FluentPet Blog and News

FluentPet Blog Get access to our latest news by signing up for our newsletter. Email Submit Featured Guide Meet Melissa and Sam: How Buttons Helped Sam Advocate for Himself Q. Who is this learner of yours? Sam is a 3-year-old Chihuahua mix with the running and catching skills of a major league ball player (and the throwing skills of a t-ball player, but he’s working... Jul 27, 2026 How a Soundboard Becomes a Map of Separate Buttons The perception science that explains how your learner sees their board Before your learner can learn what any button means, their brain has to solve a more basic problem — one so fundamental we rar... Apr 24, 2026 Meet Tiffany and Maple, a German Shepherd who started their button journey at just 3 months old. Q. Who is this learner of yours? Maple is a 1 year 11 month old German Shepherd dog Q. How long did it take for Maple to press her first button? Maple pressed her first button the same day we ... Apr 16, 2026 Meet Mónica and Baxter, the Button-Talking Goldendoodle Q. Who is this learner of yours? Baxter is a 2.5-year-old mini goldendoodle and total Libra– charming, affectionate, and incredibly loyal. The best antidepressant, weighted blanket, and companion ... Mar 18, 2026 Featured Guide Meet Marilyn and Abby: The Miniature Australian with 85 Buttons Q. Who is this learner of yours? Abby is a 6 year old, 33 pound, Miniature Australian. She loves to play with toys and she’ll do just about anything for a treat. She’s very smart and extremely ath... Feb 20, 2026 Lovers of dogs and mystery novels, this one’s for you! Proust supposedly said something like “never meet your heroes”. What does a long-dead French philosopher know anyway? I recently had the chance to sit down and talk with one of my heroes, Patricia ... Feb 20, 2026 Meet Geri and Puffin: The Scottish Fold With a 90-Button Vocabulary Q. Who is this learner of yours? My name is Geri, and my learner’s name is Catsby’s Origami Puffin, or “Puffin” for short! Puffin is a five year old Scottish Fold boy, and I began teaching him bu... Jan 13, 2026 FluentPet Meet Meg and Ruby: She’s Learning to “Talk” and I’m Learning to Listen Q. Who is this learner of yours? Ruby is my one-year-old, 30-pound mixed-breed rescue! We adopted her from Wright Way Rescue in Chicago back in March 2025. The shelter guessed she was a Boston Te... Nov 13, 2025 Behavior Is Your Dog Ready to Shine? The term “pandemic puppy” has been thrown around a lot during the last few years, and is heavily loaded with largely negative connotations about underprepared and overeager animal adopters and dogs... Oct

24, 2025 Communication So you think you know your dog? When I first adopted my late dog Remy, it was clear that he was a hound. If his long ears and big eyes weren’t proof enough, once he found his voice there was no question at all that he had that si... Oct 16, 2025 Communication Priceless Companions My life is made better every single day by the dogs, past and present, who have shared the journey with me. I am grateful for the many ways that dogs have expanded and enriched my lived experience,... Sep 23, 2025 Buttons Meet Molissa and Tilda: The Pitbull with Big Feelings, Big Words, and Even Bigger Friends Q. Who is this learner of yours? Tilda is a 4.5 year old pitbull that I rescued as a puppy. She knows what she wants and knows how to get it! She loves her friends and family fiercely. Q. How lo... Sep 18, 2025 Buttons Many, Many Dogs... As a researcher, I depend on working collaboratively with colleagues across many disciplines, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love the ideas that spark and the opportunities that arise when... Sep 12, 2025 Welfare What’s in your dog’s drinking water? I share a lot with my pup, Sonder. He sleeps in my bed (much to my partner’s chagrin), rides in my car, and even gets tastes of my ice cream. And since I primarily work from my home office, our dai... Aug 27, 2025 Meet Joelle & Bastian: How a Hurricane Rescue Found His Voice Q. Who is this learner of yours? Bastian is a hurricane Florence rescue from 2018; he was found wading in the flood waters with his sister, Ariel, at 4 months old. I had put an application in to ... Aug 18, 2025 Welfare Traveling with Dogs and Cats: Dos and Don’ts Whether it be a short ride to the vet clinic or a road trip down the coast, there is almost always something about co-piloting with a dog or cat that will surprise you. So, to make the most of your... Aug 14, 2025 Welfare Summer Fun & Safety It’s that time of year again. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, summer means warmer temperatures, longer days, and (ideally) more time outside! As someone with an aversion to the cold, I ... Jul 25, 2025 Meet Quinta & Bunbun—70+ Words and Counting Q. Who is this learner of yours? Bunbun is a 3-year-old Border Collie, and we’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. Q. How long did it take for him to press their first button? Before we got a... Jul 22, 2025 Behavior Dogs Understand More Than We Think I was recently at a party where someone told a joke about their dog learning to spell faster than their human children. My friend explained that their dog Zucco got so excited when he heard the

wor... Jul 14, 2025 From Border Collie to Blind Cats: Morgan Krug’s Multispecies Button Journey Catch Morgan's crew in action on Instagram @pawsitivebehavior Q. Who is/are this/these learners of yours? Current learners:Adora, 6 yo Border CollieCady, 1 yo, visually impaired black catBernie, 1 ... Jun 13, 2025 Communication Celebrating Karen Pryor If we’re lucky, we’ll have at least one or two inspiring mentors through the years. These mentors will be the people who are there at the critical points to guide, support, and listen, the people w... Jun 11, 2025 Welfare AI and Pain Detection What is the first thing you do when someone tells you to think of a loved one? Usually, we picture their face in our mind’s eye. Faces are special not only because they help us identify each other,... Jun 2, 2025 Communication Meet Kim and Curiosity: A Button Journey Full of Heart and Humor! Q. Who is/are this/these learners of yours? Curiosity is a 2 year old pepper and salt giant schnauzer I got as a puppy. He’s trained to alert to low cortisol for my adrenal insufficiency, but most... May 22, 2025 Behavior A Brief History of Kennel Clubs Over the years I have noticed that many people, myself included, tend to be drawn to particular breeds or breed groups when it comes to the dogs with whom we share our lives. In talking to people a... May 12, 2025 1 / 4