Problems with FluentPet 

I taught my dog to use the buttons and got her up to 20 before we got a new puppy. I didn’t start teaching the new puppy because she was very young and had no focus. However, she started using them all on her own when she was 11 weeks and learned them all. She now has 56 buttons and she taught herself each word and I just worked on modeling when she pressed any new button. Since she started using them a lot, my older dog stopped using most of them except a few that are very specific to her. My husband hates the buttons because my younger one is so vocal, it takes us over an hour to watch a 20 minute tv show because we have to keep pausing to let her “talk” and get/do what she wants.

Hi, Since dogs are so scent orientated maybe the foam mats smell too strong of chemicals? Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Late thought re "does not like the back buttons" - perhaps if the buttons were not against the wall? If he could move "all around" the buttons that might make them all of equal "ease"? This video was a while back, maybe you solved this already.

Hello, I know you put this video up almost a year ago. If Kion or anyone elses pets are having trouble with the mats or buttons, some things you can do are: present them as much as possible, if possible leave them out all the time. They don't have to be anywhere near the buttons but the goal is to show him that they exist and aren't going to hurt him in anyway. Once they are comfortable with the mats, you can slowly transition them towards the buttons. Also, pairing the mats with reinforcement. Start with a treat around them, where ever Kion is comfortable. That could be 6 ft away or 6 inches away. Then slowly place the treats closer and closer, then on the mats. Maybe even only having 1 mat at a time out. Basically pair them with lots of reinforcement and very slow introductions to the mat. It could take days or weeks for your pets to feel comfortable. Hope this helps anyone having trouble with the buttons or mats!

we just started too with the buttons, i really appreciate your videos

I have read comments from many manufacturers sites and no one has talked about my problem. My dog uses her outside button and puzzle button (treats inside) she is absolutely crazy about my cats but doesn't even try to activate any buttons about the cats. She sometimes get excited about her play and ball buttons when she hears them. But she does not ask to play. Don't know how to motivate her.

have you considered adding a subtle pallet of scents to each individual selection? is smell not more dominant than visual acuity/processing for a dog? you could link the scents to the items themselves, some fresh grass and leaves for the go for walk, whatever. There must be a way to find or make a scent-permeable material that holds odors without being unsanitary...

I have the same problem of my dog activating the record message!! I don't know if she hits too hard or something, but it's so annoying! We have stopped trying to use them because it happened too often and it got really annoying.

For the larger foam tiles, the problem is that they slide on the ground and your dog don't find that "stable". Buy a thin but semi-rigid carpet or other large appropriate surface that WON'T slide. Buy velcro strips, the widest you can find. Even better, velcro sheets that you simply cut to the wanted sizes. Glue the velcro strips to the "carpet" and the back of the tiles. Keep the overall hexagonal shape layout, and thus, you get tiles that won't slide or move away. Assume your dog will eventually learn LOTS of words, so prepare a big enough "carpet" area, and make sure the dog has a VERY easy all-around access to all the switches. Front-row + back-row of switches all disposed against a wall, that is a very weak layout. The middle of living room is much better, even if you have to sacrifice the space for the coffee table. For pictures, dogs are bichromic, they see only in blue and yellow. Thus for dogs red greens browns and greys all look the same. Thus, red and green balls look great too us, but will ordinary and much less "contrasting" for dogs. Bright reds and greens particularly, are like trying to read pale grey text over white paper. Not the best. Seek more neon blues ad yellows to catch their attention better. Research has shown that abstract symbols that for us are "obviously" easily representing something, might be quite harder to interpret for animals than simple true color photographs of the thing itself (removing all background). Essentially abstract icons act more like just an extra set of symbols to learn. It might work fine for complex ideas, but for everyday stuff say associating "Mom" with directly your photo will work just fine. For example humans interpret the meaning behind an "arrow" very easily. Not so much for a dog, a pointing finger might be better. Also, dogs tend to see the world less in terms of what is an object around them, and more in terms of that object's *dynamic movement* (where it's going) and what he will do with it. It's more "action oriented", so choosing more words that allow them to better express their unique "dog mindset" might help. Also, don't always make every button leading to good things. Focus on letting him express himself, and interacting and reacting appropriately, much less (if at all) on giving treats simply for pushing "the right" button, because then he'll just push and push until he hits the right one by pure luck, and his motivation won't be to understand how they work and communicate, but just too get treats. It is SUPER easy to let your own human perception confirmation bias make you think the dog is a genius and that he definitely understood it right, and to rationalize and "ignore" all the times he didn't. Also, don't make all buttons MEAN good things. Letting him express bad stuff too "SAD", "HURT", etc. is important, and some buttons should be there for YOU to communicate to him even though he himself will VERY rarely use them.

Hi! I like your channel! I am a grad student in the Speech and Language field and I enjoyed how you explained topics such as the difference between an articulation and phonological disorder. I also own a Border Collie, white and black 1 year old.

I just ordered the mid range option with I think 24 buttons. I have two chihuahua puppies 10 mos. old. They are very sharp and catch on quick. I started yesterday working to prep the to “touch”, by placing a treat under a very small clear cup. They went from scratching the side to already touching the center. The kit is supposed to ship end of the month. Any suggestions on first word? We don’t have easy access to outside (we use potty pads) and I heard treat or food is not a good place to start. Do you have any other recommendations for preparing them? I am glad I found your page to hear about the tile issue. My girls would have been spooked as well. Now I can make sure they are secure and won’t slide.

If your buttons are playing the preset “how to” recording when the switch is to the right, you definitely have a faulty button and should email fluent pet to replace the button

Interesting video here (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Gvg242U2YfQ.html) on how dogs hear + see (only in blue + yellow). Doesn't seem like the little images/pictures would be that important. I think that's more for human use. Maybe black + white patterns and shapes like they use for babies? Strips, dots, zig-zags, etc. Also, thinking that you could make your own pads, either with carpet tiles or those foam interlocking tiles and use dbl sided tape to stick them in place. Just use a utility knife to cut out openings for buttons. Kion's sharp, and you're doing great keeping up him.

Can I ask where can I find these toys?? In the eastern cape province?