The Best Dog Communication Buttons

Have you ever wished your dog could talk to you? Well, now they can…kind of. Cognitive scientists and speech pathologists have been using alternative communication buttons for a long time to help nonverbal individuals communicate. Then one speech pathologist, Christina Hunger, figured, why can’t dogs do that too?

By training dogs to use buttons with pre-recorded sounds in them like “play” or “outside,” we can open up the channels of communication without pets immensely.

Here are our top picks of button sets to get you started!

Fluent Pet’s Get Started Kit

This kit comes with six buttons and three nonslip tiles that allow you to organize your buttons however you want. These buttons allow you to record your own voice commands to completely customize them to your dog. It also comes with 67 different stickers to help identify the buttons visually.

The three nonslip tiles allow you to organize your buttons into actions, objects, and places and come ready to use with batteries to make assembly a breeze so you can get started ASAP.

Learning Resources Recordable Answer Buzzers

These buttons are a very budget-friendly option for beginners. It includes four buttons in different colors that can record up to seven seconds of sound each and are powered by AAA batteries. The batteries are not included but the set does come with an activity guide to help you get started.

Talking Products Talking Tiles

This fully customizable kit comes with six tiles that can hold up to 80 seconds of sound each! You can record sound directly onto these tiles or by uploading sounds from a smartphone or computer via an audio jack. Each button also has a transparent cover so you can insert symbols or pictures as a visual aid.

Galapara’s LED Voice Recorder Buttons

This button kit is great for many reasons! Each button records up to 30 seconds of sound, is easy to press, and, lights up when it is pressed. This light-up feature makes the buttons especially easy to use for dogs who are hard of hearing.

Mighty Paw Smart Bell 

While this is not a button kit, it is a useful tool for pet owners to make their lives easier.

This is a button and plug-in receiver set that allows your dog to let you know when they need to go outside without scratching at your door or barking. The easy-to-press button can be placed anywhere near where your dog goes outside, and as long as the receiver is within 1,000 feet of the button, a bell tone will sound to alert you to your dog’s needs. This button is also water resistant so it can be placed outside for your dog to let you know when they are ready to come inside.

There are 38 different ring tones and four volume levels to choose from to completely customize the bell. It comes with a training guide to help you get started and a self-charging battery to make life easy.

Any button set you choose will get you and your pooch started down the path of better communication!