Big Paws (a collaboration)
Giant Learners
The basic principles of button teaching are pretty universal but sometimes specific kinds of learners have specific needs. At TTB we consider ourselves solid generalists but with learners who are very different from our own we prefer to consult with folks who have direct expertise. As all our learners are under 10lbs, we decided it would be helpful to talk to people we knew with big pawed learners to find out how teaching them might differ from our little guys or even a “regular” sized dog like a Labrador.
Who are our collaborators?
Catherine and Carley are friends of ours who have spent tons of time on the HTCT forum and in other parts of the community helping others and sharing their expertise. They are both well informed about button theory and very generous with their time.
About Catherine and Cara:
“My name's Catherine and I have a Great Dane button-learner, named Cara. She joined me in my home on the 27th March 2022 at 9 weeks old. I lasted a week before I put down her first 5 buttons at 10 weeks of age. Straight away she pressed a button. It was accidental/experimental, of course, but still! Straight away she had given me an opportunity to action her button presses to show her they had meaning. With regards to my worry of her chewing, I was very lucky that she rarely attempted to chew the buttons or tiles. On the few occasions she did, I quickly distracted her with appropriate toys. (Never get angry or frustrated with them as it unknowingly shows them that you don't like them interacting with the soundboard, which isn't the case at all!)”
This is almost exactly my experience with Bunny - some puppies have chewing issues, but often that phase is really manageable because they quickly learn it's much more rewarding to talk with buttons than chew them! -Lizzy
About Carley and Willis:
“Willis is a three year old Great Dane who has been using AIC since puppyhood. Willis was a Connect alpha tester, so he has been using the prototype for some time and recently received the production version. The soundboard currently comprises 25 words. “Treat”, “Outside “, “Willis” and “Play” are his most frequently used words, and “Treat, Willis” is his most frequently used word combination.”
Soundboard layouts for big learners?
Carley says: “Large learners need space! If you have a big learner it is very important to leave space between buttons. We use no more than three buttons per hextile to aid in accuracy. Just imagine accurately pressing keyboard buttons with bulky gloves on to get an idea of the difficulty large learners face when presented with a crowded soundboard. Remember to give your big learner adequate space between the soundboard and the wall or other obstacles so that it’s possible for them to look down at the button placement.
Our setup differs from others I’ve seen mainly in the space requirements. There are spaces between buttons with a large clear space all around so Willis can access all of his buttons.”
We always advise that you leave as much space around the board as possible but that's usually a nice to have thing. It hadn't occurred to me that a big learner would need more room to be able to see the buttons! -Anna
Space
Catherine agrees: As with all learners, space the buttons out. Giant breed puppies, and some adults, really don't have great proprioception (the perception and awareness of their body and feet, especially their back ones) so spacing is even more important for them. This lack of awareness makes it even harder for them to aim their giant paws at a small target, especially since they go through such huge growth changes in such a short period. Spread the buttons out and only start putting them closer together once they have built that awareness of their body and are pressing well.
I will admit, I think button pressing really helped Cara with her proprioception and she now uses both her front and back feet to make presses, sometimes simultaneously.
Carley says: Personally, paw/eye coordination was our biggest challenge in the early days. Giant breed puppies are notoriously clumsy and Willis was no exception.
“Who you calling clumsy?”
Catherine adds: Utilise the logos on the hextiles to your advantage! This is to do with stepping space. I have found that you don't have to have the logos on the hextiles all facing the same/right way up. They can be rotated to have 3 logos pointing together. This creates a stepping space large enough for a Great Dane paw when you start filling the tiles a bit more after the early stages. It can also help to have a fully empty tile in an area that is busy with buttons as you build their vocabulary.
Love this advice! -Anna
FluentPet also have Large Paw Hextiles specifically for large and giant breeds which have bigger spacing around the buttons to avoid accidental presses. The only downside are these are not currently made in the new solid colours like the Compact Hextiles or are in any bundles (as of Nov 2022 but this may change).
However, these Large Paw Hextiles are optional and not a necessity. Cara does just fine on the original compact hextiles.
Really useful advice as I think a lot of people would see a big paw option and assume they'd be better for a Dane. -Lizzy
Tips for teaching large dogs?
