Demystifying Puppy Training - last but not least...

The following are commands that we used to teach in puppy school, and the reasons why we don’t do so now:

Stay:

Purpose: so pup won’t move once asked to Sit or Down (to lie down). If you’re not moving away from pup, then there’s no need for Stay as you’re expecting the behaviour to be maintained until you’ve given the release command. Therefore Stay means “I’m walking away and I want you to not move a muscle until I get back/tell you to”.

Advantage: this command is fine as an obedience command and is often used to get distance between pup and owner so that ‘Come’ can then be used (which then undermines the expectation of stability of Stay). It is also often used to stop pups/dogs from going out the front door or into spaces that they’re not supposed to.

Disadvantage: It’s something which you can’t ask your dog to do in any environment where someone or something may approach him and he may need to engage or avoid.

More logically, from my perspective, ensure that you teach a release command and use it consistently so that Stay isn’t relevant for maintenance of the command, and also set Boundaries to teach your pup where he can or can’t go regardless of command

Down:

Purpose: to have your dog lie down in sphinx position

Advantage: Occasionally I might teach it to a large dog to ‘Down’ when a nearby person or dog may be intimidated by the size of the dog, however it would be inappropriate for that person or dog to then approach the one who is doing Down.

Disadvantage: although this is something used in obedience trials, as with Stay, you can’t use it in the public arena for the same reason; It asks your dog to make himself smaller (therefore more vulnerable).

Stand:

Purpose: To have your dog stop and stay in one place, although still standing (not required to sit)

Advantage: we actually prioritised this over Stay, as Stand can be used to stop your dog quickly if you’re crossing a road but need to stop, but Sit isn’t necessary or practical at that point in time, or for when your leash-management skills are still a work in progress and your dog has the leash tangled around his legs – or around another dog, for when you need to get a prickle out of his paw, for when he’s at the vet, for when you’re grooming him, etc, etc.

Disadvantage: none

Drop:

          Purpose: to have your dog release something from his mouth

          Advantage: regardless of whether you’re playing tug-of-war with your dog or he pick up something that he shouldn’t, this command encourages him to release what’s in his mouth without having to wrestle it from him

          Disadvantage: if not taught properly, your dog will probaby still compete for the item and may try to snatch it back from you, resulting in bitten/nipped fingers

Here are some commands that we’ve encountered, taught to our clients by puppy pre-school trainers

Touch:

Purpose: to have your dog touch your hand with their nose, potentially having come to you

Advantage: this is a useful command if you then want to teach your dog to hit a bell or buzzer to have the door opened to enable toilet, etc

Disadvantage: this is being taught instead of come, so then, when people call their dogs at the park, they use a different command because this one doesn’t make sense to use in that environment, but the other command hasn’t been taught, setting the dog up to fail

Middle:

Purpose: to have your dog put himself between your legs, preferably facing the same direction as you

Advantage: I was told that this is so that the dog/person combination take up less space in a crowded environment (no matter which way I measure it, the amount of space used is no smaller)

Disadvantage: having been placed in ‘middle’ if you then want to move, you need to swing your leg over your dog before you can walk – this is dangerous for your dog, yourself and potentially for anyone standing nearby

On multiple occasions I’ve seen dogs offer this behaviour as part of their collection of skills, and destabilise their own person or another unsuspecting person as the dog pushes themselves between the person’s legs

Yes (or using a clicker):

          Purpose: this is a marker, ideally used in the same way that you might use a ‘clicker’. If given the proper grounding, it can reinforce an appropriate behaviour

          Advantage: it’s short and you don’t need to think about it

          Disadvantage: this sound is supposed to reinforce a behaviour, however as a short sound, there is very little information in it. You can’t modify the tone based on whether you want to reinforce a calm behaviour (like sit) versus an energetic one (like come). You also can’t reinforce an ongoing behaviour – if you use it for praising ‘come’, ideally you will praise for the full period of time that your dog is coming to you, or walking in heel or side, which is difficult with such a short sound. As a consequence it’s often used at the end of the exercise meaning that dogga actually gets no praise for a job well done, and instead ‘yes’ becomes a default release command.

A Word About Words – Commands vs Signals (Body Language)

Please always remember that your dog is looking for a visible cue as to what you want him to do. Generally, as you use that little treat to coax a behaviour, the way that you move your hand at that point in time is the cue (or signal) that your dogga is learning. If you then give the command AS your dog does the behaviour, not only does he learn more quickly what he’s supposed to do with his body when he hears that sound, but you’re also less likely to change that sound (command) to something else. As verbal communicators, if we don’t get a response to ‘Come’, we change it to ‘come here’. If ‘Sit’ doesn’t work, we try ‘Sit down’ – and then we wonder why our dog doen’t respond.

Give the signal, as your fur-friend follow that, give the command, praise with the appropriate energy and always remember to give your release command. Then you can have the confidence in your dog that you can take him anywhere 😊

Good, clear training of our puppies gives us well-behaved, responsive adult dogs who we can enjoy