Buttons for communication

[fluffyearsXD]

So I was searching for any discussions here and didn't find anything good about this topic. I'm curious what's your opinion on button systems like fluent pet, especially the opinions of vets and animal behaviourists, since I myself a huge animal psychology nerd, lol
I'm also interested to know if there's anybody who's actively using the button system. I'm planning to get one when I'll be ready for a new pet, since I'm currently don't have any
Actually I'm thinking that things like button systems may help people outside of our community understand the complexity and actual depth of animal intelligence, especially when it comes to things like giving consent, since most people seems to have troubles with understanding body language/other non-verbal signals from their pets and it's really annoying ngl

 

[pes]

I do not think it will help. Since you can easily say the dog was trained to press the button.
Regular people do not want to accept zoo, they have no incentive to do so and if they try it is against their beliefs on multiple levels.
So it is much easier to find a quick excuse that allows you continue thinking what you already think is true.

 

[fluffyearsXD]

I do not think it will help. Since you can easily say the dog was trained to press the button.
Regular people do not want to accept zoo, they have no incentive to do so and if they try it is against their beliefs on multiple levels.
So it is much easier to find a quick excuse that allows you continue thinking what you already think is true.

Yeah, but maybe the ones who does understand that it's an actual communication will get it at least. So they can see that their animals are not just some living things trained to do something, but an actual persons with needs and desires, both sexual and less explicit ones

 

[UR20Z]

So I was searching for any discussions here and didn't find anything good about this topic. I'm curious what's your opinion on button systems like fluent pet, especially the opinions of vets and animal behaviourists, since I myself a huge animal psychology nerd, lol
I'm also interested to know if there's anybody who's actively using the button system. I'm planning to get one when I'll be ready for a new pet, since I'm currently don't have any
Actually I'm thinking that things like button systems may help people outside of our community understand the complexity and actual depth of animal intelligence, especially when it comes to things like giving consent, since most people seems to have troubles with understanding body language/other non-verbal signals from their pets and it's really annoying ngl

It's the "Clever Hans" thing in action. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[UR20Z]

Yeah, but maybe the ones who does understand that it's an actual communication will get it at least. So they can see that their animals are not just some living things trained to do something, but an actual persons with needs and desires, both sexual and less explicit ones

Now you're stepping off into la-la-land...

 

[fluffyearsXD]

It's the "Clever Hans" thing in action. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nah, the clever hans thing is actually easily avoidable, it's just needs more preparation and control over your own body language and actions when using the communication system. If we're talking about the actual button studies and not the tik tok vids with random users outside the research group that's the thing they constantly check and try to avoid in the first place. There's also a lot of evidence that the buttons does work at least when it comes to simple things like want food/toy/walk/help. Anything related to abstract thinking and planning is heavily speculative and needs a lot of research to be confirmed

 

[zooperduper]

Interesting