There is quite a bit of negativity in these comments. I have been training dogs for 30 years and what I have discovered is they are only limited by their owners. People want their dogs to know so many behaviors. The problem is they do not take the time to teach them. Training is a 24 hour a day process. Show them a behavior and use it all the time when interacting with them. So the question is can they actually learn to communicate to this extent with us and in my opinion the answer is yes. My Rottweiler had an incredible vocabulary. I used the word cookie so much that she believed that when I said it she should have one. So I started spelling the word. It took her 3 times hearing it and she understood. OK so I tried treat she watched I used the word and again it was hers. My pup spoke perfect Dog-lish. She learned to think and was a problem solver. My husbands GSD was trained through modeling behavior of my other dog. I would work with my rott and click the behavior I wanted and the GSD watched my other pup and learned without formal training. We did not have buttons but they would let me know they needed something and I would give them a list of words, cookie, play, drink, outside ect all things that they knew the meaning of. When I said the right one they let me know. We underestimate our dogs I do not believe that they process thoughts in the same way a human does but never believe that they cannot process thoughts at all. They are only limited by us their humans when it comes to what they can learn.
Thank you! finally a comment that I can 100% back up. That is probably the best way to word it, Dog are only limited by their owners and that is something I can say is a fact!
thank you for your wonderful post . I have a Malinois who is very bright and I just got the Fluent Pet kit . What is the best way to go about teaching words that don't really correspond with an object or activity . How would you teach "mad " or "remember" for example ?
I've been trying to teach the buttons to my 10 year old dog for about 3 months. Here's what I learned: They understand a lot of what is said (I already talked to him a lot since he was a puppy, like you do), but communicating what they want in words (buttons) is difficult. You need to understand that their brain is different or this is not for you. They have the language capacity of a toodler (and communicate like one), so you need to be patient. They take their time to figure what they are going to press, to ask/respond, If the dog already got what they wanted before just through body language like mine, it's worse (they'll insist the old way). you have to be lovingly calm and persistent. At first my dog rejected the buttons for weeks, I didn't give up. I want to know him better, I want him to have more autonomy and be able to tell me he's feeling pain before it gets too bad. He's so excited now that he discovered he can get things with buttons 😂 And he surprises me too! Sometimes I'm sure he wants something and he proceeds to ask for something else, it's amazing!
For anyone worried you need to start out as a puppy; I've been teaching my dog and he is 4 years old. It's going really well! Today I got my hextiles in the mail so I've been replacing my older buttons with the newer ones. The quality is worse than my older ones (makes sense, the older ones used 2 AA batteries and it was much more expensive), but the small size makes up for it. You can start teaching your dog at any age, as long as you've already been talking to your dog a lot, it should be easy :)
@@sarahparmenter It can take weeks! What's important is that YOU use the buttons. It's easy to start with the word "Outside" and every time you take your dog for a walk, press the button, and say "outside" out loud as well. Make sure your dog is watching when you do this. Eventually your dog will get curious and may press the button on their own. For my dog, it took him a week before he used it for the first time, about a month before he used it regularly. I heavily discourage a treat button, as your dog may associate it with a trick instead. "Press button to receive treat" is not something you want to teach your dog.
@@WestieKatie It all depends on how you and the other people who enter your home most often refer to you when talking to your pet. If, say, your spouse always refers to you as "Mom" when talking to your dog, then your dog will already know you as "Mom." If you use names, then it might be best to re-record the "Mom" button to say your specific name since it's more familiar already.
My puppy is a 4 month old Jack/chi and we introduced the buttons as soon as we got him. We spent a month pressing the “potty” button every day before he went out potty (to get him used to it) meanwhile we were also teaching him basic commands like “sit” and “touch” eventually we combined touch and potty and he knew what to do. We have added a few other buttons since. Where can we buy the hex tiles? Thanks! 🙏🥰
YES!!! No trainers discuss this nearly enough. Talk, talk talk! To your dog. It teaches then to listen and teaches them about their capabilities to communicate with their owners! I believe constantly talking to my dog from a puppy really grew his emotional intelligence
For people who don't seem to understand how to train a dog how to emote using the buttons: It's important to speak emotions in context a lot. My dog knows these descriptors because when he's mad, I tell him he's mad or ask him why he's mad (although I use the word "upset" because he seems to prefer 2-syllable words). When he's excited and full of joy, I tell him he's happy "Look at that happy boy!" and things like that. I declare the emotions I'm observing. And I fully realized he understood them one day when he walked into the room, seemingly wanting to play and I just told him (without exhibiting any emotion), "No play, mommy is upset." And he instantly dropped his toy and came over to me to show empathy. So with the buttons, you could press the button that corresponds with the emotion until he/she realizes what those are there for.
4:23 "You wanna go look for the cat upstairs?" (Nods) Wow. I've seen that nod in dogs before but didn't realize it until now that the nod is cross-species. It's almost entirely an affirmative gesture across all of humanity. I imagine it was crossed to canines, who've evolved culturally alongside us as our companions and friends.
@@robertbes1122 Yes, that's true. Sometimes head shake and nod are completely reversed! But I imagine dogs that have been domesticated in places where it means assent have also taken that meaning. It also seems somewhat natural, which is why it's near universal, perhaps having to do with it being a sort of trust. You lower your head to show you don't need to look at the other person constantly, that you aren't afraid of them, and in fact agree with them.
Hi there, I'm also a dog listener myself. I've studied Dog Ethology. Visually, they can only distinguish clearly BLUE and YELLOW. So it a big challenge for them to see all what you see on the matt (cause humans distinguish between 3 colours). For example: red, orange and pink, they will perceive it as yellow. Anyway, in order to make it easier for them, it would be useful to learn about Dog Ethology so you may understand you their species perceive :)
from what I understand, its about placement and consistency. training your pet to hear those words and connect them to something they want- because yes, some animals have wants and needs too. does your cat or dog want attention? they come to you and show physical signs, but can you be 100% sure that's what they want? introducing buttons and showing actions they represent will teach that pet to use the button to ask for their needs. as a baby, you cry and whine because you can't speak. it will always be a guessing game until the child learns to talk. so therefore, it's not too different in this aspect.
I can't wait to get some for my cat! She's brilliant and talkative and understands way more complex English than I would normally be able to know a pet understands just from their behavior and body language. I'm really curious to see what will happen when she can speak back to us in the same language.
Dogs have limited color vision, only able to see blue and yellow, but a spectrum of those colors combined with shapes would help them identify the word they're looking for rather than black buttons with letters that they can't read. They don't memorize or understand the word on the buttons, they memorize the placement of the word on the floor, so when moved around it would be frustrating for anyone. The company would help the animals quite a lot if they started designing these with shape and color combinations.
From TikTok! I am going to purchase buttons for my disabled Yorkie hoping he can say potty thirsty and very important Mom I love you. Lol! I love Bunny, y’all are fabulous with your consistency teaching reinforcing etc!!
Considering dog intelligence level, that piano is not just massive, it's almost overwhelmingly enormous. Just imagine combining 200-key combinations on 30 000 button keyboard to get the gist of how hard it is for the dog. Ah yes, also the buttons are all the same and unsigned.
