Koda Learning to Talk

Our nine month old Norwegian Elkhound puppy is one smart dog, so why not try to teach him impossible tricks? He started by asking for ice cubes, his favorite treat, with a specific sound and that made us wonder... can he learn different specific sounds for several different items? We are working on "Ice", "Apple" and "Banana". Ice and Banana use the same two syllable sound, Banana uses three.

Here you see a typical training session and we still have long way to go. Let me be clear, we are not crazy, we don't think the dog can talk, but we do see improvement and effort so we have some hope that he might continue to improve. This is just a record of the beginning of the training; hopefully someday we can put up a video that shows that he has indeed learned a few specific sounds, to request specific treats. Would that be cool or what?

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Koda
• Norwegian
• Elkhound
• puppy
• cute
• talking
• dog
• training
• fluffy
• apple
• banana
• adorable
• amazing
• learning
• to
• talk
• impossible

[R3APERRANGER]

I noticed from one of your previous vids that you got koda at a specific breeder. Would you recommend this breeder? Is Koda the type of dog you are looking for? I am between A doberman, a Viszla and a Elkhound so your imput is valuable.

[MikeReedKS]

@R3APERRANGER I'm no dog expert, but Koda is amazing and we are very glad we went to Elkhound Acers.

[keyboardNastja]

such a nice dog! I love how you explain stuff to him about how to improve is words :D I explained a lot of stuff to my dog as well and thought he understand in one way or another :)

[MikeReedKS]

@keyboardNastja He is a great dog. We love him very much. I need to get some updated videos online soon. His "resist" trick is amazing, I need to get it on video. You can take his favorite treats, say resist and all but force them in his face, he turns his head and will not take them until we say "It's yours". Works when he is in "Stay" as well. You can toss treats right at his feet, say "Resist" and he will not eat them. It is amazing.

[girlll99]

Man:Say apple

Dog:Woof

[MikeReedKS]

@girlll99 Woof... the only thing a dog can say. So we don't expect true enunciation, instead we look for understanding of the request and consistent responses as a sign of learning. This is a trick, not true comprehension, but it does show his excellent intellect... for a dog anyway. :-)

[MikeReedKS]

@furryfriend98 The goal isn't for him to speak the word "Apple" in clear voice, but instead to learn to generate a sound with a similar pattern and to do it in a consistent manner. We are working on "Ice", "Apple" and "Banana". We are also just starting on "Outside". The key is to have fixed sounds that represent different things. This qualifies as communications, even if the vocalizations are adapted to his ability to make sounds.

[MikeReedKS]

@MrEntei17 Then you have a good look'n dog!

[MrPro275]

soon you well start throwing him potato

[jbuell311]

Dude, you have a really cool dog! He loves his fruit, and seemed to be pretty consistent with the apples. My dog's name is Koda also! That's how I found your vid.

[MyVegetafan]

@MikeReedKS

awwwwwwwww omg what a cute dog *o* <3<3<3

[girlll99]

@MikeReedKS Whatever,that dog is really cute! :D

[MikeReedKS]

@ElkaCoyote We use "Say" followed by the object and he does pretty well with that. When he wants to go outside, we do just say "Outside?" and he makes that sound, so we are not 100% consistant.

[ElkaCoyote]

I think you are confusing him by saying "SAY apple." You need to drop the "say." Also, that's a really hard word. I know people who have elkhound who recognize flashcards. That might work better.