20 reviews for FluentPet Tester Kit – Set of 2 Dog Talking Buttons & HexTiles – Customizable Cat & Dog Training Buttons for Communication – Batteries Included – Pet Buttons Gift Set

1. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   Amazon Customer (verified owner) – February 16, 2024

   These are the old buttons with the speaker on the bottom - poor quality

   Poor quality. All of the buttons are the older first generation model that has the speaker on the bottom and no holes on the top. That makes the volume quite faint. If I'd realized that I would not have ordered this set so I'm pretty disappointed. Also 3 of the buttons don't work properly – the seem to have speaker issues and are more quiet and/or crackly. I do not recommend this set and I plan on returning it. For the price this feels like a rip off as the quality just isn't there. I own the next generation buttons as well (the ones with the holes) and they are a lot better. But of course you can't order a tile kit with those buttons on canadian amazon. Kind of wish I had no decided to go with fluent pet in the first place. I may look around for other products that are compatible with the buttons I have.

2. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   Korenski (verified owner) – February 16, 2024

   These are the old buttons with the speaker on the bottom - poor quality

   Poor quality. All of the buttons are the older first generation model that has the speaker on the bottom and no holes on the top. That makes the volume quite faint. If I'd realized that I would not have ordered this set so I'm pretty disappointed. Also 3 of the buttons don't work properly – the seem to have speaker issues and are more quiet and/or crackly. I do not recommend this set and I plan on returning it. For the price this feels like a rip off as the quality just isn't there. I own the next generation buttons as well (the ones with the holes) and they are a lot better. But of course you can't order a tile kit with those buttons on canadian amazon. Kind of wish I had no decided to go with fluent pet in the first place. I may look around for other products that are compatible with the buttons I have.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Anonymous (verified owner) – July 24, 2024

   My dogs needs more familiarization

   My dog has us trained. And here I am trying to train her. I think she is winning!

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Why HexTiles Matter (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

   Comparison between Fluent pet and Hunger for words

   The media could not be loaded. I recorded both buttons at the same time and then played back to see how loud and clear they were. “Fluent pet speak up” button is louder and clearer but also more expensive. The “Hunger for words” button is larger, uses 2 AAA batteries. Both are easy to record. Both require a small Philips screwdriver to open the back to insert batteries. Fluent pet comes with batteries and screwdriver. Hunger for words does not provide screwdriver or batteries. Price reflects some of these differences. I removed a star for value because I do feel that Fluent Pet is very pricey.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Anonymous (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

   Great for a smart pup!

   Easy to use and great results. We eventually had to take it off the floor bc of over use! Fantastic purchase 😊

6. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Anonymous (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

   Small buttons

   While the sound is good, the buttons are small. Not ideal for a large breed dog.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Anonymous (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

   Loud and clear

   These may be a tad too loud, but they are clear and work great.
   My cat has no interest even when I tried training with treats. She cares not.
   The item itself is great but only buy these if you have a really motivated pet.

8. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   Anonymous (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

   Buttons easy for cats to use, but poor sound quality, thin mat backing, odd label selection

   I've wanted to try this for a long time, but waited due to the ages and health situations of my prior pets, who have since passed. I now have two 8 mo kittens, who are very interactive and constantly trying to "talk" to me, so I finally sprung for it, figuring now is the ideal time for them to learn. We're still in the very early stages of using the buttons, so my rating is not based on the efficacy of the language-learning system, but the quality of the physical product.

   Pros:
   * Buttons are easy for small paws to press.
   * Method is straightforward.
   * Physical product is quick to set up, nice looking, and well-packaged.
   * Different colored mats for different parts of speech is an interesting idea and seems like an improvement to their original product (which I only saw in videos, but appeared to have no color coding and to rely only on spatial memory).

