Meet Mónica and Baxter, the Button

Meet Mónica and Baxter, the Button-Talking Goldendoodle Mar 18, 2026 By Calvin Docking 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 all in one. Before Baxter, despite living in our neighborhood for 7 years, my husband and I barely knew anyone. Through him, we’ve made so many friends– dog and human alike. He loves food – fruits and veggies included. He loves “small humans,” including his baby brother, 14 cousins, and all the neighborhood kids. And though he appreciates couch rotting from time to time, he’s also always up for an adventure and has even flown internationally. To know Baxter is to experience unconditional love, and I am so grateful to have him in my life. Q. How long did it take for Baxter to press his first button? When we first brought Baxter home, I knew I wanted to get him buttons, but I never imagined he would have so many. I had purchased the basic 30-button They Can Talk Kit, thinking they’d take us a while to get through, and a month later I found myself ordering more buttons. Because Baxter was potty training at the same time that he was button training, his first word was outside. Though he pressed it minutes after introducing it, I had been narrating the word repeatedly for about a week beforehand. Q. What have the buttons revealed about Baxter that you wouldn’t have known without the buttons? It is truly remarkable just how intelligent our learners are when given the opportunity to engage with us. The combination of words he uses to express sentiments and needs beyond even what I ever intended for him is always just so fascinating to witness. Without his buttons, I may never have had the opportunity to truly appreciate how smart, sweet, and funny he is. Q. What do you do to ensure the buttons remain an engaging and positive experience for your learner over time? When button training, the reward is having a voice, and that means doing/responding to the thing they’re asking for when introducing new buttons. The day Baxter got a pupsicle button, he probably ate about 8 that day. This is obviously not an everyday occurrence, and if anything, an opportunity to later introduce words like “all done,” “later,” “tomorrow,” etc. Point being, your learner has to know that by pressing their buttons, even if the answer is no, you are engaging in a dialogue with them and listening to their wants and needs. Even when we are not at home, I am constantly narrating and conversing with Baxter using th

e vocabulary I have given him, much like you would with a toddler or anyone really learning a new language. “Soon Mama Baxter's baby brother go home” “When walk all done, Mama wipe Baxter mouth and give Baxter small treat. We go home now.” Constant reinforcement via modeling is also important if you notice your learner has stopped using certain buttons. This is especially true after we’ve been traveling for a while. Q. What’s your funniest button moment? I was walking around the house doing chores and singing one of my many made-up songs for Baxter, as one does, when he walked over to his board and pressed “mouth” made eye contact with me and proceeded to press “rest.” Needless to say, I did in fact rest my mouth out of sheer shock that he’d found a way to tell me to shut up. Want buttons like Baxter? He uses Connect Buttons with HexTiles. Shop Baxters Buttons Q. What’s your most surprising button moment? Baxter was actually the one who told me I was pregnant. In January 2025, my husband, Baxter, and I went on a two-week road trip. During this time we didn’t have his buttons with us but from one day to another, he became extremely protective of me from my husband, which was very unlike him. As soon as we returned home, he began pressing his smell button around me. “Smell loud human” “smell mama” “smell smell” “smell go” “smell belly leave” “help smell.” It really had not crossed my mind that I was pregnant and his presses coupled with his protective behavior had me convinced I was sick. After all, I have seen plenty of videos and read many stories of dogs detecting illnesses in their humans due to their amazing sense of smell. That was until I saw a video of a pregnant mom whose dog had also become possessive of her when dad tried approaching her, and did the math. Sure enough, his behavior coincided with when I would have become pregnant. My mind was blown, but unfortunately at the time, I didn't realize what was happening in time to save the camera footage of many of those presses. Q. What challenges have you faced with button teaching? While it is difficult to anticipate whether your learner will have 3, 30, or 130 buttons, I would encourage those interested in starting this journey to approach it with a lot of intentionality to avoid having to constantly rearrange/move their board. While Baxter has been more or less adaptable, he has struggled at times when I have had to move some buttons around more drastically in a way that makes sense given his expanding vocabulary. If you have the real estate, leave some spaces empty for future buttons and group

words where possible. Q. How do you decide when to introduce a new word to your learner? Before starting our button journey, I had created a small list of “must have” and “nice to have” words I wanted Baxter to know. Things like body parts, key places we frequent, feelings, actions, and people and dog friends are all part of his board. Given his propensity for button pressing, as his wants and needs evolve, so has our list, and in turn, the buttons we place on his board. I am really intentional, especially given how much space his board already takes up, about which words I add to his board. A recent example of a new word added is “space.” It’s a word I’ve been using for over a year now. I ask for “space” when he tries to follow me to the restroom. “Space” when we have visitors over who aren’t crazy about dog kisses. “Space” when he’s around small humans. Now with a new baby in the house, it’s even more important that he be able to give space when asked, but also ask for it once his brother starts crawling and becoming more curious. Q. How have buttons changed your relationship with your learner? One of the many things I love about buttons is the agency it gives animals to advocate for their needs. We ask and expect so much of our pets when we bring them into our homes. Their world really is as big as we make it, and I believe it is our responsibility as caretakers to do our best to understand and fulfill their needs, not just expect them to fulfill ours. It’s the reason I ultimately went down this journey with Baxter, but an added plus has been being able to experience his personality in a way I don’t think I would have otherwise been able to experience without buttons. He really is so very funny and sweet, and being able to communicate with him on this level has only enriched our relationship. Q. What advice would you give to others who are interested in teaching their learners to use buttons? Having a talking dog is like having and raising a toddler. It is a labor of love that requires a lot of patience, repetition, and trial and error, but the upside is so worth it. Join the conversation at community.fluent.pet! Share Share Reading next Meet Marilyn and Abby: The Miniature Australian with 85 Buttons Feb 20, 2026 Martin Gorunov Meet Tiffany and Maple, a German Shepherd who started their button journey at just 3 months old. Apr 16, 2026 Calvin Docking Leave a comment This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Name Email Message Submit