@@ShadeAKAhayate I guess I don't get your point. Nobody is using that many buttons that I know of. But a piano would be easier to remember because the notes are repeating in different octaves. Also the keys are smaller and we can hit them with our fingers. Dogs have to use their paws which are a lot bigger
I have seen that some use stickers to map up and differentiate the buttons. That seems more learner friendly so I’m gonna go with that. I mean try learning to type on a keybord that’s blank, not an easy task.
Saw a video on Facebook this morning with these buttons in it and it led me to looking this up because I would love to try to train a future dog to do this. It's super frustrating when I don't understand what my dog wants and I imagine it's even more frustrating for her. Also, don't listen to the haters. Those who are saying this is fake or that you've basically fooled yourself has never paid close attention to a dog and actually formed a close bond before. Those who have know they have complex emotions and needs just like we do. And they are SO much smarter than people give them credit for.
This video did nothing to convince me that the dog really knew what it was saying. The dog was just throwing out random words otherwise. I mean did the dog look like it really wanted to play with the cat? Why would the dog announce that instead of just doing it?
incredible video. THANK YOU so much. I have learned so much from this video. Thank you for mentioning the fitzgerald key method. I would have never known anything about it and I want to make sure I am making it as simple for "Skeeter" as I can. It also made so much sense, but I would have never known about it. I am very excited to get started. Thanks again. I love all you videos and Bunny is such a joy.
Finally, an approach that makes sense! All the other videos about this are very "training session" oriented. IMO, your kind of simple, practical approach (of pressing the button before doing the activity naturally) seems like it has a much better ROI, and maybe it's even better overall.
I have a soft coated wheaton terrier mixed with a chow chow. He is 10 years old and has more intelligence than any other dog i have met in my life. I want to start training him to use buttons. But he is mostly blind. He is also diabetic and epileptic, so If eventually he could have a button that said "sick"or something that would really help me to monitor his health. Do you have any reaources on or ideas about helping a blind dog learn these skills without using treats as rewards?
Bunny is such a lovely and happy dog. Watching these videos has made me talk to my own dogs differently, bearing in mind both that they can understand more than I think, and that perhaps some words have different meanings for them. I don't have money for buttons, but if I ever do, I'll try this with my 11-year olds, or any other animal I'll have.
this was very educational. I see a lot of youtubers making these videos and they always start off with "treat" or "food", which is easy and anyone with zero knowledge can do it.
I started introducing the buttons to my dog 2 weeks ago and started with 'outside' i'm fairly confident she really understands the concept of the button and it's not just a conditioned response. My problem is that she doesn't use the button unless she has line of sight or visual contact with a person. I'd like her to use the button even if we're upstairs so we can come down to let her out. How do i go from here? Is it just a matter of needing more time?
I have two dogs and one of them used the outside button last night … for the first time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My cattle dog is exceptionally intelligent BUT my pomchi is feisty lol
There was a dog that would get it's leash at the exact same times every day and bring it to you to go for a walk. Another dog of mine we would spell potty and the dogs would be able to learn that it was the same as saying outside. From that point on I knew they had pattern recognition much like humans do. I knew before that, although that was the proof. Granted much like humans, some are smarter than others. Siblings could be vastly different too.
I was wondering how you can train them to press "concerned" or "mad"? Sometimes it's hard to tell concern from worry. And mad is also something that would be tricky. What is the best way to do that?
Cedardryad, a recent Q&A on I Am Bunny answers this. You might want to check that out too. I think it was in the later parts of the interview. If I recall, Bunny's training went something like, her mom Alexis being in tune with Bunny's body language, then catching her in states of arousal. If Bunny was hearing an unknown cat or a stranger outside, Alexis would press "concerned" . Alexis would be the one to match Bunny's state with a word, catching her whenever she could, and then pressing the button. That's how she trained her to associate that "emotional" state with a button, "love you" and "concerned". She didn't have to force Bunny. It was just patience, observation, consistency, and pressing the button when oppurtunity arose for a teaching moment.
Push "PLAY, NOW" then play right then and there, or push "PLAY, LATER" and wait an hour or so to play. You can do it with any other word that makes sense but that's the general idea.
You can order buttons on Amazon. We're waiting for ours. 4 buttons for $20. And you can record any word you want in them. I got those bc Ayvah is used to my voice so it might help learning. However, I think you can also get prerecorded ones with words that some people with nonverbal autism use to communicate. I tend to stat away from those thougg bc I know theyre needed by kids & dont want to cause a shortage bc our dogs use them. (Heres the link for the recordable ones I got: www.amazon.com/dp/B00HT5HBMO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_Z7TDWQ12N69HGGJKDDTF)
@@lizminer9034 May I suggest having pictures/symbols instead of words associated with the buttons, I suspect it might be easier for a dog to understand.
@@andershoff3816Thank you, yes, you also need to know how your dog learns. It depends on the individual dog. Some dogs are more visual learners, some audio learners, some scent driven, some play driven, food driven, etc... Ayvah def responds to words. I started yesterday & by today she was tapping a fake button to get her used to tapping a button. We go in stages. A dogs reasoning or understanding is similar to toddlers, or at least it has been for every dog I've had.😊
Hahaha I made the mistake with my little rescue girl that ‘hungry was her first word.’ She would push it in the morning to wake me up and when I asked her if she was hungry she got up on her two legs and walked to the bed so she could be eye level with her little head bobbing. I just started my boy with ‘throw it’ last week. So far he’s hit it a few times but mostly it’s me. We will keep going. 😅
I absolutely want to do this with my cats and dog. My dog is 5 mo, so I think this will work for him. One cat is 1yr old, maybe she will catch on. but my Sam is like 10. I think he will say go away lady LOL.
Probably from speaking it in context a lot. My dog knows those words because when he's mad, I tell him he's mad or ask him why he's mad (although I use the word "upset" because he seems to prefer 2-syllable words). When he's excited and full of joy, I tell him he's happy "Look at that happy boy!" and things like that. I declare the emotions I'm observing. And I fully realized he understood them one day when he walked into the room, seemingly wanting to play and I just told him (without exhibiting any emotion), "No play, mommy is upset." And he instantly dropped his toy and came over to me to show empathy. So I suppose with the buttons, you could press the button that corresponds with the emotion until he/she realizes what those are there for.
I've been wondering that too. she said here not to go for food related words...so? I guess another important set of words are their names and mine. and something like "mail" to maybe get them to stop barking at the mail delivery. and I notice most of these folks have a word for ouch, or hot. and then activity words like walk or ball
I just got a new dog and thinking about getting buttons too. I'd say next steps are activity words or favoured items, like the other reply mentions walk, ball. I'm thinking of doing outside, then getting more specific - backyard, walk, car ride and so on. If your dog has several toys, could do ball, Kong, stick, frisbee, etc. In the video there was a request for scritches, and Billi the cat asks for pets, so some words along those lines (tummy rub, ear rubs, etc).
