There are five words commonly used when training a dog. I bet you can immediately think of dog training commands that are in use frequently! Are cues like sit, down, stay, come and okay on your list? One of these words I would never ever use, and I’m sharing why. I believe our dogs put our words into five categories, and I’m covering each cue category and how it relates to what we say to our dog.
In the episode you'll hear:
- How many words dogs can respond to and understand.
- What words our dogs will ignore and how that can be inadvertent.
- Why there are words that can be confusing for our dogs.
- How words can make our dogs happy.
- The importance of the tone of our verbal cues.
- About the words that can create stress and fear for dogs.
- Why sit means sit and importance of a release word.
- The one word I never use.
- Why some words are ignored or confusing for our dog.
- My best advice on selecting cues for your dog.
- How some dogs only have micro-seconds to respond to a cue.
- About the release cue “break” that I use and one I don’t recommend.
- How you can easily change a word to one that will bring your dog clarity.
Resources:
*Amazon Links Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Susan only recommends products she uses herself, and all opinions expressed here are her own. The link above is an affiliate link that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission if you decide to buy from it. Thank you!
Commonly used words. Definitely a mistake I made with my dog when he was younger. I used to tell him okay to jump into the boot/ trunk of my car. Not anymore. When talking to a friend with my dog waiting patiently at the rear of my car. I signed off our conversation with ‘ okay see you later ‘ my dog jumped to get in the car but the boot/trunk was shut and bounced of the car and slid to the floor. Great that he had a great response to a command but I felt awful that I could of injured him and frightened the bejesus out of him.
I changed his cue but it did take a while to get his confidence back about jumping in the car.
Thank you Susan for highlighting this in your podcast. Commonly used words in your language not a good idea. X
Love podcast really helpful
Great video!
Appreciate these short and valuable tips – making it easier to incorporate into everyday training.
Great podcast as always! Funny about dog’s names… I’m from NY and I never realized how many times a day I said “gotta” – until I named my dog Gotta! Now I’ve changed my conversation word to hafta! I wondered how you two were going to handle This!
Back in the 70’s, my grandfather actually thought my U.D. High in Trial Sheltie was stupid because he wouldn’t lie down when he gave the command “rest!” – the word that he used for his Collies. It meant nothing to my Sheltie, whose down command was “down!” I gave up trying to change my stubborn Grandfather, and taught my dog that “rest” meant “down” – mainly because my Grandfather thought is was ok to slap my poor dog on the head for being bad. So wonderful that Susan has taught millions of folks to move from their outdated, harsh methods into the joys of positive DO LAND!
Susan never seizes to amaze me with her wisdom and ability to communicate to the everyday person about dog training. She has such wisdom. This episode helped me realize one of my commands “switch” was being interpreted as “search”. I now say “change” while walking and want my dog to move to the other side of me. So helpful!
Hi. You ask us to “like” on YT… I can’t for the life of me find it (easily) on YT – I’m listening to the podcast… I click “web page” that takes me to Dogsthat… but I can’t “like” there… please include a link to the show on YT & I’ll happily “like”. Thank you
Hi Jennifer, here is a link to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUbR-nhs_r0
Clear, as usual. Amazing how effective communication should be the goal of all our interactions with all 2- and 4-legged (and other-legged) creatures.
Clear, as usual. Amazing how the basics are so important. Effective communication should be the goal of all interactions with the animals in our lives—both 2- and 4-legged (or other-legged).