Say “please” with your butt - miniseries

Do you remember being taught to say the magic word "please" when you were little and wanted something? If you didn't say "please", you didn't get sweets or you weren't allowed to go outside to play. I learned that word for sure too. But since we dogs communicate with our bodies and not with words, I say "please" with my butt.

Of course we talk about sitting. When a dog sits, he can't jump up, grab or run at the same time. Sitting is by its very nature a graceful behavior, and therefore it can also be a means by which we dogs can ask for anything we desire.

The important thing is to teach the dog to decide on his own that he has to behave gracefully when he wants something. You should no longer remind a 10 year old to say "please" every time he wants a treat, nor should you remind a dog to "sit, sit, sit" when he wants you to throw him a ball. The dog should figure out on his own that when he sits, he gets what he wants. If he jumps up, he won't get it. He decides for himself what he gets. No sitting, no reward.

Life is full of training opportunities where you can demand "please butt" from your dog. Handing the food bowl, fetching or tugging, opening doors and so on. When you take advantage of these opportunities, your dog will learn that training is actually always going on, not just during formal training lessons. And when the training is always going on, and he has to earn all the good things with the magic "butt", you will have a dog that is actually willing to be on his best behavior all the time.

This game - "Say please with your butt" is useful for dogs who:

- jump up, bark, or exhibit other unwanted behaviors when they want something
- have trouble concentrating
- get frustrated when they don't get what they want right away
- notice their owner only when he is holding a treat.

In the next blog of this miniseries, I'll post a specific procedure on how to teach a dog to say please with his butt at the food bowl when owner gives him food.