A latent button story? Our 10-year old golden doodle, Buggy, learned to use the buttons very quickly. She was a pent-up talker! But we only have four buttons and they wound up mostly under the stove, and after a couple of years, were forgotten. So I was very surprised to hear “Buggy go out, pee and poo!” earlier this week. We had had a very disruptive houseguest who had upset everyone, Buggy included apparently. She had an emergency, a rare instance of diarrhea, and had pulled out the button to tell me. We got outside in time. She knows at least 300 words/commands that I know she knows. And who knows how many more she knows that she hasn’t taught me yet! She loves to run errands around the house, can identify the body parts of her stuffed animal toys (I hadn’t taught her, she knew them from knowing her own!), and can track animals and lost or hidden items. I’m thinking of getting her a more complete set of buttons. I think she has a lot on her mind. Surprising intelligence and a funny story? On a trip to NH a few years ago we forgot to bring one of her toys. We stopped and bought her a plush moose. And later when I asked her to “bite the antlers” she went right to them. My husband, known for his dry sense of humor, remarked, “well she’s not that smart, it was just process of elimination…”. We love our Buggy, and miss that wonderful funny man.
Awww. Love this story. Have u ever read the art of racing in the rain? your dog reminds me a lot about the one in the book. It’s a book being told from the dog.
I found your take on this much better than listening to an established trainer and maybe you are I just started watching your channel but this was a really good explanation
Cost without benefit. The round buttons are mass produced and are bought in bulk, with the sound recorded into each simply. 3D printing them into shapes of things would be fun for humans, but the shapes would be arbitrary and meaningless for a dog. For example, imagine the love you button was shaped in the heart shape we think of - ♡. But this shape only holds meaning for us. For a dog like Bunny, the location of the button is far more important than the shape.
@@SatoshiMatrix1Of course the shape would be arbitrary to a dog but as long as a dog can differentiate a circle from a triangle it could help distinguish words. You might not need hex tiles if whos, whats, when's, and wheres where separated by shapes like squares, triangles, circles, and stars. Bunny has pictographs on her buttons btw. Position alone is like learning how to type on a keyboard with no markings but everytime you learn a few new letters the keyboard gets rearranged to accommodate them. It's frustrating. I just think shapes would help to avoid frustrating the learner.
@@E_Ten I believe the pictographs on the buttons are as much for the humans to easily identify and access as for the dog. That being said, the hex tiles that FluentPet uses also have different kinds of shapes printed on them that are intended to evoke the general sense of the category of button that's on that tile. They're specifically designed with estimates about a dog's cognition in mind, but it's possible that you could do the same with button categories as well. The benefit of using all round buttons is that unlabeled packs can be re-recorded with vocabulary that better fits a particular family's interactions with their dog. I suspect that's one of the main reasons (besides production efficiency) that pre-made button packs don't use multiple shapes.
@@SatoshiMatrix1 That's not exactly true. While the symbolic nature of a heart might not have meaning, dogs can distinguish between 200 different stuffed toys. So buttons of different shapes SHOULD be helpful to distinguish between concepts, esp when paired with different locations.
@@vh3472 What I was saying was the buttons being more important than the shape is because the button location tied to what the button does is an easier concept to teach a non-sentient animal than needlessly adding in more variables like location + sound + shape + color + smell + texture, etc. Dogs are not humans and it is both unrealistic and unfair to teach them anything as if they were. They're animals. The fact that they can accomplish this much is incredible. Expecting a dog to learn many additional unnessesary variables is going to be frustrating both for trainer and dog.
I watched a video by one of your detractors. This was my response: Interesting video, and I agree with a lot of it. However, to use one instance of the dog pressing random buttons, doesn't take away from the sessions where the dog clearly is attempting to communicate using the buttons. Like the video where she presses the ouch button with stranger, and the owner finds a thorn in the dogs paw. Yes a big part (maybe the biggest part) is body language and tone, but I don't think all these responses by the dog are random and meaningless. I think there is a little truth to both of these views. will dogs be able to communicate fluently in English, probably not, but I wouldn't discount all of these responses, and just chock them up to pure luck. I also don't think to go after this woman who is clearly not a professional trainer is warranted either. She is clearly trying her best to understand the best way to do this training, and I give her a lot of credit for the effort she is putting into this. Is she reaching sometimes?, Probably, but that exuberance is just her trying to make it work. I am sure that you have had similar experiences with the animals you have trained. All in all I don't see this as being a bad thing. Imagine what would have been missed with primates if we hadn't explored things like computers with them. I am just saying?
Just started with my dog. She’s already hit it a few times but she is trying to play with the button lol. I told her not to destroy them until she actually learns how to do it
I'm getting started with a 3 yr old german sheperd. I'm curious which buttons would be good to start with. Cant be 'outside' because we have a doggy door with 2 dogs in house. And he is food and ball obsessed. Would really appreciate any advice. Thank you.
So I started with touch training. They only use their nose and not paws. So will have to use it against the wall. But my one girl hits most of the exercises. But the button freaks her out a bit. Outside will also be the first word but for now it's just touching the button. How did you get bunny to not get nervous of the click on the button
I got mine on amazon - if you buy regular "dog Buttons" on there, it comes up with some hex tiles and velcro in a package you can get. I just got the first four buttons to try.
I wonder if I could teach this to my cats. I would have done food or eat as the first button but she mentioned not to do that. So now I wonder what I would start with.
Don’t like that ‘fluent Pet’ has no email address or mailing address to contact them. It doesn’t look like you can return then if any buttons are damaged when you get them. Their rule states that they will accept returns, for unopened packages only. They charge for delivery and amounts are U.S. dollars.
I guess this was an issue when the company was newer. The products come with a warranty now and they have great customer service. They were probably still working all of that stuff out at the time.
I’m sure it can work with any age. I’m about to start training my 8 year old dog. I had my dog since she was a puppy and we understand stand each other very well, so I believe this new concept of using buttons won’t be such a problem for us.
Billi the cat is quite old, around sixteen years. I saw an older cat at an Airbnb who watched the Billi videos to try to teach himself how to talk to people, I'd guess he was about five. It's all motivation.
Some of these words like "outside" and "food" are easy for a dog to learn by association, obviously. But how do you teach her words like "Mad" or "Later"? I think that obviously you're trying to sell a product so the video makes it look like the buttons are effective. I'd love to hear from buyers if they were taught how to teach their dog and how much their pets can actually grasp this list of vocabs.
Yea you are right, just as easily a dog scratches the door to go out or taps on his empty bowl when hungry. But in no way can they use a button and understand emotions or things like later, love, happy, etc. They just know when they hit a button, they get affection, the mom with her high-pitched voice looks at them and says "oh you are happy?", which to them is a reward. They do not understand on a fundamental level what the words mean. They want the reward for the action.
The owners are actually doing research and are full funded my some big institution regarding canine cognition and learning the words. Bunny herself if a major part of this years long project. I dont know all the details but its not just some random person try to sell something or become internet famous. They only started recording for the initial data.
Weird replies ^^^ to your comment so far, but a real answer is: Probably from speaking it in context a lot. My dog knows those words because when he's mad, I tell him he's mad or ask him why he's mad (although I use the word "upset" because he seems to prefer 2-syllable words). When he's excited and full of joy, I tell him he's happy "Look at that happy boy!" and things like that. I declare the emotions I'm observing. And I fully realized he understood them one day when he walked into the room, seemingly wanting to play and I just told him (without exhibiting any emotion), "No play, mommy is upset." And he instantly dropped his toy and came over to me to show empathy. So I suppose with the buttons, you could press the button that corresponds with the emotion until he/she realizes what those are there for.
