[zimandtakandgrrandmimi]

there is a youtube clip called "talking cats and dogs"

im positive these were trained behaviors...

so I have this itch now to try and teach my dog to say "mama"

any ideas on how to start?

 

[melgrj7]

At work we talk my coworker's dog to say some words. He is a very talky dog already so we just said some easy words in the way he makes noise and he would try, then we would do it again and then he would try he got it pretty quick. With cats you can train them by showing them some really yummy food, then saying a word (but you have to make it start with an m, so if it was like turkey you say murkey) and then rewarding them for making any sound after you did. Then just keep encouraging them to get it closer to what you are saying.

 

[Elana55]

I got rid of all the people in this house so I did not HAVE to hear any words directed at me.. and now here we are trying to get our animals to talk.....

I think it really helps to have a dog that tends to vocalize about things.. not so much alert barking, but the kind of dog that lets you know when you are boring becoming boring or not quick enough with the dog food or not quick enough with the clicker when the dog has offered every routine he can think of.. etc. etc.

I suspect I have just such a dog.. but I am afraid to teach her to talk because, as anyone with kids says, words quickly turn into requests and/or demands....

... and what if she then learns to use the phone.. Oh my.. that is frightening to think about...

 

[KBLover]

Ha! I'd love to see a dog talk on the phone, just tell her that any phone bills are coming out of her food for the month

As far as a talking dog. I don't even dare try this with Wally. While he'll vocalize, sometimes, about stuff he wants but isn't getting, trying to get him to make a sound like an actual word? It took me a week to get him to bark on command so...trying to teach this might just make me want to throw him out the nearest window LOL

That said, he is vocalizing a little more, which is good. I guess there is a such thing as a quiet dog, but it just seems weird...I guess barking is just something I expect from a dog, so one that doesn't seems odd to me.