Things My Dog Says

 

At 8 and a half years old and having been with me since 6 weeks old (yes, young, I have explained before that it was recommended by the vet), I have worked with him from day one and he's always been extremely intelligent.
He has known well over 100, maybe even up to 500 words (it's difficult to count because he understands so much and for example knows all of his toys by individual name etc) for many years, however, about 11/12 months ago we decided to get him some recordable talking buttons to communicate his basic needs with us.

We aren't interested in having a room full of buttons for him to make full sentences, we know he could, we literally just want his life to be as fulfilled and the least stressful it can be for him. So right now he has 12 buttons which include, Play, Balloon (his favourite thing to play with), Yes, Bed, Toilet, Settle, Sweetie (what we call treats), Dinner, Oops, Baker, Water and Help.
These are specific to his daily routine that he is always very set on and allow him to let me know what he needs or wants when he needs or wants to. There are a couple of others that could perhaps be added, like 'No' and 'Hugs' but for now, we manage how we have all his life by body language, facial expressions and general intuition.

Anyway, we've found he can be rather creative to get his point across. So for the past month or so I have been noting down things that stand out as funny or extra clever! See them below...

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Baker loves balloons, I don't know when the obsession started exactly...but it did and it is exactly that, an obsession. My Mam was given some that light up and he loves these more than anything. On these balloons, there is text that reads 'Party Time' and one day once he'd ran downstairs from his nap and grabbed the balloon I started saying 'Parrttyy Tiimmee' in a funny voice. He didn't seem amused, stopped playing, put down his balloon and went to his buttons where he firmly slammed his foot onto the play button and glared at me. I took that as a 'Shut up and just play Mam!' haha.

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With having a limited range of words to use to get his point across, Baker will occasionally press whatever button he feels is closest and gesture to get your help. He struggles with allergies and sore ears during the change of seasons and has some natural drops he uses for relief. When he gets his drops in I always give him a sweety for being good, so when this particular morning he pressed sweety then shook his ears I asked him if he wanted his drops in and he ran to the cupboard to get them. 

At first, I was confused because unlike most dogs he doesn't tend to overuse the sweety button, rarely getting sweets in the morning. This, alongside his gesturing, helped me to realize what he needed. He now has a 'Help' button for these instances.

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You'll see that most of these tend to relate to his balloon haha! He'd been playing with it earlier when the balloon landed on his water bowl. When we came to play with it again half an hour or so later I asked him 'Where is your balloon Baker?', he responded by pressing 'Water'. It took me a second to realize that his balloon was on his water bowl! 

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After getting brushed in the garden, we were playing chase and I ran after him into the house saying my usual 'I'm going to get your bum!'. He ran straight to his help button which gave us a chuckle.

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Baker is very particular with routine and seems to have a strict body clock. After a certain time of night, he likes to settle down before going up to bed at around 8.30, just before us. Apparently this one evening Josh and I were being a little annoying, talking and being a little too rowdy for his likely so he told us to 'Settle'!

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As bedtime approached this evening, Baker knocked his balloon behind the TV by accident. He cried for it but we told him that he could have it in the morning as it was time to settle down. As soon as he got up the next morning and ran downstairs his immediate communication was 'Help Balloon' so that I could help get it from behind the TV.

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On this morning I told Baker I wasn't feeling very well so I was going to have a sit-down. He went to his buttons and pressed 'Settle'. I asked him was that an 'Oops' press, did he mean something else? He went back and pressed 'Settle' again to which I asked if he'd like to come to have a cuddle with me and he replied 'Yes'.

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Jokingly I said to him 'Can I help you?' as he had been sitting bolt upright staring at me. He very seriously told me 'Yes'. Which again made me laugh!

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Baker and I had been on the webcam with my Dad and Baker went off to play with his balloon. My Dad asked him 'What have you got?!' and he again firmly pressed 'Balloon'. Duh Granda, it's my balloon!!

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As of yet, I've been unable to get any of these interactions on video because we don't have a specific camera set up and like most people he 'talks' at random moments with no pre-warning for me to start filming. He isn't a performer though and as long as he is helping me to help him that's all that matters!
I hope you enjoyed reading what Baker has been saying recently and if you are interested in starting to communicate with your dog - go for it! So many people have said that their pet is too old, too young, too stupid, and I'm telling you now that if you personally put in the time and effort no breed or age should be ruled out. 'Blame the owner, not the breed' can also be attributed to training situations as well you know haha!