Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger has devised an innovative way to communicate with her pet dog Stella. In a video posted on Instagram, Hunger shows Stella exploring a set of buzzers labelled with words, and pressing the specific buzzer for the message she wants to convey.

“Stella uses language differently when she’s in a heightened state versus when she’s calm,” Hunger wrote in the description of the video. According to the post, Stella pressed the buzzer for the word “look” nine times, and followed it by “come outside” after it heard noises outside.

“I’m impressed that Stella is communicating with language during her more heightened states, not just when she’s calm and in a quiet space,” Hunger wrote. “This shows me that words are becoming more automatic for her to use.”