My Friend Eddie Learned a New Trick

This is a for fun piece describing the results of a research study in the blog post cited below from the perspective of a dog.

Hecht, Julie. "Robot Dogs May Be Creepy, but Real Dogs Don't Fear Technology", Scientific American, 27 February 2018, https://blogs.scientificameric....

So, you think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, eh? Well as a member of the canine family, I say no to that. I see you humans playing on those rectangular devices. Why do you keep touching them with your fingers? Are you expecting something to pop out? It seems like you are being trained but with little physical reward. My friend Eddie, a ten-year-old short black spotted terrier, just told me he learned something new by using those devices.

Eddie lives a couple hydrants up the street said he went to a special place with his owners yesterday. At first, he was nervous he was headed for his yearly doctor checkup but it turned out it was not time for that visit. Instead, he went into a new room where he got to play with rectangular screens like humans. When he consistently picked a particular picture by touching his nose to the screen, he would get a treat! Now that is something I would like to see and do!

Eddie says his humans are gone most weekdays so he does not have much time for walks or playing catch. That leaves him feeling quite antsy by the end of the day; however, that day he went to play with the screens, he said he slept like a baby when he got home! Amazing that just using his mind made him tired too! I hope my owners talk with Eddie’s owners because this dog here is ready to learn a new trick!

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