First Time Puppies: What is “manding?”

Our friends over at the IAABC Journal have written a great article about “manding.” What is manding? Well, it is a concept used in humans and in animals. When a child with autism can’t speak or communicate well, they are often taught to sign for the object they desire. This is a form of manding. Think the type of work that Anne Sullivan did with Helen Keller. The goal of manding is to give someone or some animal a non-verbal manner of communicating that they would like something. It is not a requirement for them to get what they want (which is the difference between command training and manding), but rather a tool they can use.

In puppies, we start them out by teaching them manding when they are between 5-8 weeks old. The goal is to help them express their desire (for food, attention, etc.) with an action that is more acceptable than many of the ways than what a puppy will typically do on their own. So instead of jumping up to get pet, we encourage them to sit to get pet. The same for food, toys, etc.

Manding can be any action, and many puppies are simply trying to find the right action to get the results they are looking for. By giving them a purposeful action that we find pleasurable (who doesn’t love a cute puppy sitting for attention!), we give them a voice they didn’t have previously.

We highly recommend this article as you consider how best to grow your puppy and the differences between manding and training!