dog….Dog…DOG!

In sessions I see a lot of owners saying their dog’s name in the place of giving a command. Heck, I even do it sometimes. I always compare this to trying to ask your friend or partner or client to do something by only saying their name. If I was trying to give a client coaching on loose leash walking and said, let’s say, “Jane” in a soft, friendly sing-songy voice, I may get a glance from her, but it would probably be accompanied by a raised eyebrow as she thought to herself ‘what is going on? Does she want my attention?’ Saying a name with no other words usually serves just that purpose, to get someone’s attention. 

Now let’s say she glanced at me, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I was trying to get her to slow her pace or to give her dog a cue with the leash or stop staring at her dog as she walked. I didn’t get what I wanted, so I say louder, “Jane!” And she responds with a more frustrated glance that says “what?” Clearly she is doing something I don’t want her to do, or not doing something I do want her to do, but she has no way of knowing what. I’m not giving her any instruction, I am only saying her name. 

By now she must be annoyed. She knows something is going wrong, but doesn’t know what it is or how to fix it. I’m frustrated too, because I’m not getting the desired result, so I bark out “JANE!” and storm towards her, throwing my hands in the air because I don’t understand why things are going so badly. 

Well, in this situation I would clearly be a poor communicator. If Jane had been working with me a long time and I had told her 100 times, “hey, stop staring at your dog as you walk” then I warned her that I couldn’t keep telling her the same thing over and over, when I said her name, she would probably know that I had caught her doing the thing she knew that she wasn’t supposed to be doing, she may think to herself, “crap, I was staring at my dog again!” and correct the error without my having to explain what my admonition was in reference to. I knew that she would know because we had already established that in many previous conversations.

Sometimes, you can use your dog’s name as a correction. Especially if you have more than one dog (or children)dog, the word “no” or an ‘eh-eh’ sound could apply to anyone. In this case, use your gaze, your attention and your body language to indicate wh0 your voice is being directed at. 

If your dog is consistently unreliable responding to commands, plays too rough, lags behind, wanders off or gets too far away, when caught in the act you can sharply and loudly say their name, and, realizing the jig is up, they will usually snap back into gear. When they know the behavior you want,when you call them out, they have the ability to immediately comply. 

If you say your dog’s name and they don’t connect the dots on what is going wrong, say their name again and add the command.  If that still doesn’t work, you will know that either this task has not been truly established with your dog or your dog is having a moment where they got so excited they temporarily lost their mind - or at least the part of it that is inclined being obedient.You will then approach your dog to guide them, correct them, or otherwise achieve the behavior you were looking for.

What is important that you establish what you want in each instance through training. Take your time, lay the groundwork, show your dog  right from wrong multiple times and reinforce the behaviors you want while preventing, correcting or disincentivizing those you don’t want. While teaching your dog what behavior or mentality you are looking for, it’s important that you interrupt the behavior you don’t want, you can sometimes do this by calling your dog’s name. That interruption must be quickly followed with showing your dog what you DO want. 

If your dog is playing too rough, say ‘easy’ and if they don't take it down a few notches, call them back to you or step in and interrupt their play to ask them to sit and collect themself or take a break on leash for a while.  If your dog is lagging behind, say their  name to get their attention and if they don’t automatically respond by catching up , ask them to ‘come come’ or keep moving saying ‘let’s go’ or tell them to get off the smell with a ‘leave it.’ If those don’t work, start walking back towards them, repeating the command or making sounds (Shhh Shhh, Hey, or a clap) to get their attention and let them know  you’re a comin’ for ‘em. Usually once you start making our way towards your dog they know the best option is to leave the smell and come along.

In summary, using your dog’s name is a good way to get their attention and can sometimes take the place of a command. However, if your dog doesn’t seem to understand what you want from them, it’s your job to tune into that and change your approach after the second time you use their name and don’t get the response you wanted. If you do get the response you were looking for, be sure to relax your manner and reward your dog with cooing sounds and a pet.

How to pick command words: a vocabulary lessons for dogs

I knew my English degree would come in handy someday! While much of my relationship with dogs involves learning to ‘speak dog’ by reading their body language and knowing how to interpret their behavior, part of living in a human world means that our dogs need to learn some human language, too.

In our training sessions we talk about how to give commands and recommend that owners pick a vocabulary for their dogs and stick with it. Our dogs are smart, and it is incredible that they can learn so many words, but it is too much to ask them to learn English. Expecting our dogs to understand secondary meanings for words is confusing and unnecessary. Each word should have only one meaning and we should use the same word for the same concept or behavior every time. This bit of deliberate effort on our part  can make a huge difference in our dog’s life, making it easier for them to comprehend what we are asking for and, therefore, to comply. For instance when I want my dog to lay down I say ‘down’ and when I want her to get down off the furniture, my guests legs, or the rock I asked her to jump on for a photo I say “off.”

