How Stella Learned to Talk

The Groundbreaking Story of the World's First Talking Dog

By: Christina Hunger

Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Stella the Dog

An incredible, revolutionary true story and surprisingly simple guide to teaching your dog to talk from speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger, who has taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using simple paw-sized buttons associated with different words.

When speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger first came home with her puppy, Stella, it didn’t take long for her to start drawing connections between her job and her new pet. During the day, she worked with toddlers with significant delays in language development and used Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices to help them communicate. At night, she wondered: If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn’t they be able to say words to us? Can dogs use AAC to communicate with humans?

Christina decided to put her theory to the test with Stella and started using a paw-sized button programmed with her voice to say the word “outside” when clicked, whenever she took Stella out of the house. A few years later, Stella now has a bank of more than 30 word-buttons, and uses them daily either individually or together to create near-complete sentences.

How Stella Learned to Talk is part memoir and part how-to guide. It chronicles the journey Christina and Stella have taken together, from the day they met, to the day Stella “spoke” her first word, and the other breakthroughs they’ve had since. It also reveals the techniques Christina used to teach Stella, broken down into simple stages and actionable steps any dog owner can use to start communicating with their pets.

Filled with conversations that Stella and Christina have had, as well as the attention to developmental detail that only a speech-language pathologist could know, How Stella Learned to Talk will be the indispensable dog book for the new decade.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Christina Hunger (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Worth the wait

I am a Master level Audible member with over 120 titles in my library but have never written a full review until now. I’ve been following Christina and Stella on Instagram for a few months now. I come from an animal centered family, my parents have been rescuing and rehabilitating for +30 years which has fostering my interest for animal welfare in so many ways. I have read a lot of literature throughout the years on animal psychology, cognition, the various sub fields but have not come across a resource like this. I really appreciated the author’s approach to providing the material, it was concise as a guide of method and application. I look forward to Christina and Stella’s future, as the lives of animals are such an important part of mine and much of the reason I have found purpose and community. Thank you!

Touched my heart!

I'm an elementary teacher and this book seriously seriously touched my heart! It's a book about communication and how everyone one deserves to be able to able to express themselves and be heard. I don't have a dog but I know that when I do get 1, I will refer to this book and give my dog a voice. I have also been using the framework in my classroom and in understanding my student's communication better! I am so greatful Christina Hunger decided to share this with the world!🥰

Where'd She Get This Dog? :-)

Amazing how many words her dog learned. The book seemed more like a study at times. And I felt like she was trying really hard to make sense out of the words the dog used. I do believe her. Now I'm wanting to adopt a dog. My cat won't even try. :-)

Fascinating!

This is a great read/listen. The narrative is well-paced, and informative when needed without feeling like a textbook or lecture. It’s definitely inspired me to pay more attention to all the ways my dog is already talking to me.

For dog lovers

Only a true dog lover would have believed it could be possible to communicate with a dog and then actually applied their knowledge and skill to prove it. Only love and patience and a true connection with Stella made it possible. Christina Hunger tells us all how it happened and Stella proves her right. I found them on Instagram and enjoy watching them "talk".... so I couldn't wait to read this book and I was not disappointed.

Bravo!

Amazing book from an amazing Speech Language Pathologist about her groundbreaking work with her equally incredible dog Stella! A must read for anyone who wants to truly develop a relationship with their fur family member. Her specific and practical tips are so valuable and her explanations for why specific strategies are used are easy for everyone to understand. Cristina is not only an incredible advocate for developing language in animals, but also an important advocate in the world for the idea that EVERYONE deserves a voice and a way to communicate.

Remarkable

Dear Christina Hunger,
Thank you for writing this fascinating book. Your work is so important and we appreciate the sharing of your knowledge and experience with us, enabling more people to teach more dogs, and hopefully conduct research on the many possibilities!

Our family will soon become a Puppy raiser family for guide dogs. I love that you mention what your work could mean for service animals. I look forward to your leadership in this field, so we can all learn more about this new world you are opening up. Thanks again!

Great book and narration

Straight forward, fun and entertaining. Loved that has a science behind and teaches us a little about speech therapy. Great too that at the end of each chapter gives you advices. And mostly, love that this is a way for Christina to show her way, path and feelings as she wanted to portray it and with no specific conditions.

Perfect for Teacher Dog Lovers

This was a great pandemic read. I loved the author's process and dedication to her profession. This story really touched me and made me proud of the author.

I love my dog and talk to him like he's a person all the time. I get angry when people say he doesn't know what I'm saying. Christina Hunger has proved me right.

I think educators will enjoy this story. The narration was a little bit slower than I like but it was still good. I laughed out loud and had to share some of the Stella stories with my family.

Delightful

If you enjoy learning via story, then you’ll love this book. Stella’s story of development is delightful and engaging. Additional insights throughout the story from the human perspective on making life changes, simplifying life, and handling overwhelm will speak to you as well. I highly recommend the audio version.