animal language, Coco’s idiosyncrasy comes as no surprise. According to the various studies that have been conducted, some dogs can even process up to a thousand words.
Coco still has many months of learning ahead of them… To discover all the videos, go here.