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Doctor Ilyena Hirskyi-Douglas, of the University of Glasgow, has conducted and authored a study advocating dog choice. By coming up with something called a DogPhone, she hopes to have taken a first step towards enlightenment fear of abandonment, and more.
Essentially, the DogPhone is a hi-tech toy – a big ball, to be exact. The puppy copes when they miss their parent or loved one, and the toy calls out for the dog.
According to the guardthe report, Hirskyi-Douglas hopes dogs will eventually even use it to call other dogs.
But really – a dog phone?
Can you wait a minute? The Dogphone rings. https://t.co/dlY5dkcO1E
— Stacey Burns (@WentRogue) Nov 20, 2021
It looks like something out of an episode of black mirror, not true? We assure you that it seems much better intended than you might think.
When a dog moves the ball of the DogPhone, it sends a signal to a nearby laptop, which then initiates a video call with the dog’s parent.
From there, the parent receiving the call can choose to take the call or not. And vice versa, the parent can call their pup. Just like on the parent’s side, the dog can choose whether to take the call or not. If they want to, they handle the toys.
The overall invention of the DogPhone aims to give our pups a sense of personal freedom of choice—something that until now has been strictly reserved for their human companions.
Okay, but why?
(Stock Picture Credit: tolgart/Getty Images)
As Hirskyi-Douglas puts it, “Giving choice and control to animals has been shown to improve their well-being and well-being.” That makes sense when you think about it. Our canine companions are not that different from us, psychologically.
How often does our own well-being and well-being thrive when we are stripped of our agency?
“All of this [existing] technology allows you to measure your pet’s steps or call your pets or feed your dog remotely, but your dog doesn’t really have choices,” says Hirskyj-Douglas.
This study just asks that you carefully consider and research that. Because “we can do it,” says Hirskyi-Douglas. “There are so many different options you could have.”
How the DogPhone Study Was Conducted
Research for this study, read in the Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery on Computer-Human Interaction diary, describes the process.
Over 16 days, Hirskyi-Douglas and her nine-year-old Black Labrador, Zack, ran a series of tests. These tests were meant to find the right level of sensitivity to the ball and to observe how Zack understood interacting with it.
There is a journal detailing the conversations between Hirskyi-Douglas and Zack, and what became of them. Usually, and unsurprisingly, calls were made by accident.
“Dog called me but wasn’t interested in our call, but instead checked on things in his bed,” says one of those diary entries. Hirskyi-Douglas, however, dares to wonder whether these seem only accidents from a human perspective.
After all, if a dog can’t find something, they may want to ask their parents where it is. Here lies the potential for further testing for Hirskyi-Douglas. For her, these are questions worth further investigation.
“It just gives dogs a choice,” she says. “Maybe we don’t understand the choice they’re making. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a choice.”
In the meantime, you can take steps to improve your communication with your dog, whether he calls you or not. DogTime has a guide to real world examples of dog body language here!
Do you think these kinds of questions should be investigated? Do you think the DogPhone offers enough resources to explore them? Let us know in the comments below.
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