Carley says: Target training is often essential for learners who are both large and young. Paw/eye coordination can be especially difficult when they are growing so much every day, so starting with target training can give these special learners a boost.
Catherine says: Give them lots of thinking time! All learners should be given time to process their teacher's modelling and questions. But as most giant-breed-lovers know, our big dogs tend to not have the lightning quick brains of, say, a border collie. So give them extra time to process presses. Although, sometimes they do surprise you with their fast comebacks so still monitor them closely!
As they get better, teach them to wait. I have had to teach Cara to wait until I've finished modelling before she can make any presses to avoid us banging heads or a tail whip to the face which is at the perfect height for it while I'm bent over the soundboard of buttons!!!
This image is too funny! -Anna
Any other special considerations?
Carley says: Our soundboard was originally placed against the wall to save space, and that was a mistake. Willis could only observe the board from a bit of a distance, because otherwise his face would be pressed against the wall. Once the board was in a more open area, Willis was able to look at the board from directly above and reach out to press buttons in more combinations.
Catherine says: As I've experimented with decreasing the button spacing, Cara has also learnt that she can use one paw to press two buttons at the same time if she steps between them! She generally only ever does this with buttons that would be used together normally and in context to each other, i.e Love You and Cuddles, or Food and Puzzle. She has learnt the path of using the smallest amount of energy to get the point across or result.
Another interesting thing to note on the conserving energy topic, Cara walks along her board (right to left), then stops and stands over her board, and just moves her front and back paws to make her presses. I've noticed this recently, as in most button videos you'll see smaller dogs having to walk back and forth to press different buttons around their soundboard. Sometimes she'll continue walking without stopping over the board but I can almost see her experimenting even 7 months later with how she presses.
Learners that are still maturing go through so many behavioural changes and this is a great reminder to any adolescent pet owners to keep an open mind about new button use. -Lizzy
Most Danes I have had the pleasure of meeting tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves and can be quite an emotional, vocal breed. So I had a feeling (pun intended!) that Cara would take to the emotions buttons very quickly and I was right. They are among her most used buttons. She narrates her emotions throughout the day and they are generally in context with the situation at the time. So, keep this in mind if your giant is on their button journey and doesn't have any emotion words yet.
Cara is very sensitive.
Anything else?
Carley says: Listen to your learner and treat all presses as intentional. You will be surprised how much they have to say.
Catherine says: Cara and I are both still learning in this big, new world of AIC soundboards for pets, as we all are in this talking button community. Every learner is unique and the above is just our experiences so far and could be totally different from your giant breed's button journey. Cara and I wish you good luck and hope to see and chat with you in the button community! We need more giant breeds and their owners joining in! There are too few of us!
Totally agree! Any other big dog teachers please reach out! -Anna
Takeaway points
Space out your buttons and leave room for big bodies
Target practice will help big clumsy paws learn precision
Give thinking time but don’t underestimate them, treat all presses (even multiple buttons with the same foot) as intentional
Anna and Lizzy Editorialize
Anna: It’s fascinating how much of this is common advice that applies to everyone but is extra essential for big dogs. Space around the board is always good, but here it’s critical. And it would never have occurred to me that having them wait while you use the board could be a safety issue!
Lizzy: The points Carley and Catherine make about giant breeds’ challenges with coordination emphasise how important it is to understand the characteristics of the breed you’re working with, and that although a lot is almost universal with button teaching, that trait is a great example of why it’s really important not to compare yourself to others of have expectations (and NEVER targets) for button use.
Thanks so much Carley and Catherine!
We really cannot thank these two enough for their input. Our learners are all little guys and while most of the advice is the same there are some critical pieces here that we have never had to consider. Both of these two can be found occasionally on the HTCT forums and Catherine and Cara can be found on Tiktok and Instagram.
Carley and Willis aren’t big on social media so Carley asked me instead to link to K9s for Warriors, an amazing organization whose mission is “to prevent veteran suicide by providing highly-trained Service Dogs to military veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma. With the majority of dogs coming from high-kill rescue shelters, this innovative program allows the K9/Warrior team to build an unwavering bond that facilitates their collective healing and recovery.”
So please check them out as well! They are a fantastic organization.
