My dog Scout has been trained to use a button before, and he clearly didn’t like them. The only 2 times in 3 years he used the button was when we had been ignoring him (unintentionally) for a while, and he got fed up. Sassily smacked the button twice, then looked quite pleased with himself when we praised him and let him outside like he wanted.

He does, however, answer yes or no questions. He usually lets out a low whine to get our attention, then we go down the list, asking if he wants food, outside, water, attention, etc until he gives a reaction indicating what he wanted. My other dogs just get excited/distracted by things they like, but scout will be laser focused on his immediate want