Can Traini Really Translate Your Dog’s Emotions? And Should It?

Pretty often, I find myself wondering what my dog is thinking. She has her ways of communicating with us, like running around when she needs the toilet or tapping the bowl when she’s hungry. Some of her signals, however, are a little harder to read. Ever since she was a puppy and I was just 17 years old, she would hold my gaze for multiple minutes, seemingly without the need to blink. She has big, black soulful eyes that make it seem as if she’s deep in thought and trying to convey something important to you. I like to think that she’s just trying to tell me that she loves me, but maybe there’s more that she wishes she could say.

Unfortunately, she isn’t particularly vocal and she doesn’t speak English. A technology start-up, however, claims to have the answer to human-dog conversation. Traini is the first tech company to say that they can translate pet behavior. Using “multimodal generative AI” in a collar and an app, Traini offers “real-time emotional translations” as well as health monitoring and GPS tracking. It isn’t just barks that they claim to translate, but glances and other motions. With this information, they claim to be able to estimate a pet’s psychological state and spit it back out to you in a “conversational format”.

Of course, AI isn’t particularly reliable. Dog behavior is difficult to read, but it seems unlikely that a collar would be able to do so any more accurately than an experienced pet parent or a certified trainer. I asked dog trainer Sian Lawley-Rudd for her thoughts on Traini. She says that her first reaction was interest mixed with caution. “Anything that encourages dog parents to pay closer attention to their dog’s communication has potential value. Dogs are constantly communicating, but many of their signals are subtle and easily misunderstood,” she says. Tail wagging can signal stress and uncertainty as well as happiness, and the challenge is that communication can’t be accurately interpreted by analyzing a single bark or posture in isolation.

Lawley-Rudd says that the emergence of this technology speaks to a very real desire on the part of dog parents to understand their dogs better. However, interpretation itself is shaped by experience, expectations, and perception. We don’t just observe our pet’s behavior, but read it through our own lens. This is true in person to person communication, too, says Lawley-Rudd: “This is why behavior can’t be reduced to a simple translation model. Dogs don’t need us to bark to understand us, they learn through consistent cues, body language, emotional tone, and association.” Presenting interpretation as fact risks creating false certainty.

Sarah Easterbrook is a dog behaviorist who feels strongly that Traini is not only a gimmick but potentially dangerous. “The idea that any kind of collar can understand facial expressions, body language and tail expressions position is ludicrous to me,” she says. “Even if it was possible to look at all of these it would still not be useful, as dogs don’t all display the same body language according to breed, personality and specific situations.” Easterbrook says that a dog’s heart rate may increase for any number of different reasons, which could mimic a stress reaction even if the dog is not stressed. For instance, their heart rate rises when they learn something new. AI cannot differentiate between the reasons for this increase.

 This could make this kind of technology not only a waste of money, but dangerous, says Easterbrook: “The information given will not be specific enough to be accurate. It will also not understand the differences in breed expressions and behaviors.” Easterbrook finds Traini’s claims not only shocking but “extremely worrying”.

Trainers can be expensive, and it is difficult to find time to work together, which is where the temptation of this technology comes in. This is particularly true for those whose pets may have behavioral issues or a complicated background. However, working with a qualified expert may be the only way you can come to understand your pet. “Trainers and behaviorists are absolutely essential for parents who want to fully understand dog psychology and learn how to understand their own dog’s methods of communication,” insists Easterbrook. “Only a trained and experienced behaviorist will be able to notice subtle changes in expressions and behavior, as well as how to resolve any issues in a specific way which will work best for their individual dog.”

Lawley-Rudd agrees. “Communication is about understanding the full interaction between the dog, the human, and the environment. Two dogs might show the same behavior for completely different emotional reasons,” she says. Reactivity, for instance, could be a sign of fear, anxiety, stress, over-stimulation, frustration, or conflicted emotions. Understanding that will always need context, observation, and in some cases professional judgement. “Training is about helping dog parents to develop awareness, timing, clarity, confidence and a calm connection with their dog. Technology can provide general information, but it can't replace professional experience, real-time assessment, or the human relationship that shapes behavior,” says Sian.

To illustrate the failures of this technology, dog trainer Annie Grossman and author of How to Train Your Dog With Love and Science told me an anecdote. She was intrigued by the promises of Traini and wanted to try it with her own dog. Despite walking down a busy street in the middle of Manhattan, the app said that Grossman’s dog was just “10 percent alert”, which she believes shows how “arbitrary and silly” this technology is.

 As tempting as it can be to reach for easy answers when you’re struggling to understand your dog, there is no quick fix. The main risk of this technology, says Lawley-Rudd lies in over-reliance and false confidence. If an app inaccurately suggests a dog is relaxed when they're actually anxious or overwhelmed, dog parents might unknowingly continue exposing them to something they can’t cope with, which can increase the risk of stress. “Communication is complex and individual. Oversimplifying it into fixed translations risks missing the emotional reality behind the behavior,” says Lawley-Rudd. “Dogs are sentient beings, and misunderstanding them has real welfare and safety implications, so the fallout is huge in my opinion.”

If you’re struggling to communicate with your dog or understand their behavior, you’d be better off contacting a qualified, unbiased behaviorist with experience with many different dogs. There is enough damaging and misleading advice out there, says Easterbrook, and unfortunately, quick fixes like Traini may just be adding to the misinformation. You can’t really trust anyone to comment on your pet’s behavior who has never met or worked with them personally. Plus, not always knowing exactly what your dog is trying to say is part of the fun. Learning to understand one another takes time and helps to develop your bond. Who’d want to skip over all of that?