The Basic Every Dog Should Know.
1 SIT- You want your dog to sit down, his butt on the floor. My cue is "SIT", my hand sign, I have my arm lowered at my side, I raise my hand, palm flat, bending elbow until palm is facing my face, not in front of my face, but to the side of my head.
2. WATCH ME- I have posted a watch me training post. You want your dog to focus on you, watch you, make eye contact with you. My cue is "WATCH ME." or "EYES", my sign is pointing one finger at my eyes, or temple.
3. DOWN- There are a few different downs, just as there are a few different sits, but for the basic down, you are expecting your dog to lay down, in any position. My cue is "DOWN", my sign is I point one finger at the floor.
4. STAY- In a stay you want your dog to remain in a position, be it a down, a stand, or a sit, he is to remain in that position until you use your release word. Cue- "STAY", my hand sign is like being a traffic cop, palm up facing dog's face.
5. STAND- The stand is a bit more difficult to teach but it is worth every minute you spend on it. You are demanding your dog stand up on command. Cue is "STAND", I don't have a sign I use for this, but you can invent your own. I have seen others use this, hand palm facing the sky, and raising the hand.
6. WAIT- The wait is also a bit more difficult, especially if you have a go get them dog. But, again it is well worth the time spent to train it. You will expect your dog to wait, meaning calmly wait at a door and not bust ass to be the first one out that door. Cue "WAIT", again I have no sign.
7. COME OR RECALL- This is one of the most important things you can ever teach your dog. The object of come or recall is to have the dog return to you on command, without lollygagging around. Cue- "COME", "HERE", I use "TO ME". My sign is waving my arms in a come to me motion.
8. LEAVE IT- This is a good command to have under your dogs belt, because it will keep him safe, and teach him just because its on the ground or floor, doesn't mean it belongs to him. Cue-"LEAVE IT". I have no sign for this.
9. NO- Teaching the dog the meaning of the word no is useful in many situations. Cue- "NO", sign may be wagging your finger in a no no manner.
10. SETTLE OR PLACE- I have covered this in another post. The object of this is to get your dog to go to a spot, be it a crate, a mat, and just settle or calm down. Cue- I use "SETTLE", others I know use "CALM", "GO TO YOUR SPOT", "PLACE", "GO TO BED". I do not have a sign for this.
11. RELEASE WORD- The release word is not really a command, or a behavior in my book, its just letting the dog know that the behavior you wanted can no end. Such as you commanded dog to "SIT", and now you want him to know the "SIT" command is over you will use the release word. Cue- This should be a word that you don't use commonly in everyday language, when speaking to your dog. It can be anything you want, just be sure to use it only as a release word. I personally use "OK", others I know have used "DONE". There is no sign for this.
Over the next few posts I shall be going into detail on each of these, and sharing various links to how to train them. Once you have the basics down, its easy to move onto other more difficult behaviors. But please take the time to teach these to your dog, and take the time to teach them properly. Distance and duration do count, as well as different locations.
No comments:
Post a Comment