Dear
Toto,
What
is it with humans that want to teach their dog how to shake
hands/paws? What's the deal?
-
Obedient But Confused
Hi
ObBuCon!
Humans
can be really weird sometimes, right? I mean, I get why they want to
teach us to Sit, it's the most obvious way to get us to calm down. I
get the whole Stay thing, too, it's about them getting us to be in
one place and stay there until they're ready for us to be someplace
else.
Shake
hands/paws? Man, I don't know. At first I thought it was a manners
thing, because I see humans shaking hands with each other as a
greeting all the time, because, well, dogs sniff butts, humans shake
hands. It's one of the ways we differ as a species, fine.
But
humans wanting to shake hands with a dog, well. It kinda falls into
the same category as Roll Over, or Play Dead, or even Speak. The
category of Tricks Just To Show Other People You Taught Your Dog
Something And Your Dog Is Obedient. A Useless Trick, in other words.
But
this is where you stand your ground, ObBuCon. Because I'm guessing
your human rewarded you with a treat when you did shake paws/hands,
right? And then it gradually tapered off, and now you don't get
anything but a smile and applause from your owner's friends? You can
take the power back. Refuse to do the trick unless you see the box
of dog treats. You are nobody's fool, ObBuCon. Useless Tricks can
be Useful for you, but only if you train your human right.
Make
sure they understand – No Treat – No Trick. Sounds a little bit
like Halloween, I know. But you can do it. You have the power. They
just don't know it yet.
Thanks
for the question!
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