   Cons (mostly issues due to the $129 price tag):
   * Sound quality is a little fuzzy (no better than off-brand buttons, which I briefly tried with a prior pet) and one of my buttons is weirdly louder and another fainter compared to the others.
   * When removing cut-outs to place buttons into mats, neoprene backing feels very thin. It seems like it could accidentally be punched through if one is too enthusiastic.
   * Sticker labels seem dog-centric, along with some oddly specific ones for a "basic vocab set" in which one can record only 12 word options. I personally might have preferred a sheet of blank labels (*ideally* ones with a wet-erase surface and a thin-tipped non-toxic wet-erase pen, so that they could be edited).
   * Not much can be said with 12 words, especially in a multi-pet and/or multi-human household, which needs a button at least for each pet if not multiple people. For $129 it seems like they could at least include 16 buttons. Having just a few more word options could add a lot of value in practice.

   Overall, given the price of this package, one might expect a little more attention to detail in terms of the product quality/usability and consideration of a larger customer base.

   This last thought is purely speculative and does not effect my rating, but I'm wondering if it might make more sense to have differently colored and/or patterned button tops to provide clearer visual cues to link to specific word meanings. In early online videos of Bunny (from before the FluentPet system was released) generic buttons were used that were an array of bright colors, and my understanding is that those are what she first learned with. FluentPet seems to have updated their mats to allow different colors for different parts of speech, but the buttons themselves are all still white. I realize that cats and dogs see colors differently than humans do, but they do have some shade differentiation and can distinguish between high contrast visual patterns. Is it necessary to still rely almost entirely on spatial memory, or is this making potentially limiting assumptions about how animals learn language? There are little stick-figure drawings on the sticker labels, but I suspect those are more helpful to the humans.

   Conclusion:
   I still feel optimistic about this product and look forward to seeing how (if) my cats progress with it. At the same time, I see only 2 clear advantages to purchasing this system as opposed to constructing one's own with off-brand buttons and floor mats. (1) The smaller buttons are easier for use by little paws. (2) There is no leg work, in that all the pieces are there…. Constructing one's own system would require finding the right mats and buttons, figuring out how to attach the buttons, etc., and I'm not sure how the cost would compare. I haven't seen any small paw/cat-sized generic buttons, so I would probably repurchase this, mainly for that reason…. On the other hand, I think that if I had a big dog who could handle the bigger off-brand buttons, I might have preferred the DYI route, since the button sound quality is not any better, and it would be easier to experiment with button spacing (for a larger animal) or with color-word association in the DIY case.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Anonymous (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

   One week in and my cat is slowly getting the hang of it.

   My cat is 3 years old and I have a hard time deciphering when she wants her scratches vs when she wants food. This is one of the best purchases I've done for my pet, because I am hopeful she will start being able to tell me what she wants. I'm about a week in and so far I've gotten to have her press and learn one button somewhat. I have to do say that you will need to be patient, as for each animal is different. It comes with a QR code that you can scan and read a general set of advices and tips. And please, do not start with the word Treat or any food related commands. I did scratches, as she LOVES scratches and now she can once in a while let me know when to give attention. Do not expect your animal to quickly learn and be able to teach it multiple words at a time. Patience is the key, and slow and steady wins the raise.

   The only thing I wish was different was the amount of pressure that it takes to press the button. It is a plastic button, so it has to *click* to make a sound, which proved difficult for my cat to learn how much pressure is needed. A little bit more sensitivity would help, especially if you pet is on the lighter side, or gentler. But overall, still happy I purchased this and I'm excited to see what new vocabulary my cat can learn and "talk" to me.

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Anonymous (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

    These buttons are amazing

    The media could not be loaded. We tried some other styles of buttons and they worked fine, but for my dog, she has some special needs, she is blind and deaf on her right side, it’s a birth defect, nerve damage in her neck has made her complete deaf in her right ear and her right eye sees mostly shadows. So you can imagine with the shadows she would bark all the time and at everything and so she thought barking was how to get our attention for everything and it was constant because she was trying to tell us what she needed.
    Once she realized the buttons talk for her it changed her whole world!
    These buttons are better in every way because the speaker is not underneath the button so it’s louder and clearer, which is perfect for my partial deaf girl. They come with the mats to put them in so they stay stable which helps a lot because she can’t see the pictures on the front so her buttons need to be organized so she know last where each word is, we worry she could lose her eyesight so this helps her to be able to talk to us on bad days easily.
    They are easy to use and my girl picked up on it fast. Her barking dropped by 75% and her anxiety dropped as well. Dogs are intelligent and these buttons make life so much easier!

11. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Amazon Customer (verified owner) – January 4, 2025

    awesome

    Great piece of kit.

12. 

    Rated 3 out of 5

    Korenski (verified owner) – May 19, 2025

    Braune Substanz am Knopf?

    Wir haben soeben das Paket erhalten und gleich ausgepackt. Beim ersten Knopf dann die große Enttäuschung nach so langem Warten: Am Knopf und in der Schachtel befindet sich eine unidentifizierbare braune Substanz, die den Knopf auch gefärbt zu haben scheint, da es sich nicht ablösen oder abwischen lässt. Die anderen Knöpfe sind augenscheinlich okay, aber da wir nicht wissen, was genau an diesem Knopf dran ist und ob das gefährlich für unsere Tiere sein könnte (von dem offensichtlichen optischen Makel mal ganz zu schweigen), können wir den Knopf nicht verwenden – obwohl eben 12 Knöpfe und nicht 11 beworben werden. Sehr schade. Wir hoffen, eine Form der Wiedergutmachung zu erhalten, da FluentPet auch nicht gerade preisgünstig ist und wir eine gewisse Qualität damit eigentlich vorausgesetzt hatten…

13. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    S (verified owner) – June 29, 2025

    Great concept, takes persistence and time to train.

    My cat just randomly lays on the buttons now when he is trying to get attention. It will obviously take some intensive training to get him to reliably use these buttons. I just don't have the time at the moment. If a cat is treat-oriented it woukd be pretty easy to train them. Easy to program the individual buttons.

14. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Nathan (verified owner) – November 17, 2025

    Works great

    Exactly as advertised, but buttons are smaller than anticipated. Not sure why some people had issues with the sound. Mine works great – I made sure to speak loud/ clear when recording, and there are no issues with the playback volume. Sound comes from the top of the button and is clear. Buttons stay tightly in the mat, and the mat doesn’t slide around easily. Will have to see how long they last, but no issues so far!

15. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    How to use FluentPet Buttons & Hextiles – Dog Communication (verified owner) – January 28, 2026

    Talking Buttons are a Game-Changer

    I wish these had been invented decades ago–I wonder what my other wonderful dogs might have said to me. The product is good quality and there is ample customer support. I had one button go flat (out of several packages of these I've purchased) and the seller promptly sent me several new batteries for it, free of charge. My boy races for his buttons first thing every morning and starts communicating. It's a lot of fun for both of us. And it can be eye-opening at times: I had been working at the computer for a while when I suddenly heard "Mom. All done. Play." Need I say more?

16. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Amazon Customer (verified owner) – January 28, 2026

    Love the concept, but you have to work with them multiple times every day for the puppy to learn.

    I purchased both starter sets from Amazon and it was less expensive here, than on the FP website. They work fine… but you really need to use the buttons as indicated in order to get your puppy to use them. We started out well, but are flailing a bit now. The buttons respond with a very light tough, so very easy to use. I like the colors of the pads. However, I do dread when all the batteries die (probably all at once) later on down the road.

17. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Amazon Customer (verified owner) – January 28, 2026

    Broken buttons.

    I’ve ordered two packs over a few years. They work great but each pack had one button that simply didn’t work. Overall these have been good.

18. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    VLW (verified owner) – January 28, 2026

    AMAZING!!

    They arrived just as pictured in the Amazon product listing. The package included stickers, a screwdriver for the battery area, the buttons, the foam mats to put the buttons in, instructions, and a step by step guide to button teaching.
    Upon receiving the buttons, 2 of them didn’t work. I emailed the company and they were fast with a response. Turns out the batteries just got loose during shipping and after taking them out and putting them back in, the 2 buttons work now.
    The buttons are loud as long as you aren’t whispering or low voiced when talking into them, they’re easy to set up and easy for my dog to press.

