Koda, do you copy?

This past weekend I had watched a Netflix documentary called “Inside the Mind of a Dog.” It was extremely fascinating to me. We got an inside look at how a dog came to be a companion, in very loose terms of course. For if it was truly about how they came to be a companion, it would be an entirely different documentary.

This documentary showed how different organizations studied and trained our lovely side companions to be service dogs to help those who need it, while also learning to understand more of how the mind of a dog actually works. It was all super informational and was super fun to watch because, well hello, there were cute little puppies and more adult dogs being talked about and trained. You have to see the some of the different tests they performed and how they are trained in little snippets. One tool in particular caught my eye was the FluentPet buttons.

FluentPet buttons is a tool that, with the right amount of training and positive reinforcement, will help bridge the gap of communication between you and your pup, or any other pet. After I saw these buttons used on the documentary it brought my curiosity to a level I could not ignore anymore.

For years I have wanted to purchase buttons so that I may train and be able to communicate with Koda more fluently. I have seen several videos of owners speaking with their pets and so I finally bit the bullet and ordered a ‘tester kit’that has two buttons. I couldn’t stop there. I got an expansion pack right away, knowing that Koda is so smart he would understand and I could have more commands for him to tell me. They arrived last night.

I set up a couple of buttons. The first one, obviously, was “mom.” I thought that “mom” would be one of the easiest things he could communicate and I could respond to since I am his “mom.” The buttons came with a QR code that I could scan and get a free training video on how to use the buttons and such and I do have that in my “Need to do” pile of things, but for now, I know a bit of how they work. So, I set up a few other ones too: “outside,” “potty,” and “play.” It is recommended to only have two to three buttons set up at a time, but I might be a little overachiever over here. Don’t worry, I will slowly introduce the buttons one at a time and once I actually read through or watch the video - for training myself on how to use these nifty communicators - there will be more buttons introduced and of course purchased.

Koda has been a very smart boy and has gotten what the “mom” button means… me. My attention. He generally has my attention anyway when I am home but soon, he can start telling me if he wants butt scratches, to play, to eat (because food is always a yes) and well, anything he wants in time. If only there was a way like in Harry Potter, that you could see a little 15 second snippet of him pressing the button and his tail wagging and excitement on his pupper face when he knows he did well.

I definitely recommend the documentary as you learn more about our wonderful best friends.

SEEKING

W

ONDER

BY

SAMANTHA Y OCIUS CREATIVE MEDIA