Here are the next four dog commands that will make your life with your dog easier and less stressful. If you haven’t already read Part 1 you will find it here: http://wellbehaveddogs.co.uk/dog-commands-1/
- Leave It
“Leave it” has a safety factor attached to it – if your dog is investigating something potentially harmful then you want to be able to stop it whether the object is a crisp packet in the park or some road-kill. So how to teach it?
Firstly, I like to teach “leave it” with something that I never want the dog to have, like an empty crisp packet. The object will never become the reward so there is no chance of the dog getting a mixed message. If you drop food on the floor in front the dog then that could be a little confusing; the dog could think “you give me food to eat but now you’re telling me I can’t approach the food.” A more realistic scenario is that the object you are telling the dog to ignore is never something the dog can have so use something like that in the training.
Put your dog on a slip lead and put it into a sit. Drop something interesting on the floor about a meter away. Your dog’s instinct will tell it to investigate the thing, whatever it is. As it leaves the sit to move towards the thing you’ve dropped give the dog a correction with the lead and say “leave it”. Put the dog back into a sit, if it does so willingly give the dog a treat. Repeat this until you can drop something interesting say “leave it” at the same time and the dog either doesn’t break its sit, or returns to its sit – that’s when you know you have a strong dog command. A note on the correction – a lead correction is delivered by flicking the lead, the force of it should be just enough that your dog “hears” it and it is effective.
- Drop
“Drop”, also known as “out”, is an important command to end a game or to get a dog to let go of anything it has picked up that it shouldn’t have.
The easiest way to teach “drop” is to play tug with the dog, or to get them to bite or chew some sort of toy. Have some food ready in your hand so you can say “drop” at the same time as offering the food to the dog, hold it close to its face or throw the food onto the ground just in front of him. The dog will open its mouth to get the food and in so doing let go of whatever it was holding. Essentially, you are building an association between the command and dog opening its mouth.
7. Yes
“Yes” is what is known as a marker command. It’s like clicker training except you don’t need to be holding a clicker. If you’re doing agility with your dog, or some advanced training then a clicker is great, it produces a 100% repeatable emotionless sound which you train the dog to understand as meaning “Good job, reward is on the way, carry on with your task.” This is really useful if you want your dog to perform a series of tasks, for example working around an agility course. However, if you’re just going for a walk then having to take a clicker with you is just another thing you need to remember, another thing to hold, to fumble in your pocket to bring it out at just the right moment. That’s why I like to train dogs to understand “yes” to mean “congratulations, good job.”
Fortunately, it is really easy to do. You are building an association between you saying “yes” and the dog getting a little dopamine rush for having done the right thing. Put the dog into a sit in front of you and say “yes”, and then give the dog a treat. Say “yes” again, and treat again. Try to keep your voice the same every time, voice inflection has a lot of meaning to dogs so be consistent. Once you’ve done this twenty times you can apply it to your other obedience work. Whenever the dog makes a good decision, like sitting on command, say “yes” and then treat.
8. Recall
This is the big one, the dog command that starts arguments in the local park. It has a safety function as well as convenience, there are times when your dog might be in danger and you have to get him back to you. Considering the circumstances when you might need it, it is also very possible that your dog will be distracted and may not want to come back to you. The stronger your dog’s recall, the better position you will be in to get him back when you need it most.
To start, you need your dog attached to a long line, three meters is all you need to start but we’ll build up to twenty. Attach the long line to the dogs flat collar. It’s best to start in your house if you have the space, or possibly your garden. The dog will have fewer distractions and that’s important. Allow the dog to drift away from you up to three meters making sure that there is not much slack in the long line, you need to be in contact with the dog but not have the lead tight. Say “Fido, come”. If the dog does not instantly turn towards you apply some gentle pressure on the long line to persuade the dog to turn towards you and come back. As soon as the dog starts moving towards you say “yes” and continue calling the dog in to you until it gets to you and then reward. You can then give the dog the “free dog” or “break” command so they can wander off again keeping the long line from going too slack. Once they are three meters away call them back as before. Repeat this until the dog voluntarily comes back without the need of pulling on the long line. Once perfect you can allow the dog to go a little further away, try five meters, and then build ap as the dog gets better at each increase in distance.
As the dog gets better at recall and you gradually increase the distance, you can also increase the number of distractions. Distractions are increased by changing location. Inside the home is where there are the least possible distractions, slightly more in the garden, more again in the park. When moving up a level in distractions it’s best to temporarily decrease the distance the dog is away from you until you have “proofed” the new environment with a perfect short distance recall, then gradually increase the distance up to the full extent of the long line.
In summary
Having some basic dog commands achieves many things but something often overlooked is that it gives the dog accountability. You’re having a conversation with him, “I expect this from you.” And hopefully he’ll reply, “Here you go.” At that point everyone’s lives become easier.
Until next time, enjoy your dog.
Nick
