Dogs trained on soundboards can understand and use buttons to produce contextually appropriate responses.

A study in PLOS One reveals that dogs trained on soundboards can understand and use buttons to produce contextually appropriate responses, indicating they process words they hear or press themselves, not just reacting to owner cues. The research, involving two experiments, shows dogs respond appropriately to words like 'play' and 'outside' regardless of who presses the button. This challenges skepticism about soundboard-using dogs' comprehension, suggesting they can understand humans when buttons are pressed.