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Training Tidbits - Vocabulary Reference Consistency in language is so important in communicating with our dogs. Can you imagine the confusion we would have if each member of our family had their own language? For example; if mom speaks French, dad speaks Spanish and your brother speaks Greek, there's no common language. Our lives already have enough chaos! Well, imagine how it must feel for our canine friends, when one person says sit and another says sit down. To prevent this type chaos, everyone in the family, and others having lots of contact with the dog, should be involved with training. Anyone involved in training your dog must use consistent vocabulary when commanding the dog. The following is a suggested list of commands, but you can change the words as long as you stick to them. I recommend posting one copy of this list in a highly visible area in your house, and keep an additional copy on hand during training sessions. SIT- Dog is in seated position. DOWN- Dog is in a comfortable lying position with front and rear down. STAND- Dog's legs are standing and dog holds position, (used for grooming, veterinary visits, for example). CLOSE- The Dog is in standing position, with shoulder in line with your left leg. Use this command when walking to instruct the dog to remain in that position. (The "close" command is also commonly known as "heel.") COME- Use this command to get your dog to immediately come to you. Say the dog's name first, for example "Buzz come. (Excellent boy!) Always remember to guide the dog in as close to your body as possible and to touch collar. LET'S GO- Use this command to get your dog move with you or in your direction. "On leash," it communicates to the dog that she should follow you. More casually, or "off leash," you can use it to hurry your dog up. STAY- Use this command to keep the dog in a position, such as a "sit," "downs," and "stand," until you return and release them. For example, you can combine "sit stay," leave the dog, and return to the dog and give the release command "okay." Remember that we should never call a dog to us from a stay position; always command the dog to release first. WAIT- Let's you temporarily control a command such as "sit." For example, "sit wait" leave the dog at a distance, and call " BUZZ COME" Good boy! You can also use the "wait" command at doorways such as a car door. When you're getting out of a car, tell dog to wait, put the leash on and release "okay," and then let the dog out of car. OKAY- The only word that you should ever use to release a dog from stays and waits. When you release a dog by saying good boy, you can never praise them for holding a command, as they will anticipate a release, and brake the command. For example, tell the dog to "sit stay" leave the dog, and then praise "good girl." Return to the dog and release "okay." OFF- Use this command to tell the dog not to jump on people and furniture, for example. To use this command, when the dog jumps up on you, say "off" and the dog removes himself. Remember, never use the "down" when the dog jumps; down is a separate command. UP- Use this command to invite your dog to jump up on you, furniture, for example. If you're sitting on the sofa and you invite the dog "up", the dog joins you on the sofa. LEAVE IT-Tells your dog to back off of something. Whether it's garbage on the street, another dog, person or object. EASY- Use for leash walking in combination with a correction. You can also use "easy" in play when the dog is getting rough, or when he's taking something from you (such as a treat). ENOUGH OR ALL DONE- Use for behaviors that you permit, but wish to stop at the moment such as barking and playing. You can also use this command when we want to stop all activity with a dog. This works well for over-active dogs. NO- Use this command only for behaviors that you never allow, such as growling, stealing and jumping on counters. DROP IT OR GIVE- Use this when the dog has something in its mouth that you would like for them to release. It's bad canine etiquette to grab something from the dog's mouth. Last updated on 6/18/00. |
Keep in Mind... These commands are just words, and until you teach them to your dog, they have no meaning to them. Your tone of voice when giving commands should be confident and happy. Your tone of voice when giving corrections should be low and gruff.
Other Tidbits....
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