You don’t need to use my exact list. The most important thing is that you pick a language that works for you so it is one you can use consistently. It is also helpful to associate as many of these commands as possible with a clear hand signal. Some dogs respond better to words while others prefer the visual cue (provided your dog is looking at you, of course!)

LIST OF COMMON COMMANDS

Sit -  get your booty on the ground  

Down - lay all the way down on your belly, ideally with hips flopped

Off - get your paws (or body) off furniture, people, dogs, or whatever they are on 

Up up - jump or put your feet up on that

Kisses - lick the hand, useful for puppies who are mouthy  

Paw/shake - raise your paw  

Beg/sit pretty - balance on hind legs 

Roll over - from laying down, roll to the other side  

Crawl - wiggle/army crawl to me keeping your belly on the ground

Leave it/Take it - don’t go for it (usually the treat)/ take the treat

Gentle- take the treat more gently

Hold it- hold the object I am handing you in your mouth

Find it- sniff the ground. This can be used for enrichment training games (hide and seek, the cup game, scent games etc) as well as for a dog that is overly excited by others on leash. (if they are sniffing the ground they aren’t reacting to the dog)

Touch - touch your nose to my hand 

Load Up- get into a vehicle
—

Good (command)! - marks a positive behavior or correct response to command 

Look at Me-  Give me eye contact/put all of your attention on me. (this is usually when they are already sitting, or in a down but still highly distracted) 

Hey! - breaks a distraction to get their attention back, also used as a correction if they have ignored a command 

No! - stop doing what you are doing  

Bad! - I don't want you to do that behavior. Don't do it now or again in the future.  

Easy - (sing-songy) pay attention and slow down and bring your energy down 

Settle - especially for a puppy, calm yourself  

Out - get out of here or don't be where you are or stop doing what you are doing 

Back - back up or get out of my space 

Move - move your body out of my path

Leave it - drop what you are chewing or leave that object, dog, or person alone 

Drop - drop what is in your mouth, usually so I can throw it 

—

Wait - pause and wait for a release or further instructions, pay attention to me (eg doorways)

Stay - you stay stationary while I walk away (not the same as wait) 

Okay/free - release, you can change positions or do what you want again   

Let's go - we walk off together  

Come! - I am stationary, you come to me 

All the way - come all the way back to me and touch me 

This way - you are going the wrong way, change course & pay attention to me 

Heel up - walk to my side 

On the trail - get back on the trail 

Leash - hold still so the leash can be put on 

Fix your leash - hop one foot so the leash comes out from between your legs 

Pick up - for puppies or small dogs, hold still and brace yourself so I can pick you up 

—

Outside - let's go to the door, usually to potty 

Wanna go potty? - Do you need to pee? 

Potty, potty? - I strongly suggest you pee if possible 

When we ask the dogs to pose for pictures, we use many commands including come, sit, up, wait, down, this way, stay, off and leave it. This photos not only look great, but are a great excuse to practice obedience, patience and focus.

When commands trail off...

Austinites loooove their dogs, so when I’m out and about I get to see a lot of dog/owner interaction. One of the most common mistakes I see people make is to drop a command when their dog doesn’t comply. I think this happens so often because people simply don’t know what to do in those moments where their dog doesn’t listen.

From a training perspective, it’s important that I have a lot of integrity in my relationship with my dog. Because, ultimately, all of the training we do is for safety, it’s really really important to me that the twenty-odd times a day I give my dog a command they listen. I need for my dog to know that if I start asking them for something, I’m not going to quit till I get it. This helps my dog understand that the best way to make me quit saying that word is just to do the thing it means, then life gets fun again! If I quit, however, and don’t follow through on a command my dog learns that I have a breaking point, and if they can push me to that point they will never have to do the thing I asked them. The only way you can fail at dog training is by giving up!

I’m a dog trainer, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a person too! Sometimes I want some time off, and my dog or the dogs boarding at my home are doing something I don’t like (playing too rough in the house, going into a room they don’t belong in, barking at a noise), when this happens, I’ll start with my ‘eh-eh’ sound as a correction. ‘Eh-eh’ is great because it just means ‘stop what you are doing.’ Easy enough! If I slip up and say something like ‘sit’ and my dog, who is activated and involved in being a little naughty doesn’t comply, that means I have to get my lazy bum off the couch and walk over to my dog, get their attention, and make sure we follow through on the command I just gave.

Knowing how to teach your dog to sit is great and important. Knowing what to do when, for whatever reason, your dog doesn’t want to do that thing you are asking them to do, that you know they know how to do, is just as, if not more, important! That is one of the things we cover in our training series, and something that can really help your relationship with your pup as you guide them towards being more reliably obedient. Often those moments when it’s tough to get their attention and compliance are the ones where it can matter the most!