I dont know what to put on my first four buttons. They are on a schedule to eat, so that's not necessary. I can already tell when they need to go outside, so maybe not that. IDK
Outside might be a really good one then. Since you know what it is, you can use that to help teach the buttons. Play might be another good one. Or maybe even one for bathroom, and one for walk. I think I'll be using that for my dog because then I can know if she just want's outside because she's bored or if she's going to diarrhea all over my floor again. Though i'm just a random person on the internet that knows nothing.. just my two cents
There seem to be a lot of words that have very vague meanings, yet the animal seemingly uses them. I do wonder if they actually understand the words, or if they're just hitting the buttons randomly and the human is just interpreting that as having meaning where there is none.
Yes! I follow Bunny on Instagram and they got a puppy a few months ago. Otter has been watching and now uses the buttons as well. He even 'spoke' to Bunny with them recently!
We haven’t started the buttons yet, but we taught our deaf dog sign language at 9.5 years old and our other rescue sign language along with the deaf dog at 12.5 years old. I’m guessing the buttons would be similar. Can teach anything if you’re consistent in the modeling. Our deaf dog understands: outside, bed, crate, time to eat, lie down, sit, broccoli, be quiet, and more.
Dogs know "do a thing / get a thing" pressing buttons gets them attention and owners know the attention comes in the form of food, outside, play, talking, petting, etc. I sense the buttons are arbitrary, but they know all buttons get something good, even if it's just you talking to them. You're still guessing what they want specifically.
I'm mindblown! I'm wondering if I could teach my puppers to express themselves by pushing buttons like those. They understand basic concepts like 'walk', 'food', 'bath', 'trip', 'yes', 'no', everyday objects, people names, etc. We speak Spanish tho.
honestly, it looks pretty cheap and easy to just diy. the hex tiles are common children's play mats. and those buttons are pretty simple, and probably pretty cheap. I'm just not sure how loading sound files onto them is achieved.
@@nitanice Yeah, a lot of people start with a DIY setup to begin with, especially since you won't necessarily know if your pet is interested until you try it. I've heard some say they prefer the recording quality on other buttons over FluentPet's, so that's also something to take into consideration. That being said, FluentPet's buttons are quite a bit smaller, so they'd be easier for smaller dogs and cats to use, since the Amazon buttons and others of that size are made for human hand strength/weight. They're also easier to scale up if your pet gets very involved in learning, since the buttons are more compact and can be arranged in a way that's easier for you as the trainer to track. They also sell much smaller sets than the full hex grid Bunny uses, so you and your pet can try it out for a bit cheaper. It's all up to you, your budget, your training style, and what tools will be best suited to you and your dog.
Repetition and patience. Animals are hardwired to seek patterns. If an animal hits (food) and are consequently given food, they'll learn the button's meaning It's really not that different from teaching tricks---a dog who hears "sit" can learn what behavior the word is associated with through repetition
I'd be interested in something like this for my mini pig. Pigs are supposedly even smarter than dogs, with intelligence compared to chimps, dolphins and human babies. Has anyone ever used this on pigs?
I followed the instructions for about 2 weeks now, but my dogs are not even looking at the buttons.. it’s only humans pressing those buttons right now😭 Do you have any solutions that the dogs might become interested in pressing the buttons?
I had this, apparently for our dog the word we chose wasn't fun enough. When we changed it to Balcony, which he often tried to get onto, he picked it right up. He was already used to ringing the potty bell, though, so it may have been a smoother transition that you will have
There is quite a bit of negativity in these comments. I have been training dogs for 30 years and what I have discovered is they are only limited by their owners. People want their dogs to know so many behaviors. The problem is they do not take the time to teach them. Training is a 24 hour a day process. Show them a behavior and use it all the time when interacting with them. So the question is can they actually learn to communicate to this extent with us and in my opinion the answer is yes. My Rottweiler had an incredible vocabulary. I used the word cookie so much that she believed that when I said it she should have one. So I started spelling the word. It took her 3 times hearing it and she understood. OK so I tried treat she watched I used the word and again it was hers. My pup spoke perfect Dog-lish. She learned to think and was a problem solver. My husbands GSD was trained through modeling behavior of my other dog. I would work with my rott and click the behavior I wanted and the GSD watched my other pup and learned without formal training. We did not have buttons but they would let me know they needed something and I would give them a list of words, cookie, play, drink, outside ect all things that they knew the meaning of. When I said the right one they let me know. We underestimate our dogs I do not believe that they process thoughts in the same way a human does but never believe that they cannot process thoughts at all. They are only limited by us their humans when it comes to what they can learn.
What button brand do you recommend?
Thank you! finally a comment that I can 100% back up. That is probably the best way to word it, Dog are only limited by their owners and that is something I can say is a fact!
thank you for your wonderful post . I have a Malinois who is very bright and I just got the Fluent Pet kit . What is the best way to go about teaching words that don't really correspond with an object or activity . How would you teach "mad " or "remember" for example ?
I've been trying to teach the buttons to my 10 year old dog for about 3 months. Here's what I learned:
They understand a lot of what is said (I already talked to him a lot since he was a puppy, like you do), but communicating what they want in words (buttons) is difficult. You need to understand that their brain is different or this is not for you. They have the language capacity of a toodler (and communicate like one), so you need to be patient. They take their time to figure what they are going to press, to ask/respond, If the dog already got what they wanted before just through body language like mine, it's worse (they'll insist the old way). you have to be lovingly calm and persistent. At first my dog rejected the buttons for weeks, I didn't give up. I want to know him better, I want him to have more autonomy and be able to tell me he's feeling pain before it gets too bad. He's so excited now that he discovered he can get things with buttons 😂 And he surprises me too! Sometimes I'm sure he wants something and he proceeds to ask for something else, it's amazing!
For anyone worried you need to start out as a puppy; I've been teaching my dog and he is 4 years old. It's going really well! Today I got my hextiles in the mail so I've been replacing my older buttons with the newer ones. The quality is worse than my older ones (makes sense, the older ones used 2 AA batteries and it was much more expensive), but the small size makes up for it. You can start teaching your dog at any age, as long as you've already been talking to your dog a lot, it should be easy :)
I'd love to know how you got your dog to press the buttons. Received mine today and he just doesn't seem to connect to pressing = treat/reward/praise
@@sarahparmenter It can take weeks! What's important is that YOU use the buttons. It's easy to start with the word "Outside" and every time you take your dog for a walk, press the button, and say "outside" out loud as well. Make sure your dog is watching when you do this. Eventually your dog will get curious and may press the button on their own. For my dog, it took him a week before he used it for the first time, about a month before he used it regularly.
I heavily discourage a treat button, as your dog may associate it with a trick instead. "Press button to receive treat" is not something you want to teach your dog.
How do you teach that you are “Mom,” and not your name?
@@WestieKatie It all depends on how you and the other people who enter your home most often refer to you when talking to your pet. If, say, your spouse always refers to you as "Mom" when talking to your dog, then your dog will already know you as "Mom." If you use names, then it might be best to re-record the "Mom" button to say your specific name since it's more familiar already.
My puppy is a 4 month old Jack/chi and we introduced the buttons as soon as we got him. We spent a month pressing the “potty” button every day before he went out potty (to get him used to it) meanwhile we were also teaching him basic commands like “sit” and “touch” eventually we combined touch and potty and he knew what to do. We have added a few other buttons since. Where can we buy the hex tiles? Thanks! 🙏🥰
Baby bunny is literally the cutest thing on earth.
