Teaching Kids to Speak Dog: The "Charge the YES" Game (Free Coloring Page)
By Terra, Licensed Family Dog Mediator® (LFDM) & Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI) · Wholistic Canine, Greater Sacramento
TL;DR
Kids want to help with the family dog — but "helping" the wrong way (getting in the dog's face, chasing, over-handling) is where a lot of trouble starts. The "Charge the YES" game gives a child one simple, safe job: say "YES!" and toss a cookie. No reaching, no wrestling, no getting close to a mouthy puppy. It teaches the dog what a marker word means, lets a nervous kid build confidence from a safe distance, and turns a chaotic kid-and-dog moment into a calm, predictable game. I made a free coloring page so Sacramento-area families can learn it together — color it, then go play it for real.
Every family I work with here in the Greater Sacramento area has the same beautiful problem: the kids want in. They want to be part of training the dog. And I love that — because a dog who learns to trust the smallest humans in the house is a dog who's genuinely part of the family.
But here's the honest part. The way kids naturally "help" a dog is often the exact thing that gets a dog wound up. They lean in. They reach over the head. They squeal and run when the puppy gets nippy — which, to a young dog, looks like the best game ever invented. And now you've got a chase, a jump, a grab at a shoelace, and a kid who's suddenly scared of their own dog.
So I set out to give kids a job that's safe, simple, and actually teaches the dog something real. That's where this coloring page came from.
Where this coloring page actually came from
This wasn't a marketing idea. It came out of a real session with a family right here in the Sacramento area.
I was working with a family who had two young kids — six and eight — and a sixteen-week-old German Shepherd puppy. The kids were genuinely, understandably a little scared of him. And honestly? That fear was justified. This was a driven baby shepherd who could flip a switch in a second: one moment he's fine, the next he's decided the kid's shoes are a chew toy. The kid gets startled, runs, and now it's a chase game the puppy is winning. (If you've got a shepherd of your own, you may recognize this — it's exactly the kind of thing I dig into in my German Shepherd board & train post.)
After our first session, the parents wanted "homework" for the kids — something the children could actually do to build their confidence with the dog. And these are little kids. So I started thinking the way a teacher thinks: what do we do in school to make a lesson stick? We color. We do a little worksheet. We plant a seed and let it grow.
So I thought — what if I plant a seed and teach the lesson at the same time? What if there were a coloring page that walked a kid through exactly what to do with the dog, square by square, like a little comic strip they could color and then go act out for real?
For that family, I personalized it — I put the kids' names on it and made the cartoon dog match their actual puppy. They were thrilled. And it worked, because it gave them something to do with the dog where they were the calm, predictable one — not the target.
So what is "mark and toss"?
Before any dog learns to sit, come, or settle on command, they have to learn one thing first: what the word "YES" means.
The very first lesson I teach parents is the marker word. Your marker word is "YES." But right now, to your dog, "yes" is just a noise. It doesn't mean anything yet. Our job is to give it meaning — and we do that the same way Pavlov's dogs learned that a bell meant dinner.
If you remember Pavlov: he rang a bell, then gave the dogs food, over and over, until eventually the bell alone made them drool. The bell predicted the food. We're doing the exact same thing, except our bell is the word "YES."
Say "YES!" → throw a cookie. Say "YES!" → throw a cookie. Again and again. Pretty soon the dog hears "YES" and immediately thinks cookie's coming. That's a charged marker. On the coloring page, I turned that into a "YES battery" the kids get to color in — it starts weak, and every rep charges it up until it's very strong. Charge it up, then use it, and don't let it run out.
Here's why I love the tossing part specifically, and why it's the perfect first job for a kid:
The child doesn't have to engage with the dog at all. They don't have to reach toward the dog, hand-feed, or get anywhere near a mouthy puppy. They just say a word and throw food. For a kid who's nervous — even nervous about their own dog — that distance is everything. And when the dog runs off to get the cookie, that's a beautiful thing too: it resets the space between them so the child never gets crowded or overwhelmed.
And if the kid does it a little "wrong"? Totally fine. Maybe their timing is off, or the dog comes barreling back too fast. I don't need perfection. I just need the child to have something real to do with their dog — say a word, provide food — that builds a good feeling on both ends of the leash.
A quick word on words: "YES" is not "GOOD"
These two markers do different jobs, and mixing them muddies both. "YES" is your release marker — it means "that's it, you're done, come get your cookie." "GOOD" is a duration marker — it means "keep doing exactly what you're doing" (hold that stay, stay settled), and the reward comes without ending the behavior. So on this page we're only charging and using "YES." Save "GOOD" for later, when you're building stays and settles — and keep them cleanly separate so your dog always knows whether the job is finished or still running.
The sneaky-smart part: the dog starts thinking
Here's what makes this more than just "throw snacks at your dog." Once the YES battery is charged, the page walks the kid through what happens next — and it's the whole foundation of how dogs actually learn to offer good behavior.
The dog runs to get the cookie, then comes back and thinks: "How do I get another one?" He tries something — maybe he sits. The instant he does: "YES!" Cookie. The dog goes from "maybe sitting works?" to "I know exactly what works!" — and starts sitting right away.
That's the child watching a dog problem-solve in real time. The kid isn't forcing anything. They're just marking and paying the good choices, and letting the dog figure out the rest. That's shaping, and most adults don't learn it until much later. These kids got it from a coloring page.
The page even ends the way every good session should: everyone puts their tools away. Treats away, bowl away, leash away. "That was fun!" A clear beginning and a clear end — which, not for nothing, is great for the dog too.
