Training a dog for obedience can seem like a complex endeavor, often leading handlers to believe a vast vocabulary of commands is necessary. However, the reality is that many seemingly distinct commands can be simplified, making training more efficient for both you and your canine companion. This article explores how to streamline your command list, focusing on clear, concise communication that enhances your dog’s understanding and performance in obedience training.
The Myth of Excessive Commands
While some organizations boast of teaching dogs over 90 commands, a closer look reveals many are redundant or lack practical meaning. For instance, using separate commands for opening and closing a door, when the dog’s action (pulling a string) remains the same, is unnecessary. The goal is to teach your dog a core set of commands that cover essential positions and actions.
For example, a single command like “Kennel” can effectively communicate “get into your crate,” “enter the kennel run,” “get into the crate in the van,” or “go into the kitchen.” Your dog understands the action of entering a designated space, regardless of the specific location.
Essential Novice Commands
Your dog needs a foundation of commands that clearly indicate desired positions and actions.
Positional Commands:
- Sit: Assume a sitting position.
- Down: Assume a lying down position.
- Stand: Assume a standing position.
- Front: Move in front of me and sit.
- Heel: Move to my side and sit. This can also indicate a swing finish.
Action Commands:
- Come: Stop what you are doing and return to me.
- Let’s Go: Walk with me in a relaxed manner.
- Heel: Walk attentively beside my left side. This command serves a dual purpose: indicating the position next to you and the action of maintaining that position while moving.
- Back up: A useful command for teaching the heel position.
- Around: A command to finish by circling to my right.
Commands like “Stay” and “Wait” are often considered unnecessary. Once a dog is in a requested position (e.g., sit), they should maintain it until given a new command. The traditional use of “stay” often stems from habit rather than necessity in a well-trained dog.
Helpful Cues for Enhanced Communication
Cues act as signals, indicating what is about to happen, rather than issuing a direct command. Useful cues include:
- Hurry: Encourages the dog to increase pace.
- Easy: Prompts the dog to slow down.
- Ready: Signals that an exercise is about to begin. This can be particularly useful in competition when responding to a judge’s inquiry.
Streamlining Advanced Commands
Many advanced obedience exercises can be accomplished without introducing a plethora of new commands, leveraging the dog’s existing understanding.
Open Commands:
- Drop on Recall: Your dog already knows “come” and “down.” The key is teaching them to adopt a “sphinx” position when dropping in front of you, distinct from rolling to their side when at your flank.
- Retrieve on Flat:
- Fetch: Pick up the object. “Fetch” inherently implies holding the object.
- Drop: Release the object into my hand.
- Retrieve over High Jump:
- Jump: Initiates the sequence of actions. While you might initially use commands for each step (jump, fetch, come, jump, front), the primary cue “Jump” is sufficient to start the chain.
- Broad Jump: The command “Jump” is also applicable here.
Utility Commands:
- Signals: These are non-verbal commands for actions the dog already performs verbally, so no new verbal commands are needed.
- Scent Articles: While traditionally a different command is used for retrieving articles to encourage slower scent work, dogs are situational. They can differentiate between a prompt retrieve of a single object and a slower search among multiple items. If your dog shows anxiety with “Fetch” in this context, consider alternative command words like “Search” or “Find it.”
- Gloves: A directional signal combined with the “Fetch” command is sufficient.
- Moving Stand: The dog already understands verbal and non-verbal cues to stand and can transition into heel position with the “Heel” command or circle with the “Around” command.
- Directed Jumping: The “Go-out” command directs the dog away from you, and they can then execute a “Jump” and “Sit” as needed.
Integrating Cues and Motivation
Cues can also be integrated into advanced training:
- Mark: Used before the article exercise to draw the dog’s attention to the article pile.
- Look: Employed before directed jumping to encourage the dog to locate the go-out target.
- Motivational cues like “Ready to fetch?” or “Want to jump?” can add enthusiasm and fun to training sessions.
Key Training Principles
When facing training challenges, resist the urge to change commands. A dog’s lack of performance is rarely due to the command itself. Similarly, when exploring different dog sports, such as agility or fieldwork, stick to a unified set of commands. For instance, using “come” consistently across disciplines, rather than switching to “here” for fieldwork, simplifies your training and your dog’s understanding.
A shorter, well-applied command list offers significant benefits. It’s easier for handlers to remember under pressure and simpler for dogs to learn and generalize across similar situations. By focusing on clarity and consistency, you can build a strong foundation of communication with your dog, making obedience training a more rewarding experience for both of you.