YES!!! No trainers discuss this nearly enough. Talk, talk talk! To your dog. It teaches then to listen and teaches them about their capabilities to communicate with their owners!
I believe constantly talking to my dog from a puppy really grew his emotional intelligence
"Want where mad?" I hear that puppy. Incredible.
For people who don't seem to understand how to train a dog how to emote using the buttons:
It's important to speak emotions in context a lot. My dog knows these descriptors because when he's mad, I tell him he's mad or ask him why he's mad (although I use the word "upset" because he seems to prefer 2-syllable words). When he's excited and full of joy, I tell him he's happy "Look at that happy boy!" and things like that. I declare the emotions I'm observing.
And I fully realized he understood them one day when he walked into the room, seemingly wanting to play and I just told him (without exhibiting any emotion), "No play, mommy is upset." And he instantly dropped his toy and came over to me to show empathy.
So with the buttons, you could press the button that corresponds with the emotion until he/she realizes what those are there for.
4:23 "You wanna go look for the cat upstairs?" (Nods)
Wow. I've seen that nod in dogs before but didn't realize it until now that the nod is cross-species. It's almost entirely an affirmative gesture across all of humanity. I imagine it was crossed to canines, who've evolved culturally alongside us as our companions and friends.
There are many places around the world where they nod differently.
@@robertbes1122 Yes, that's true. Sometimes head shake and nod are completely reversed! But I imagine dogs that have been domesticated in places where it means assent have also taken that meaning. It also seems somewhat natural, which is why it's near universal, perhaps having to do with it being a sort of trust. You lower your head to show you don't need to look at the other person constantly, that you aren't afraid of them, and in fact agree with them.
Sometimes as a "yes" my dog nods her head as she sneezes.
@@kdcbattlecreek I've definitely seen that one, especially before a walk. "Do you want to go on a walk?"
Meanwhile, the cat is hitting the “leave me alone” button.
I cannot express how thankful and impressed I am by this work. That is a very happy and healthy dog. :D
I just ordered a Basic Vocabulary set to start teaching at least my youngest pup. I'm pretty excited about it.
We received our first buttons today. It will be interesting to see how quickly our Lab puppy picks this up (or doesn't).
Where do you get buttons??
update please
Hi there, I'm also a dog listener myself. I've studied Dog Ethology. Visually, they can only distinguish clearly BLUE and YELLOW. So it a big challenge for them to see all what you see on the matt (cause humans distinguish between 3 colours). For example: red, orange and pink, they will perceive it as yellow.
Anyway, in order to make it easier for them, it would be useful to learn about Dog Ethology so you may understand you their species perceive :)
she actually nodded when her mom asked if she wanted to go upstairs to look for the cat.
My doggo is almost three, so we're kiiiiinda getting started with him late... Buuuut he's a pretty darn smart pup, and we are beyond excited.
from what I understand, its about placement and consistency. training your pet to hear those words and connect them to something they want- because yes, some animals have wants and needs too. does your cat or dog want attention? they come to you and show physical signs, but can you be 100% sure that's what they want? introducing buttons and showing actions they represent will teach that pet to use the button to ask for their needs. as a baby, you cry and whine because you can't speak. it will always be a guessing game until the child learns to talk. so therefore, it's not too different in this aspect.
I can't wait to get some for my cat! She's brilliant and talkative and understands way more complex English than I would normally be able to know a pet understands just from their behavior and body language. I'm really curious to see what will happen when she can speak back to us in the same language.
At some point, this is going to become commonplace, and your dog is going to tell your whole family every time you do a #2.
I still cant get over play poop for the word fart... Thats so smart
Dogs have limited color vision, only able to see blue and yellow, but a spectrum of those colors combined with shapes would help them identify the word they're looking for rather than black buttons with letters that they can't read. They don't memorize or understand the word on the buttons, they memorize the placement of the word on the floor, so when moved around it would be frustrating for anyone. The company would help the animals quite a lot if they started designing these with shape and color combinations.
I was just thinking that. Shapes and maybe even textures or smell would help
From TikTok! I am going to purchase buttons for my disabled Yorkie hoping he can say potty thirsty and very important Mom I love you. Lol! I love Bunny, y’all are fabulous with your consistency teaching reinforcing etc!!
I'm so excited, I can't wait to get mine this month!
I wonder if Bunny could or would interpret for her dog friends if they were over for a visit?
Flambo advocates for his 'sibling' Espeon since Espeon doesn't use the buttons. It's super cool.
Bunny vs Billi the Cat is so funny to see what each animal prioritizes in their communication.
Just got mine today! I enjoy training her, can’t wait to get started.
Oh.. She cant read the words.. She has to memorise the locations of the sounds like its a massive piano
It does have a one thing to help! They have the words grouped, names, verbs, adjectives, temporal, etc. Ofc it doesn't make it easy, just easier!
Great analogy!
Considering dog intelligence level, that piano is not just massive, it's almost overwhelmingly enormous. Just imagine combining 200-key combinations on 30 000 button keyboard to get the gist of how hard it is for the dog. Ah yes, also the buttons are all the same and unsigned.
@@ShadeAKAhayate I guess I don't get your point. Nobody is using that many buttons that I know of.
But a piano would be easier to remember because the notes are repeating in different octaves. Also the keys are smaller and we can hit them with our fingers. Dogs have to use their paws which are a lot bigger
I have seen that some use stickers to map up and differentiate the buttons. That seems more learner friendly so I’m gonna go with that. I mean try learning to type on a keybord that’s blank, not an easy task.
me:（Bunny）（Happy）（Cute）
Saw a video on Facebook this morning with these buttons in it and it led me to looking this up because I would love to try to train a future dog to do this. It's super frustrating when I don't understand what my dog wants and I imagine it's even more frustrating for her.
Also, don't listen to the haters. Those who are saying this is fake or that you've basically fooled yourself has never paid close attention to a dog and actually formed a close bond before. Those who have know they have complex emotions and needs just like we do. And they are SO much smarter than people give them credit for.
This video did nothing to convince me that the dog really knew what it was saying. The dog was just throwing out random words otherwise. I mean did the dog look like it really wanted to play with the cat? Why would the dog announce that instead of just doing it?
@@farwellmusic3069 on netflix it shows bunny saying ouch paw and he had something stuck in his paws
There was a safety gate that why the dog told owner.
incredible video. THANK YOU so much. I have learned so much from this video. Thank you for mentioning the fitzgerald key method. I would have never known anything about it and I want to make sure I am making it as simple for "Skeeter" as I can. It also made so much sense, but I would have never known about it. I am very excited to get started. Thanks again. I love all you videos and Bunny is such a joy.
Finally, an approach that makes sense! All the other videos about this are very "training session" oriented. IMO, your kind of simple, practical approach (of pressing the button before doing the activity naturally) seems like it has a much better ROI, and maybe it's even better overall.
lmfao
I have a soft coated wheaton terrier mixed with a chow chow. He is 10 years old and has more intelligence than any other dog i have met in my life.
I want to start training him to use buttons. But he is mostly blind. He is also diabetic and epileptic, so If eventually he could have a button that said "sick"or something that would really help me to monitor his health.
Do you have any reaources on or ideas about helping a blind dog learn these skills without using treats as rewards?
