Don’t you wish you knew what your dog was thinking? Maybe they could tell you about their day, what they want, when they want it, or even share their thoughts on you as an owner. But how can you communicate when they don’t speak the same language? This is where the fascination with training dogs to use “talking buttons” began.
Inspired by her work with non-verbal children, Christina Hunger, a speech-language pathologist, started teaching her dog, Stella, to use buttons that played pre-recorded words. Stella’s apparent ability to use these buttons to express wants and needs, even forming multi-word phrases, gained significant public attention through social media and Hunger’s book, “How Stella Learned to Talk.”
This public fascination with Stella and another dog on social media named Bunny led to additional scientific investigation, most notably by Dr. Federico Rossano and his team at the University of California, San Diego. Their research involves collecting and analyzing data from thousands of button-trained dogs. Recent studies from Rossano’s lab have provided empirical evidence that:
- Dogs can indeed comprehend specific words, responding appropriately to button presses for words like “play” or “outside,” regardless of who presses the button.
- Dogs can intentionally combine two-word button presses, with combinations like “outside” + “potty” or “food” + “water” occurring more frequently than would be expected by chance, suggesting a degree of intentional communication.
While ongoing research aims to fully understand the extent of language-like abilities in dogs using these devices, these studies suggest that talking dog buttons offer a promising avenue for deeper communication between dogs and their human companions.
Let’s be clear, this doesn’t mean you’ll be sitting at the table over tea, having full-blown gossip sessions with your dog. However, it does mean the possibility that you can give your dog the ability to express its wants and needs in a way that humans can better understand. Seeing all these “talking dogs” on social media might have you wanting to try it out, too. Here is some additional information to help you get started.
What are the “talking buttons?”
Think of paw-sized individual buttons that resemble a human toy. These buttons, similar to the Office Depot “Easy” button, require minimal pressure to activate and allow you to program terms so that when pressed, the term is spoken aloud. There are numerous button products available online these days. Most start out as singular buttons, and some have add-on kits that connect to form an intricate web of words and phrases for more advanced concepts.
Getting Started
Initially, you’ll likely be the one pushing the button. It’s then your turn to satisfy their request, spoken by the button, to reinforce what the button press meant. Each time, encourage your dog to press the button. With consistent action-reward training, your dog can learn to press a button when it wants food, needs to be let out, wants to play, and many other commands you set up using the buttons on hand.
Boost Training With Treats
In addition to responding accordingly to the button press, another way to encourage your dog to press the button is to use small training treats, similar to other types of behavioral training activities, such as sitting and staying.
Keep Expanding Their Vocabulary
If your dog succeeds with the first simple button, you can gradually introduce new buttons to help grow their word bank. Dogs are intelligent animals, and once they learn one word, the next in the series should come more easily. They may even start to associate multiple buttons (as phrases) and press them together to form a more complex request (such as outside + play.)
Remember that every dog is different. Some may learn more slowly than others, and the training process can take weeks or even months. If you’re experiencing issues with your dog’s ability to use the buttons, it may be beneficial to try a different strategy. There are also many resources on the internet to help you learn teaching techniques.
Teaching your dog how to talk is one of the many fun and interactive activities you can share with your dog. Although it may be challenging, the buttons can open a whole new world of communication with your furry friend.
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