FluentPet Basic Vocab Kit – Set of 12 Talking Buttons with Batteries Included for Dogs & Cats and 6 HexTiles – Customizable Cat & Dog Training Buttons for Communication – Talking Button Gift Set

Comparison between Fluent pet and Hunger for words
I recorded both buttons at the same time and then played back to see how loud and clear they were. “Fluent pet speak up” button is louder and clearer but also more expensive. The “Hunger for words” button is larger, uses 2 AAA batteries. Both are easy to record. Both require a small Philips screwdriver to open the back to insert batteries. Fluent pet comes with batteries and screwdriver. Hunger for words does not provide screwdriver or batteries. Price reflects some of these differences. I removed a star for value because I do feel that Fluent Pet is very pricey.

The buttons are too small for a large dog
The concept is great, but our dog does better with another brand of talking pet buttons. These are so small, he pulls them out of the foam base every time he uses his big paw to push it. Unfortunately, we had to go with a larger set for our big, ruff-tuff guy.

Buttons easy for cats to use, but poor sound quality, thin mat backing, odd label selection
I’ve wanted to try this for a long time, but waited due to the ages and health situations of my prior pets, who have since passed. I now have two 8 mo kittens, who are very interactive and constantly trying to “talk” to me, so I finally sprung for it, figuring now is the ideal time for them to learn. We’re still in the very early stages of using the buttons, so my rating is not based on the efficacy of the language-learning system, but the quality of the physical product.Pros:* Buttons are easy for small paws to press.* Method is straightforward.* Physical product is quick to set up, nice looking, and well-packaged.* Different colored mats for different parts of speech is an interesting idea and seems like an improvement to their original product (which I only saw in videos, but appeared to have no color coding and to rely only on spatial memory).Cons (mostly issues due to the $129 price tag):* Sound quality is a little fuzzy (no better than off-brand buttons, which I briefly tried with a prior pet) and one of my buttons is weirdly louder and another fainter compared to the others.* When removing cut-outs to place buttons into mats, neoprene backing feels very thin. It seems like it could accidentally be punched through if one is too enthusiastic.* Sticker labels seem dog-centric, along with some oddly specific ones for a “basic vocab set” in which one can record only 12 word options. I personally might have preferred a sheet of blank labels (*ideally* ones with a wet-erase surface and a thin-tipped non-toxic wet-erase pen, so that they could be edited).* Not much can be said with 12 words, especially in a multi-pet and/or multi-human household, which needs a button at least for each pet if not multiple people. For $129 it seems like they could at least include 16 buttons. Having just a few more word options could add a lot of value in practice.Overall, given the price of this package, one might expect a little more attention to detail in terms of the product quality/usability and consideration of a larger customer base.This last thought is purely speculative and does not effect my rating, but I’m wondering if it might make more sense to have differently colored and/or patterned button tops to provide clearer visual cues to link to specific word meanings. In early online videos of Bunny (from before the FluentPet system was released) generic buttons were used that were an array of bright colors, and my understanding is that those are what she first learned with. FluentPet seems to have updated their mats to allow different colors for different parts of speech, but the buttons themselves are all still white. I realize that cats and dogs see colors differently than humans do, but they do have some shade differentiation and can distinguish between high contrast visual patterns. Is it necessary to still rely almost entirely on spatial memory, or is this making potentially limiting assumptions about how animals learn language? There are little stick-figure drawings on the sticker labels, but I suspect those are more helpful to the humans.Conclusion:I still feel optimistic about this product and look forward to seeing how (if) my cats progress with it. At the same time, I see only 2 clear advantages to purchasing this system as opposed to constructing one’s own with off-brand buttons and floor mats. (1) The smaller buttons are easier for use by little paws. (2) There is no leg work, in that all the pieces are there…. Constructing one’s own system would require finding the right mats and buttons, figuring out how to attach the buttons, etc., and I’m not sure how the cost would compare. I haven’t seen any small paw/cat-sized generic buttons, so I would probably repurchase this, mainly for that reason…. On the other hand, I think that if I had a big dog who could handle the bigger off-brand buttons, I might have preferred the DYI route, since the button sound quality is not any better, and it would be easier to experiment with button spacing (for a larger animal) or with color-word association in the DIY case.

One week in and my cat is slowly getting the hang of it.
My cat is 3 years old and I have a hard time deciphering when she wants her scratches vs when she wants food. This is one of the best purchases I’ve done for my pet, because I am hopeful she will start being able to tell me what she wants. I’m about a week in and so far I’ve gotten to have her press and learn one button somewhat. I have to do say that you will need to be patient, as for each animal is different. It comes with a QR code that you can scan and read a general set of advices and tips. And please, do not start with the word Treat or any food related commands. I did scratches, as she LOVES scratches and now she can once in a while let me know when to give attention. Do not expect your animal to quickly learn and be able to teach it multiple words at a time. Patience is the key, and slow and steady wins the raise.The only thing I wish was different was the amount of pressure that it takes to press the button. It is a plastic button, so it has to *click* to make a sound, which proved difficult for my cat to learn how much pressure is needed. A little bit more sensitivity would help, especially if you pet is on the lighter side, or gentler. But overall, still happy I purchased this and I’m excited to see what new vocabulary my cat can learn and “talk” to me.

My dog has us trained. And here I am trying to train her. I think she is winning!

Great piece of kit.

我が家の小型犬はビビリでボタンを押す力が弱いです。他のボタンを使っていましたが、押しているのに反応しないことが多く、だんだんボタンを押さなくなってきました。日本で発売するのとわかり、すぐに購入しました。我が家には超大型犬と小型犬がいるのですが、力の差があるのに、同じように反応してくれるので、ボタンを押す回数が増えています。先ほども、おさんぽのボタンを押すので「おさんぽ？」と聞くとワン！と返事をしてくれます。お水、おさんぽ、抱っこ、おやつのボタンを用意しています。犬も気持ちが伝わるのが楽しい様子です。もっとボタンの数を増やしたいと思います。