Have you seen all of the social media about pet owners using communication buttons to teach their dogs (and some cats) to express their concerns and even make sentences? I’ve been following Bunny the dog and love watching her learn to “speak” through communication buttons. Bunny is a Sheepadooble and her owner, Alexis, actually started the project as part of a research study.
Did you know that dog buttons weren’t a novel idea? Nope, occupational therapists and speech therapists have been using these buttons, called “AAC Switches” or Augmentative Communicative Devices for 40+ years to teach people with disabilities or who have lost their ability to communicate to do so with these simple switches. Like the Thunder Vest, I really missed out on an opportunity to bring a therapy idea to the pet world. If you are looking for communication buttons for your pet, then Amazon has lots of wildly popular ones, such as Talking Pet Starter Set, or the Boskey Set of 4 Buttons and Mats.
Have fun! If you can teach your dog to write his name, then I want to know. 😜
