Creature feature
I might not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself — dogs “reading” and following written directions. I witnessed this amazing feat while I was visiting the Arkansas Department of Correction’s J.A. Hawkins Sr. Center for Women in Wrightsville to observe the Paws in Prison dog training program. One by one, the female inmates who are training rescued dogs to be pets and service animals demonstrated their dog’s reading skills. One by one, the dogs appeared to actually read and comprehend words printed in block letters on white cards.
Andrea Kirtley, a professional dog trainer who teaches training skills to the inmates working with the animals, says almost any dog can learn to recognize printed words, as well as stick figures performing tasks. Once a dog learns to respond to spoken commands (without accompanying hand signals) such as sit, stay, down, stand and speak, he’s ready to begin learning to read. “It’s shape recognition,” she explains. “Once they learn verbal cues and respond appropriately 90 percent of the time, they can learn to read.”
The dogs don’t understand the words as we do, but when they respond consistently to a verbal command such as “sit,” then it’s possible to teach them to connect the spoken word with the corresponding shape on a card. After they learn the shape, they respond to the written word — nothing need be said. At this point, they’re becoming “thinking dogs,” Kirtley says.
“They become more intuitive. They are able to understand that a two-dimensional object contains information.” In other words, they know the shapes have meaning. A dog that learns to recognize the shapes of words can figure out the meaning of other shapes, such as stick figures in poses like sit and turn. He can learn to recognize a stop sign by the word printed on it and the shape of the sign.
Watching the prison dogs made me a believer. Dogs young and old, big and small revealed their “reading” skills during a recent training session. When shown a sign printed with the word “speak,” a 4-month-old puff of white fur named Big Jake Cotton barked. He was shown another card: “Down.” Jake flopped onto the floor. Later, a 7-year-old mixed breed, Lucky, took a turn. Like Jake, he “read” and followed each cue to the letter. Another dog recognized a stick figure illustrating the “sit” command and promptly plopped his rear on the floor.
Kirtley, whose specialty is training service dogs who will assist people with disabilities, uses teaching techniques developed by Bonnie Bergin, founder of Canine Companions for Independence, the first nonprofit to train dogs to help people with physical challenges. Bergin, author of
Teach Your Dog to Read, has taught her dog to recognize more than 20 words.
Dogs of any breed, size and age can learn this, Bergin says. However, not every dog will master 20 or more words. Some, such as older dogs with cataracts or other vision problems, can’t learn simply because they can’t see well enough to recognize the words.
Other dogs may be slower learners because of their temperament. An excitable terrier, for example, has to calm down before he can focus during a reading lesson.
Your dog doesn’t have to be in training as a service or therapy dog to benefit from learning to read. The process can be fun and provide mental exercise for a pet dog as well, Kirtley says. And, like people, a dog’s capacity for learning expands as he continues to learn.
In next week’s Creature Feature, I’ll cover the steps for teaching a dog to read as explained by Bergin and Kirtley. Start printing your cue cards.