About ChirpDog

Communication coaching for dogs

ChirpDog describes itself as a Montessori-model program for teaching dogs to talk and teaching humans to listen, based at 2600 Avalon Lane in Montgomery. It works with a small number of dogs at a time, combining enrichment-based care and communication training with support for each dog's guardian, and says it builds a system around the dog instead of training the dog into a system.

The thinking behind it

The about page links the approach to research on button-based communication and canine cognition, pointing to Bunny the talking sheepadoodle, Chaser the Border Collie, who learned over 1,000 object names, and Rico, a dog that learned by process of elimination. Its home page invites owners to start the conversation through the site's contact form.