In Defense of Spam

After “My pet isn’t smart enough,” “I don’t want to give them a new way to beg,” is a top reason people list for not wanting to teach the buttons. 

Spam is probably the number one fear beginning teachers have. “What if my learner goes crazy and won’t stop bugging me all the time!” It’s also a big reason why people give up with the buttons. “She was pressing too much so I took them away.”

Us old hands who give advice spend a loooot of time steering people away from any situation that could possibly lead to spam. If you know one thing about my button advice it’s that I’m a huge advocate for food words. The reason other people will tell you not to add a food/treat button is because it might lead to spam. Even if food words don’t generally lead to spam (which they don’t), the mere possibility is enough to turn people off.

Sometimes learners spam because they’re not sure what buttons do, or because YOU are being inconsistent around those words. That’s not the type of spam I’m talking about here. 

I’m here to suggest that maybe spam is good actually? First off, you’ll have a much better time if you decide spam isn’t annoying, it’s hilarious. But even when it’s not funny, only irritating, I think we’re putting too much energy into avoiding it. For one, I don’t think spam is avoidable. If you’re giving your learner motivating words, at some point they're going to try and see just how long you’ll keep this up for. Spam is a sign that your learner is excited. Also, spam is really manageable. Lizzy and I once helped a woman who was at her wit’s end. She was frustrated and mad and sleepless, ready to give up on the buttons entirely because of mid-night spamming. I gave her some tips for managing her cat’s demands hoping she’d come back in a week or two and let us know if it had helped. She gave us an update the next day, saying our tips had completely solved the problem overnight. Not because we’re button wizards [Lizzy ed. - I would totally take that as a nickname ;)], but because spamming is perfectly manageable when looked at as a symptom of unmet needs.

I say over and over, the buttons are harder for our learners to figure out than we can fully understand. For a lot of learners the idea that they can make us do stuff with the buttons is absolutely thrilling. They may go a little power mad. I think that’s OK. Indulge them a bit. You do eventually have to teach them that the buttons are not magical wish fulfillment devices, but that excitement about what words can do for your pet is what motivates them to press. 

It’s important to use management techniques and say “No,” when you have to. Saying “No,” as a knee jerk reaction to a request that’s inconvenient or doesn’t make sense to you, or worse, ignoring presses entirely, that’s not learner led communication. That’s asking your pet to narrate the routine you’ve already chosen. Bending over backwards to avoid words that might lead to spamming is not an alternative to establishing boundaries. Teaching them that there is no infinite jerky button, that you’re in charge and you can still say no, is what helps learners make the leap in understanding from “buttons make humans do stuff” to “buttons are a way I communicate my wants and needs and how my person communicates back.”

This is a dog who is motivated by “Ball"

He can’t play ball all day every day, but it’s not wrong of him to ask and it’s worth me considering if maybe we can play ball more than we currently are.

And “wants and needs” is important. Because spam doesn’t happen for no reason. If your learner is pressing the same button over and over, being insistent and refusing to accept your “No,” it’s probably pretty important to them. The buttons do not create wants or needs, they allow our learners to voice them more clearly. Not giving your learner a word for fear of spam does not eliminate the want or need. The best way to manage spam is to address the need. 

You’ve got a lab who’s chronically hungry and they won’t leave the food button alone. Instead of telling them “No,” find a way to make the food last longer. Instead of giving them a bowl of kibble that’s over in two minutes, feed them in a puzzle that takes them 30 minutes. It’ll spread that food out longer and they’ll be ready for a nap after. Also, on more than one occasion I’ve seen a “spam problem” actually be a semi-serious medical issue. It’s possible your learner is just demanding or bored, but it’s also possible that they really are sincerely hungry because they have an internal parasite. Don’t assume all spam stems from lack of self control.

A cat spamming Play in the middle of the night. A terrier wants another Walk while you’re trying to work. A poodle won’t stop pressing Puzzle. These aren’t spam problems, they’re enrichment problems. 

Spam isn’t a nuisance, spam is a critical signal that our learner needs some kind of intervention. We should welcome spam! We should celebrate it! Spam is a sign your learner has embraced the buttons and is using them to tell you something really important. That’s the whole point of this entire endeavor.

Hurray for Spam!!

I think most of us get buttons because we want our pets to be as happy and fulfilled as possible. Use what they’re telling you with buttons to improve their environment.

So next time somebody says their learner is spamming a button tell them “Congratulations! Here’s how we address this….”