Puppy Training
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Are you ready to teach your dog/puppy one of the most important lessons in manners he’ll ever receive? “Manding” is the term used in Puppy Culture which means the puppy sits down to ask for what he wants. Instead of jumping up, barking, or whining, he is taught to politely sit in front of you to indicate his desires.
Does that sound awesome or what?
The best part is, it’s not hard to teach! In a few simple training sessions, your puppy will have the concept down. After that, you’ll just be reinforcing the behavior every time he does it by giving him what he wants (and maybe an extra treat for being a good boy!).
In this quick guide, I’m going to show you how to teach your puppy Manding. My name is Rebekah Schwind and I’ve been breeding Goldendoodles and Bernedoodles since 2017. We use Puppy Culture in our breeding program to raise the best puppies! Puppy Culture is a training and socialization program for puppies during their first 12 weeks of life.
Step 1 - Clicker training
Before we work on Manding, let’s lay some groundwork. Your puppy needs to know when he’s done a good job and the best way we’ve found to do that is through clicker training.
If you’ve already started with clicker training or you’ve bought a puppy from a Puppy Culture breeder (like Joley Aire), feel free to skip this step!
To start clicker training:
Take your puppy to a room with minimal distractions
Click the clicker and immediately shove food in his mouth.
Once he’s swallowed, do it again.
Repeat with about 20 treats in succession: Click, treat, skip a beat, click, treat, skip a beat.
Do this one more time tomorrow and again the next day.
After doing three sessions of “Click-and-treat”, your puppy should perk their ears up and get excited when they hear the clicker. Once you see that, they are ready to learn!
Step 2 - Set up
Find a room with very little distraction. Place your puppy in front of you. Let him know you have a treat.
Step 3 - Watch for a sit
Simply wait and watch for a sit or anything motion towards beginning a sit. Don’t cue your puppy to sit or push them into a sit. That’s not the point! The point is that they learn, when they want that tasty treat in your hand, to put their bottom on the floor.
Step 4 - Click and treat
When he’s sat down (or at least squatted a bit), click and give him a treat quickly. Keep doing this, progressively watching for a fuller sit or for him to hold the sit for a second before clicking. Stop the training session after 2-5 minutes.
Step 5 - Two more formal sessions
Repeat this “formal” type of training session two more times over the next two days. You should see him begin “getting it” sooner with each session.
Step 6 - Reinforce
Now, for the rest of the puppy’s life, continue to reinforce this lesson in Manding by only giving him something when he is sitting politely. It doesn’t always have to be a treat. He can practice manding for a pet, go outside, or play ball. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to reward that good behavior with a treat along with the thing he is asking for!
Conclusion
Having a polite, well-behaved puppy is gold! You’ll be able to take him places, have guests over, and enjoy him way more when he is manding calmly and respectfully. Your puppy will be a much happier dog as well! By teaching him Manding, you’ve given him a voice and a way to communicate with you. It’s really a beautiful thing to bond with your dog in this way.
That’s the kind of victory you’ll find in Puppy Culture.
If you would like to learn more about Puppy Culture and it’s revolutionary training and socialization instructions, click the button below.
Want to bring a Puppy Culture raised puppy into your life? We use Puppy Culture with all of our litters and have puppies coming soon! Our puppies are raised in our home with our three kids. We focus on raising them to be the perfect family dogs; kind, loving, gentle, and fun. We would love to talk to you more about if a Joley Aire puppy is the right fit for your family.