Our 2015 Baci x Lyra Litter "The Easy Riders"
Firstly, what IS "manding"?
Mand training for nonverbal humans is a way of teaching them how to use gestures to ask for things, and that’s the simplest explanation—a mand behavior is a nonverbal way to ask for things and/or signal a need (Penn. Dept. of Ed., 2012).
Mand training for nonverbal humans is a way of teaching them how to use gestures to ask for things, and that’s the simplest explanation—a mand behavior is a nonverbal way to ask for things and/or signal a need (Penn. Dept. of Ed., 2012).
Manding is the concept that it is possible to get something the puppy wants by performing a behavior.
It is not a rule that the puppy must offer an acceptable behavior in order to access desired social contact or other pleasurable things, like food.
This is a forward communication from the puppy to you, not a top down rule imposed by you on the puppy. That’s why we call it “Give Your Puppy A Voice” instead of “Teach Your Puppy Manners.” They are two completely different things.
Manding is about empowering the puppy and instilling the realization that they are heard. The behavioral benefits of manding spring from that well, not from a “good manners” skill set. Although the end result is a puppy that jumps and paws less, that is a byproduct of manding, not an end in and of itself.
