Ever wonder what your dog is thinking? You’re not alone. Over the last year, dog “talking” buttons have taken the pet world by storm. With the push — er paw — of a button, dogs are now “telling” their humans what they need, whether that’s water, food or to go outside. Some pups have even become social media famous for their impressive vocabulary, inspiring dog owners everywhere to pick up a set of buttons. Or in the case of Rutledge Chin Feman, a software engineer for Google Nest, to try building their own DIY versions.

“I know I’m biased, but Cosmo is obviously the best dog in the world,” says Rutledge of his pup. When he and his wife adopted Cosmo, a German Shepherd mix and the first dog for both of them, they noticed right away he was skittish. “He was afraid of everything and would do a lot of lunging and barking. It was kind of a forcing function to learn a lot about positive reinforcement training techniques and desensitization…which is how I stumbled on all of this.”

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