Thank you for the food and treat advice! I feel like it has slowed her down. Going to try a new approach after watching this video
I'm gonna order some tonight. Genius invention!
Bunny is such a lovely and happy dog. Watching these videos has made me talk to my own dogs differently, bearing in mind both that they can understand more than I think, and that perhaps some words have different meanings for them. I don't have money for buttons, but if I ever do, I'll try this with my 11-year olds, or any other animal I'll have.
this was very educational. I see a lot of youtubers making these videos and they always start off with "treat" or "food", which is easy and anyone with zero knowledge can do it.
Ordered mine this morning! So excited!
Where do you order buttons??
Mine came 11/3/2020!!! Yes! Thank you for sharing this opportunity to open more communications with our fur babies Alexis.
Mine should arrive tomorrow! I can’t wait to get started!
LOVE your earrings by the way! I also love this whole concept, I can't wait to buy buttons for my future fur baby!!
I started introducing the buttons to my dog 2 weeks ago and started with 'outside' i'm fairly confident she really understands the concept of the button and it's not just a conditioned response. My problem is that she doesn't use the button unless she has line of sight or visual contact with a person. I'd like her to use the button even if we're upstairs so we can come down to let her out. How do i go from here? Is it just a matter of needing more time?
Use a door bell. It's louder or place another "outside" button upstairs
I have two dogs and one of them used the outside button last night … for the first time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My cattle dog is exceptionally intelligent BUT my pomchi is feisty lol
OmG how freaking adorable I never saw her so young!!! Love her!! God bless her!! 🙏❤️✨
There was a dog that would get it's leash at the exact same times every day and bring it to you to go for a walk.
Another dog of mine we would spell potty and the dogs would be able to learn that it was the same as saying outside. From that point on I knew they had pattern recognition much like humans do. I knew before that, although that was the proof.
Granted much like humans, some are smarter than others. Siblings could be vastly different too.
This dog is manic. "MORE NOW HAPPY... HELP"
I was wondering how you can train them to press "concerned" or "mad"? Sometimes it's hard to tell concern from worry. And mad is also something that would be tricky. What is the best way to do that?
Cedardryad, a recent Q&A on I Am Bunny answers this. You might want to check that out too. I think it was in the later parts of the interview. If I recall, Bunny's training went something like, her mom Alexis being in tune with Bunny's body language, then catching her in states of arousal. If Bunny was hearing an unknown cat or a stranger outside, Alexis would press "concerned" . Alexis would be the one to match Bunny's state with a word, catching her whenever she could, and then pressing the button. That's how she trained her to associate that "emotional" state with a button, "love you" and "concerned". She didn't have to force Bunny. It was just patience, observation, consistency, and pressing the button when oppurtunity arose for a teaching moment.
How do you teach the meaning of 'now' and 'later'?
Push "PLAY, NOW" then play right then and there, or push "PLAY, LATER" and wait an hour or so to play. You can do it with any other word that makes sense but that's the general idea.
where do you purchase the foam hex mat to put the buttons in?
Where do you order these larger buttons from?
How do you teach conceptual words like "concerned" or "happy"?
“Mad” is doing something to make your dog mad
@@puppt4843 I was just wondering how to teach it. Thanks
You can order buttons on Amazon. We're waiting for ours. 4 buttons for $20. And you can record any word you want in them. I got those bc Ayvah is used to my voice so it might help learning. However, I think you can also get prerecorded ones with words that some people with nonverbal autism use to communicate. I tend to stat away from those thougg bc I know theyre needed by kids & dont want to cause a shortage bc our dogs use them. (Heres the link for the recordable ones I got: www.amazon.com/dp/B00HT5HBMO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_Z7TDWQ12N69HGGJKDDTF)
@@lizminer9034 May I suggest having pictures/symbols instead of words associated with the buttons, I suspect it might be easier for a dog to understand.
@@andershoff3816Thank you, yes, you also need to know how your dog learns. It depends on the individual dog. Some dogs are more visual learners, some audio learners, some scent driven, some play driven, food driven, etc... Ayvah def responds to words. I started yesterday & by today she was tapping a fake button to get her used to tapping a button. We go in stages. A dogs reasoning or understanding is similar to toddlers, or at least it has been for every dog I've had.😊
Hahaha I made the mistake with my little rescue girl that ‘hungry was her first word.’ She would push it in the morning to wake me up and when I asked her if she was hungry she got up on her two legs and walked to the bed so she could be eye level with her little head bobbing. I just started my boy with ‘throw it’ last week. So far he’s hit it a few times but mostly it’s me. We will keep going. 😅
Cutie! I taught my old cat to say out… He knew how to say Ma,mam - “awa.”
I’m getting a kitty soon and I can’t wait to get some buttons and tiles!!
Who the fuq said this can be done with cats?
@@csabo1725 You can check out the Catmanjohn channel, and Billi speaks. I think Billi is pretty awesome with the buttons.
Omg this is so great for me because I’m buying this tomorrow
Where did you get the hex tiles from?
It comes with the FluentPet starter kit I believe
I absolutely want to do this with my cats and dog. My dog is 5 mo, so I think this will work for him. One cat is 1yr old, maybe she will catch on. but my Sam is like 10. I think he will say go away lady LOL.
how did you teach emotion? like mad, and happy?
Probably from speaking it in context a lot. My dog knows those words because when he's mad, I tell him he's mad or ask him why he's mad (although I use the word "upset" because he seems to prefer 2-syllable words). When he's excited and full of joy, I tell him he's happy "Look at that happy boy!" and things like that. I declare the emotions I'm observing.
And I fully realized he understood them one day when he walked into the room, seemingly wanting to play and I just told him (without exhibiting any emotion), "No play, mommy is upset." And he instantly dropped his toy and came over to me to show empathy.
So I suppose with the buttons, you could press the button that corresponds with the emotion until he/she realizes what those are there for.
Amazing to watch! Animals are so smart!
Im going to start buttons with my dogs. I talk to mine all the time. I think they already know the key words. What button would you add after outside?
I've been wondering that too. she said here not to go for food related words...so? I guess
another important set of words are their names and mine. and something like "mail" to maybe get them to stop barking at the mail delivery. and I notice most of these folks have a word for ouch, or hot.
and then activity words like walk or ball
I just got a new dog and thinking about getting buttons too. I'd say next steps are activity words or favoured items, like the other reply mentions walk, ball. I'm thinking of doing outside, then getting more specific - backyard, walk, car ride and so on. If your dog has several toys, could do ball, Kong, stick, frisbee, etc. In the video there was a request for scritches, and Billi the cat asks for pets, so some words along those lines (tummy rub, ear rubs, etc).
BUNNY HAS MADE SO MUCH PROGRESS
4:24 she nodded!!
This is so fascinating omgg
A latent button story?
Our 10-year old golden doodle, Buggy, learned to use the buttons very quickly. She was a pent-up talker! But we only have four buttons and they wound up mostly under the stove, and after a couple of years, were forgotten. So I was very surprised to hear “Buggy go out, pee and poo!” earlier this week. We had had a very disruptive houseguest who had upset everyone, Buggy included apparently. She had an emergency, a rare instance of diarrhea, and had pulled out the button to tell me. We got outside in time. She knows at least 300 words/commands that I know she knows. And who knows how many more she knows that she hasn’t taught me yet! She loves to run errands around the house, can identify the body parts of her stuffed animal toys (I hadn’t taught her, she knew them from knowing her own!), and can track animals and lost or hidden items. I’m thinking of getting her a more complete set of buttons. I think she has a lot on her mind.
