Talking dogs: The paradoxes inherent in the cultural phenomenon of soundboard use by dogs

The table contains data from TikTok videos that portray dogs and their caregivers communicating with one another using soundboards. It includes the date each video was posted; the TikTok account on which each video appears; the description of each video by the account user; hashtags given to each video by the user; the number of views for each video; the number of likes, comments, and saves added to each video by its viewers; and the duration of each video. This data provided the authors of the study with a general overview of the talking-dog videos, including the videos' shared contemporariness, popularity and brevity. Identification of these qualities shaped the analysis of the videos, particularly with regard to their history and their figuration of human-canine relations. The paper concludes that, while the use of a soundboard may appear to offer direct insight into a dog's thoughts (historically precedented in canine performances dating back at least to the Middle Ages), this method paradoxically relies on extensive training and human interpretation, overshadowing other kinds of canine sonic expression. The authors suggest that such videos risk encouraging anthropomorphic views, making people less attentive to dogs’ nonverbal communication and more inclined to view them as infant-like rather than as distinct adult animals.