How many children dreamed (or still dream now) of being able to talk to their dog? Thanks to talking dog buttons the communicative gap between different species, and in particular between dog and human being, seems to bring its shores a little closer, forcing us to question a phrase as wise as it is universally accepted, namely: “Dogs lack only the word”.
Let’s see what it is and why these curious keys have gone viral on the net.
The Talking Button Method for Dogs
The method of talking buttons for dogs is innovative but at the same time already known in the human field. She was the first to train her dog with this system Christina Hungerspeech therapist, who with great intuition has adapted these buttons already used in AAC, Augmentative Alternative Communication, to the canine species.
What is Alternative Augmented Communication?
L’CAA approach it is used to allow people with complex communication needs, such as severe disabilities, to communicate through alternative channels to the oral one, in this case, with the help of sounds and buttons.
What can it do?
With AAC it is possible to express not only primary needs, but also preferences and desires.
Here, used to communicate with the dog, it can find various applications and great potential, in addition to the communication of basic commands such as the simple “let’s go out”. With a little time and patience we could add ever higher levels of association, for example inserting the names of his toys, giving the dog the possibility of choice.
Following his example, the American Alexis Devine taught her bunny over 40 words, spreading the “fashion” of talking buttons.
How do I use Talking Dog Buttons?
Talking dog buttons are simple colored buttons which allow you to record your voice with the command you want, and play the sound or word every time they are pressed by the dog.
With time and the right teaching, Fido will be able to make a successful association managing to communicate his needs (and not only) through the key.
It is important that the dog can distinguish the buttons as they are acquired and added to the platform, perhaps with different colors.
We start with the simplest commands, such as those related to food, such as “eat” or “let’s go”, which are particularly central events in a dog’s life.
How do the talking buttons work on the dog?
Talking dog buttons work according to a associative criterion between the sound or word emitted by the button and what we want the dog to associate, which can be:
- an action, such as eating;
- an object, such as a toy of it;
- a feeling, such as feeling pain.
When Fido has full command of the command, he will be able to communicate with you through the simple gesture of placing a paw on a key. But don’t expect immediate results: as always with our animals it takes patience and dedication!
What are the steps to train a dog to talk buttons?
To train your dog to use the talking buttons you need to:
- Starting from simple, basic commands that the dog knows;
- Record the desired command on the button;
- Have the dog associate the command reproduced by the button with the action or object, reproducing it as soon as the button is pressed;
- When Fido presses the key in turn, we will reward him by performing that action, and so on until the dog masters the command
e.g. to teach the dog “let’s go” we will press the button every time we leave the house together, repeating the gesture several times in a day.
However, these buttons do not claim to want to interpret too complex feelings or what our dog would really like to tell us, but if used correctly they can be a positive stimulus for the dog and a good mental activation exercise that strengthens the bond with man , and why not, it shortens the distances a bit from a communicative point of view.
Christina herself didn’t expect such a strong response: would you like to try them? What do you think? Let us know in the comment at the bottom of the article! 👇