Surprising intelligence and a funny story? On a trip to NH a few years ago we forgot to bring one of her toys. We stopped and bought her a plush moose. And later when I asked her to “bite the antlers” she went right to them. My husband, known for his dry sense of humor, remarked, “well she’s not that smart, it was just process of elimination…”. We love our Buggy, and miss that wonderful funny man.
Awww. Love this story. Have u ever read the art of racing in the rain? your dog reminds me a lot about the one in the book. It’s a book being told from the dog.
I love this story. What a special pet.
How do you teach concepts like "happy" and "ugh", etc.?
I found your take on this much better than listening to an established trainer and maybe you are I just started watching your channel but this was a really good explanation
With the availability of 3D printing, why not make the buttons distinct shapes to make remembering them easier?
Cost without benefit. The round buttons are mass produced and are bought in bulk, with the sound recorded into each simply. 3D printing them into shapes of things would be fun for humans, but the shapes would be arbitrary and meaningless for a dog.
For example, imagine the love you button was shaped in the heart shape we think of - ♡. But this shape only holds meaning for us.
For a dog like Bunny, the location of the button is far more important than the shape.
@@SatoshiMatrix1Of course the shape would be arbitrary to a dog but as long as a dog can differentiate a circle from a triangle it could help distinguish words. You might not need hex tiles if whos, whats, when's, and wheres where separated by shapes like squares, triangles, circles, and stars.
Bunny has pictographs on her buttons btw.
Position alone is like learning how to type on a keyboard with no markings but everytime you learn a few new letters the keyboard gets rearranged to accommodate them. It's frustrating. I just think shapes would help to avoid frustrating the learner.
@@E_Ten I believe the pictographs on the buttons are as much for the humans to easily identify and access as for the dog.
That being said, the hex tiles that FluentPet uses also have different kinds of shapes printed on them that are intended to evoke the general sense of the category of button that's on that tile. They're specifically designed with estimates about a dog's cognition in mind, but it's possible that you could do the same with button categories as well.
The benefit of using all round buttons is that unlabeled packs can be re-recorded with vocabulary that better fits a particular family's interactions with their dog. I suspect that's one of the main reasons (besides production efficiency) that pre-made button packs don't use multiple shapes.
@@SatoshiMatrix1 That's not exactly true. While the symbolic nature of a heart might not have meaning, dogs can distinguish between 200 different stuffed toys. So buttons of different shapes SHOULD be helpful to distinguish between concepts, esp when paired with different locations.
@@vh3472 What I was saying was the buttons being more important than the shape is because the button location tied to what the button does is an easier concept to teach a non-sentient animal than needlessly adding in more variables like location + sound + shape + color + smell + texture, etc.
Dogs are not humans and it is both unrealistic and unfair to teach them anything as if they were. They're animals. The fact that they can accomplish this much is incredible. Expecting a dog to learn many additional unnessesary variables is going to be frustrating both for trainer and dog.
I watched a video by one of your detractors. This was my response:
Interesting video, and I agree with a lot of it. However, to use one instance of the dog pressing random buttons, doesn't take away from the sessions where the dog clearly is attempting to communicate using the buttons. Like the video where she presses the ouch button with stranger, and the owner finds a thorn in the dogs paw. Yes a big part (maybe the biggest part) is body language and tone, but I don't think all these responses by the dog are random and meaningless. I think there is a little truth to both of these views. will dogs be able to communicate fluently in English, probably not, but I wouldn't discount all of these responses, and just chock them up to pure luck. I also don't think to go after this woman who is clearly not a professional trainer is warranted either. She is clearly trying her best to understand the best way to do this training, and I give her a lot of credit for the effort she is putting into this. Is she reaching sometimes?, Probably, but that exuberance is just her trying to make it work. I am sure that you have had similar experiences with the animals you have trained. All in all I don't see this as being a bad thing. Imagine what would have been missed with primates if we hadn't explored things like computers with them. I am just saying?
Would you recomend starting with the Hex pads initially, even if there weren't that many buttons on them?
The beginner kit comes with one, and it's tidy
Good tips; we didn't speak right away; we all had to learn words. So why dogs not? He just notted when ask if he wanted to look for the cat! 😀😀
Just started with my dog. She’s already hit it a few times but she is trying to play with the button lol. I told her not to destroy them until she actually learns how to do it
Where can I find those buttons for my pet
I love this! I can't wait to try it with my cat.
I'm getting started with a 3 yr old german sheperd. I'm curious which buttons would be good to start with. Cant be 'outside' because we have a doggy door with 2 dogs in house. And he is food and ball obsessed. Would really appreciate any advice. Thank you.
Same story here. But my German Shepard is female and 3.5 years old. Id like to know as well
Maybe start with something they really enjoy? Like “play”, “scritches” or “toy”? Something that you already say, but that makes them happy.
How do they read to press the button?
They learn where each button is located, so they don't need to be able to read the buttons' descriptions.
So I started with touch training. They only use their nose and not paws. So will have to use it against the wall. But my one girl hits most of the exercises. But the button freaks her out a bit. Outside will also be the first word but for now it's just touching the button. How did you get bunny to not get nervous of the click on the button
My boy gets freaked out too!
Ours is also a nose presser, and my only issue is that he doesn't always preas hard enough. Somehow click was never an issue!
Where do you buy the hex tiles I ca to find them
Just look up Fluent Pet. They have an online shop.
I got mine on amazon - if you buy regular "dog Buttons" on there, it comes up with some hex tiles and velcro in a package you can get. I just got the first four buttons to try.
Congratz at being on netflix. Saw hidden lives of pets yesterday. I hope more people will see it as at least for me it open some eyes.
on Netflix? Which show?
@@lexiehollens3610 secret life of pets
@@pyeyoung8095 thank you!
where can I get the foam tiles?
Where did you get the Hex Tiles with the cutouts?
Amazon or the fluentpet website
i just received my button starter kit ... very small buttons where do the large buttons come from ???
What is the purpose of the Now button? With dogs isn't it all Now?
Nope. They also have later and soon buttons.
Lol
The dog nodded at her when she asked if it wanted to go upstairs to see the cat @ ~ 04:23
I saw that too!
I wonder if I could teach this to my cats. I would have done food or eat as the first button but she mentioned not to do that. So now I wonder what I would start with.
Try potty or outside
My cats are indoor
@@denisemakuhmierzwa4721 Then do potty
@@abriannam9325 litter boxes exist for a reason
@@aaaaaxo Idk maybe they’d need help getting to it.
Thank you this was so helpful!!
Don’t like that ‘fluent Pet’ has no email address or mailing address to contact them. It doesn’t look like you can return then if any buttons are damaged when you get them. Their rule states that they will accept returns, for unopened packages only. They charge for delivery and amounts are U.S. dollars.
I guess this was an issue when the company was newer. The products come with a warranty now and they have great customer service. They were probably still working all of that stuff out at the time.
Can your cat press the buttons too?
Can this work on an older dog say 6 years old or does the dog have to be a puppy?
