The world of dog training can sometimes feel overwhelming, with discussions about the sheer number of commands a dog can learn. While some organizations boast of teaching dogs over 90 commands, a closer look reveals that many of these are redundant or lack practical meaning for the dog. This article explores a more streamlined approach to obedience training, focusing on essential commands that build a strong foundation and enhance communication between you and your canine companion.
The core principle is to teach your dog a set of versatile commands that can be applied across various situations. Instead of a lengthy glossary of terms, this method emphasizes understanding the dog’s perspective and utilizing their ability to generalize actions. This not only simplifies training for the handler but also leads to a more confident and responsive dog.
Essential Commands for Foundational Obedience
For any dog, especially those involved in obedience sports or as service animals, a core set of commands is crucial. These commands generally fall into two categories: those that dictate a dog’s position and those that indicate an action.
Positional Commands
These commands instruct your dog on what stance or position you require them to adopt. A concise list includes:
- Sit: The dog should sit.
- Down: The dog should lie down.
- Stand: The dog should stand.
- Front: Move in front of you and sit.
- Heel: Move to your side and sit. This command can also be adapted for different finishes, though a specific command might be needed for a complete circle.
Action Commands
These commands prompt your dog to perform a specific action. Key action commands are:
- Come: Stop current activity and return to you.
- Let’s Go: A casual invitation to walk beside you, not necessarily in a strict heel position.
- Heel: Walk attentively by your left side. This command serves a dual purpose: establishing the position next to you and the action of maintaining that position while walking. Dogs are situational and can understand the context – whether you are standing still or moving.
- Back up: A useful command for refining heel position.
- Around: A command to circle around you and finish in a specific position.
A common omission from this list might be “Stay” or “Wait.” However, a well-trained dog should remain in the commanded position until released. The need for a separate “stay” command is often a matter of habit rather than necessity, as the initial command to “Sit,” “Down,” or “Stand” implies remaining in that position.
Introducing Helpful Cues
While not commands that dictate action, cues can be valuable tools to signal what’s coming or to help your dog adjust their pace.
- Hurry: Encourages the dog to move more quickly.
- Easy: Prompts the dog to slow down.
Some trainers use “Ready” as a cue that an exercise is about to begin. However, a more reliable approach might be to use a firm “Sit” command to get your dog’s attention if they aren’t already attentive before signaling readiness to a judge. This ensures your dog is focused and prepared.
Streamlining Advanced Training
Even in more complex obedience exercises, the need for numerous new commands is minimal. The key is to build upon existing commands and leverage the dog’s situational understanding.
Open Commands
- Drop on Recall: When recalling your dog, if you want them to drop into a sphinx position (different from the side-lying down), you don’t need a new command. The dog can learn to differentiate based on whether they are in front of you or at your side. A simple verbal cue to “Drop” is sufficient.
- Retrieve on Flat: This typically requires two commands:
- Fetch: Pick up the object.
- Drop: Release the object into your hand.
A separate “Hold” command is usually unnecessary, reserved only for dogs with specific mouthing issues.
- Retrieve over High Jump: The primary command is Jump, initiating the sequence of actions. While you might break down the entire chain (jump, fetch, come, jump, front) during training, the initial command to “Jump” is usually all that’s needed once the dog understands the exercise.
- Broad Jump: The command Jump is sufficient for this exercise as well.
Utility Commands
Advanced levels like Utility often introduce new exercises with minimal new commands.
- Signals: For exercises requiring non-verbal cues, you are essentially reinforcing known body movements with visual signals rather than introducing new verbal commands.
- Scent Articles: While traditionally a different command is used for retrieving articles than for a standard retrieve, the concept of situational learning applies. A dog can learn to be more deliberate when searching a pile of articles compared to a single object. If “Fetch” causes anxiety, alternative words like “Search” or “Find it” can be used.
- Gloves: No additional commands are necessary. “Fetch” combined with a directional signal is enough to indicate which glove to retrieve.
- Moving Stand: Dogs already understand the verbal and signal for “Stand.” They can then be cued to move into a heel position with the “Heel” command or circle behind with the “Around” command.
- Directed Jumping: The “Go-out” command directs the dog to leave your side, and they can then respond to the existing “Sit” and “Jump” commands.
Utilizing Cues Effectively
Cues can also be beneficial in Utility and Open classes to prepare the dog for upcoming exercises.
- Mark: Used before the article exercise, this cue alerts the dog that the article exercise is next and helps them locate the article pile.
- Look: Prior to directed jumping, this cue encourages the dog to look out and find the location for the “Go-out.”
Enthusiastic cues like “Ready to fetch?” or “Want to jump?” can also be fun motivators during training sessions.
Key Takeaways for Effective Training
When encountering training challenges, resist the urge to simply add more commands. Performance issues are rarely due to the command itself. Similarly, when exploring different dog sports like agility or fieldwork, stick to a consistent set of commands. For instance, whether you use “Come” or “Here,” the meaning should be consistent across all disciplines.
Ultimately, a shorter list of commands offers significant advantages. They are easier for handlers to remember under pressure and simpler for dogs to learn and apply across various situations. By focusing on versatile commands and understanding your dog’s learning capabilities, you can build a strong bond and achieve excellent results in obedience training.
Could your command list be simplified for a more effective training experience?
