#27 Pilley and Chaser

Pilley Bianchi, also known as Debbie Pilley, is the daughter of the late John Pilley, the Psychology Professor who owned Chaser, the dog with the largest vocabulary of any dog ever recorded. In this episode, we catch up to chat about her life with both of these characters and her thoughts about their legacy, alongside her own own insights into how animals learn.
We discuss both of our experiences about what helps dogs understand language better and what does not, as well as some of the wider philosophical points extending from this concerning dog cognition, consciousness and their welfare as a result; as well the wider legacy of Chaser and her father's philosophy on life.
If you have read her father's book "Chaser", you might just find this episode answers some of the questions you asked yourself as your read it. They were certainly some of the questions I had and so the episode is a great addition to it. If you haven't read it (why haven't you?), I would recommend it as a fascinating and uplifting read - ideal for the holiday!
Pilley Bianchi is also a very accomplished and multi-talented artist in her own right (see: https://www.pilleybianchi.com/about) and has a light hearted Christmas song out that you can listen to here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUPaUvpn_N8, (no it does not feature my tuneless singing you will be pleased to hear). Anyway I hope you enjoy this Christmas special and wish you all a great 2022. Thanks for watching and listening to the podcasts.
PS you can of course listen to this at any time of year! :-)