I’m sure it can work with any age. I’m about to start training my 8 year old dog. I had my dog since she was a puppy and we understand stand each other very well, so I believe this new concept of using buttons won’t be such a problem for us.
Billi the cat is quite old, around sixteen years. I saw an older cat at an Airbnb who watched the Billi videos to try to teach himself how to talk to people, I'd guess he was about five. It's all motivation.
Some of these words like "outside" and "food" are easy for a dog to learn by association, obviously. But how do you teach her words like "Mad" or "Later"? I think that obviously you're trying to sell a product so the video makes it look like the buttons are effective. I'd love to hear from buyers if they were taught how to teach their dog and how much their pets can actually grasp this list of vocabs.
Yea you are right, just as easily a dog scratches the door to go out or taps on his empty bowl when hungry. But in no way can they use a button and understand emotions or things like later, love, happy, etc. They just know when they hit a button, they get affection, the mom with her high-pitched voice looks at them and says "oh you are happy?", which to them is a reward. They do not understand on a fundamental level what the words mean. They want the reward for the action.
The owners are actually doing research and are full funded my some big institution regarding canine cognition and learning the words. Bunny herself if a major part of this years long project.
I dont know all the details but its not just some random person try to sell something or become internet famous.
They only started recording for the initial data.
Weird replies ^^^ to your comment so far, but a real answer is: Probably from speaking it in context a lot. My dog knows those words because when he's mad, I tell him he's mad or ask him why he's mad (although I use the word "upset" because he seems to prefer 2-syllable words). When he's excited and full of joy, I tell him he's happy "Look at that happy boy!" and things like that. I declare the emotions I'm observing.
And I fully realized he understood them one day when he walked into the room, seemingly wanting to play and I just told him (without exhibiting any emotion), "No play, mommy is upset." And he instantly dropped his toy and came over to me to show empathy.
So I suppose with the buttons, you could press the button that corresponds with the emotion until he/she realizes what those are there for.
I dont know what to put on my first four buttons. They are on a schedule to eat, so that's not necessary. I can already tell when they need to go outside, so maybe not that. IDK
Outside might be a really good one then. Since you know what it is, you can use that to help teach the buttons. Play might be another good one. Or maybe even one for bathroom, and one for walk. I think I'll be using that for my dog because then I can know if she just want's outside because she's bored or if she's going to diarrhea all over my floor again.
Though i'm just a random person on the internet that knows nothing.. just my two cents
How do you teach them what “happy” or “mad” mean?
There seem to be a lot of words that have very vague meanings, yet the animal seemingly uses them. I do wonder if they actually understand the words, or if they're just hitting the buttons randomly and the human is just interpreting that as having meaning where there is none.
Tail wagging and teeth baring.
do you know when they are happy or mad/sad? If so, thats when you press the button. Thats the reductive approach anyway.
@@Here_is_Waldo they definitely do not understand the words
I wonder if the dogs who know ow how to use buttons could teach other dogs or puppies.
I wonder how you brush your own teeth
Yes! I follow Bunny on Instagram and they got a puppy a few months ago. Otter has been watching and now uses the buttons as well. He even 'spoke' to Bunny with them recently!
Considering my dogs learned from each other when they were still alive, I would almost guarantee that would be a thing.
Where can I find these buttons everywhere I look the color is on top of buttons instead of black like yours
They're from Amazon. Just search "recordable buttons"
would a 3 1/2 year old dog be young enough still?
We haven’t started the buttons yet, but we taught our deaf dog sign language at 9.5 years old and our other rescue sign language along with the deaf dog at 12.5 years old. I’m guessing the buttons would be similar. Can teach anything if you’re consistent in the modeling.
Our deaf dog understands: outside, bed, crate, time to eat, lie down, sit, broccoli, be quiet, and more.
Billi the cat is something like 12 years old and the buttons are relatively new to her. 💙💜❤
Dogs know "do a thing / get a thing" pressing buttons gets them attention and owners know the attention comes in the form of food, outside, play, talking, petting, etc. I sense the buttons are arbitrary, but they know all buttons get something good, even if it's just you talking to them. You're still guessing what they want specifically.
how do I order the buttons for a cat?
Everyone can.
Look up Billi the cat
What clever dog so smart I need another puppy omg
Do you guys have a video for cats?
Search for Justing Bieber the Cat on youtube
Billi the cat
*Rapidly pushes button*
"TREAT." "TREAT." "TREAT." "TREAT."
I'm mindblown! I'm wondering if I could teach my puppers to express themselves by pushing buttons like those. They understand basic concepts like 'walk', 'food', 'bath', 'trip', 'yes', 'no', everyday objects, people names, etc. We speak Spanish tho.
The customer records words on the buttons, so you can use whatever language your dog understands! I'm thinking about getting this for my dog.
How is she able to distinguish which button says what? Is it location, color?
She said it was location
it seems that its not about bunny understanding proper english but bunny knows if that button is pressed what happens
"Hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry"
lol
Where do you find the buttons?
Thank you for your interest. You may purchase the buttons at fluent.pet/
How do you teach her that you’re “Mom” when others call you by your name? My dog is very attuned to words already. I want to try this
I would buy it but the shipping is super expensive and it takes over a month to get to me in the US...
honestly, it looks pretty cheap and easy to just diy. the hex tiles are common children's play mats. and those buttons are pretty simple, and probably pretty cheap. I'm just not sure how loading sound files onto them is achieved.
@@OnlyFactsPlease Most people use the recordable buttons you can get off Amazon or wherever.
You can buy buttons on Amazon for a song. Not sure you need a pad to put them on. Probably could put on a piece of carpet or door mat.
@@nitanice Yeah, a lot of people start with a DIY setup to begin with, especially since you won't necessarily know if your pet is interested until you try it. I've heard some say they prefer the recording quality on other buttons over FluentPet's, so that's also something to take into consideration.
That being said, FluentPet's buttons are quite a bit smaller, so they'd be easier for smaller dogs and cats to use, since the Amazon buttons and others of that size are made for human hand strength/weight. They're also easier to scale up if your pet gets very involved in learning, since the buttons are more compact and can be arranged in a way that's easier for you as the trainer to track. They also sell much smaller sets than the full hex grid Bunny uses, so you and your pet can try it out for a bit cheaper.
It's all up to you, your budget, your training style, and what tools will be best suited to you and your dog.
How do you teach. Words like what
Repetition and patience.
Animals are hardwired to seek patterns. If an animal hits (food) and are consequently given food, they'll learn the button's meaning
It's really not that different from teaching tricks---a dog who hears "sit" can learn what behavior the word is associated with through repetition
I'd be interested in something like this for my mini pig. Pigs are supposedly even smarter than dogs, with intelligence compared to chimps, dolphins and human babies. Has anyone ever used this on pigs?
I guess you can be the first one to try these. Who knoes, maybe to some success as well)
Human babies? Dog's intelligence is compared with human toddlers actually. Obviously that both a pig and a dog are more intelligent than a human baby.
I followed the instructions for about 2 weeks now, but my dogs are not even looking at the buttons.. it’s only humans pressing those buttons right now😭 Do you have any solutions that the dogs might become interested in pressing the buttons?
I had this, apparently for our dog the word we chose wasn't fun enough. When we changed it to Balcony, which he often tried to get onto, he picked it right up. He was already used to ringing the potty bell, though, so it may have been a smoother transition that you will have