Real talk: keeping kids and dogs safe
I'm not going to hand you a cute coloring page without the honest part attached.
We really should not have young children unsupervised with most dogs. Not because dogs are bad — because kids and dogs speak completely different languages, and the gaps between them are where accidents happen. In that shepherd session, every single thing was set up for safety: the puppy had a leash on the whole time, the parents were right there watching, and the game itself kept the child at a distance instead of in the dog's face. The kid was pushing the dog backward with tossed food — never leaning in, never reaching over him.
Are there dogs who are naturally saintly with kids? Absolutely. I know a little Cavalier over in Arden-Arcade who is just genuinely wonderful with children — patient, soft, unbothered. But a drivey young shepherd is a completely different animal, literally. Same house rules can't apply to both. So the game is built to be safe for the harder case, not just the easy one.
The short version of my safety rules for kids and dogs:
- An adult is always present and paying attention. Not in the next room. Right there.
- Keep a leash on a young or excitable dog so an adult can calmly manage things if needed.
- The child stays out of the dog's face — no leaning over, no reaching, no hugging. Toss, don't hand-feed, if the dog is mouthy.
- If the dog gets the zoomies or goes for shoes/hands, the game stops. We don't turn a nippy moment into a chase.
- Keep it short and end on a good note. Tools away, everyone's happy.
The calmer and more predictable the human is, the calmer the dog gets — which is the whole idea behind my Pilot Walk approach, too. It applies to a six-year-old with a cookie just as much as an adult with a leash.
Why this is a L.E.G.S.® lesson, not just a game
If you've read this blog before, you know I look at every dog through the L.E.G.S.® framework — Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self — the heart of Family Dog Mediation®, developed by Kim Brophey. That shepherd session is a perfect example of all four working at once:
L — Learning. This puppy already had a history. He'd started with another trainer around eight weeks old and spent four or five weeks there — in fact, that early issue is what brought the family to me in the first place. The leash-and-shoe chase pattern was already forming. What a dog has already learned always comes into the room with him.
E — Environment. This one's the big one here. The environment the dog and the kids are sharing produces the emotion. Excited kids, a small space, sudden movement — the dog responds to whatever that environment is stirring up in him. The "Charge the YES" game changes the environment. It makes the child predictable and calm instead of a moving, squealing target. Same room, completely different emotional weather.
G — Genetics. He's a German Shepherd — and watching how intensely he locked onto food, how driven he was, and just his overall look, my gut said there were likely some working lines in there. That flip-a-switch intensity isn't a "bad dog." It's who he was bred to be. Sometimes you just know. And knowing it means you set the game up to fit the dog you actually have.
S — Self. He was sixteen weeks old. A baby. His "self" — his age, his development, where he was in his own little life — meant he needed simple, clear, low-pressure wins, not big expectations. Meeting a dog where he actually is is the whole point.
When a child learns to communicate clearly and kindly with the family dog, you're not just teaching a party trick. You're shaping the Environment and the Self of a young dog at the exact moment it matters most. (Want to go deeper on the framework itself? Kim Brophey's "The Dog's Truth" course is a wonderful place to start.)
How to use the coloring page with your family
- Print it and color it together first. No dog yet — just the page. As you color the "YES battery" filling up, talk through what each square means. You're pre-loading the lesson before anybody picks up a treat.
- Fill in your names. Trainer name (that's your kid!) and dog name. Ownership makes them proud.
- Then go play it for real — with an adult present, the dog on leash, and a handful of small, soft treats. Say "YES!" and toss. Charge that battery.
- Keep it short and put the tools away at the end, just like the page shows. "That was fun!" — and it stays fun.
FAQ
At what age can a kid start doing this with the dog?
I've done it successfully with kids as young as six, as long as an adult is right there running the show. The tossing part is what makes it work for little ones — they never have to get close to the dog.
What if my child's timing is off or they do it "wrong"?
Honestly, that's fine. Perfect timing is a bonus, not the goal. What matters is that your child gets to say a word and provide something good, from a safe distance, and build a positive feeling with the dog. The dog will forgive a little sloppy timing.
My puppy gets mouthy and nippy with my kids. Is this safe?
This game is actually built for exactly that dog. Because your child tosses food instead of hand-feeding, they stay out of range of a mouthy puppy — and the tossing naturally moves the dog away instead of drawing him in. Always keep a leash on and an adult present.
What's the difference between "YES" and "GOOD"?
"YES" is a release marker — it means the behavior is finished and the reward is coming, so the dog can break position to get it. "GOOD" is a duration marker — it means keep doing what you're doing, and the reward comes without ending the behavior. Keep them separate so your dog always knows whether the job is done or still going.
Why "YES" and not a clicker?
You can absolutely use a clicker, but a word is always with you — no free hand or extra gadget required, which is perfect for kids. The word just needs to be "charged" first so the dog knows it predicts a cookie.
Can I get the coloring page?
Yes! Reach out and I'm happy to share it. And if you're a Greater Sacramento family — Sacramento, Folsom, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, or Arden-Arcade — who wants hands-on help teaching your kids and your dog to speak the same language, that's exactly what I do.
Want the whole family speaking dog?
Wholistic Canine helps families across the Greater Sacramento area build calm, confident dogs — and confident kids to match. My Furry Fundamentals program is a great place to start.
Call or text (916) 796-4925
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L.E.G.S.® and Family Dog Mediation® are registered frameworks developed by Kim Brophey. Terra is a Licensed Family Dog Mediator® (LFDM) and Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI).