19. 

    Rated 3 out of 5

    VLW (verified owner) – January 28, 2026

    Not impressed. Too Small for most dogs, hard to press, sometimes lose the recording

    The media could not be loaded. Update:
    It sucks that you can't really know how good a product is until you've used it for a while, and by then it's too late to return. Ultimately, I would not buy these again. They were not a good fit for my dog. He's a Corgi, which is pretty small, and so small buttons seem like they should be fine for him, but he has so much trouble hitting them. He will press the button repeatedly with his claws, and no sound will come out, and then I have to press it because it only works if you hit it directly in the middle, and that's really hard to teach the dog and it slows the training down a lot because to him, it seems like the button doesn't always work, and he feels like he has to dig at it and attack it to make it work.

    They also lose the recording about once or twice a week, and I have to re-record it, which again slows training down when he presses the button. Finally gets it right after so many tries, and it just says to make a recording please blah blah blah blah blah. So annoying.

    I think that these would work better for cats, but then I looked on Reddit, and a lot of people are saying that they're hard for their cats to press, which I understand because they just don't press well. So, as weird as it is, I don't know why these are one of the top recommended because they are hard for animals to use. They don't hold their recording, and I've even heard that some people's cats have gotten sick from eating the foam before. Not a huge fan of these, and I'm going to keep looking for others.

    Also, people like to say it's great that it comes with instructions, but we tried to scan the QR code to find the instructions, and we could not find them. It just sent us to a random video that wasn't even the first video and acted like you had already watched something, it wasn't helpful. Just really overall, I'm not impressed.

    I like these buttons, but they also have some downsides that make me wanna look for other options. First, I wish they made it more clear that these are more for cats. Because I bought them for my dog and he's a corgi, which is a smaller dog, but even for him, he has trouble hitting them because they're so small and he's still learning. It's kind of hard to teach him. But he'll paw at the little felt area where the button is and he'll paw at it very quickly digging into it trying to get the button to go off. Sometimes it goes off right away sometimes not. And he'll h get frustrated when he paws at it but it doesn’t go off, which is just really hard for him. He's still learning. But if the button was a little bit bigger, I think he'd have more success.

    Second, they're starting to get claw marks in them from the times that he's scratching them trying to hit the button. So the durability is kind of questionable. They're made of the same little foam material that kids' little puzzle mats are made of, but they're super thin. It's like less than half an inch thick. So I feel like for the price, the materials could be better quality.

    They could be thicker foam, and they could have bigger button options for dogs.

    Thirdly, more than a few times when my dog pressed the button, it somehow had reset itself, which there isn't a way to do that unless you switch the switch on the back, which my dog can't do because the button is inside a little puzzle piece. So they just kind of automatically randomly reset themselves somehow. And it happened twice to two different buttons.

    Fourthly, the buttons come with a sticker sheet of common words, but the words are not cut out or anything, so you have to manually cut it out with scissors or write it with your hands. The buttons are so small that it's hard to write that small. So, I just cut out the words manually. I don’t know why they don’t just pay 2cents extra to have the words pre-cut out.

    Finally, it's a little tricky to figure out how to record it for the first time. You have to hold the button down to record and then release it when done.

    All in all these buttons work and are good quality and nicely presented, but maybe the quality is more for cats than dogs with large claws. I’m going to keep using them and see if it improves once my dog learns to be more accurate with them. So far he just thinks pressing the button is a trick he does that I reward him for, he doesn’t seem to get that he can press them any time he wants something.

20. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Tazmanian Devil (verified owner) – January 28, 2026

    TALK TO YOUR DOG AND STUFF

    My dog told me that I'm "not even her real dad." Sassy bitch. In reality, though, these things are great. We've been using them since she was a puppy, and the training keeps her little brain busy, and giving her the ability to communicate her needs has gone a long way to keeping her happy. Definitely worth the purchases.