Do You Repeat Commands?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Let's see what everyone thinks about #2 of the "Training Mistakes"....

You repeat commands

I see this often, especially among newbie owners with challenging dogs. The owner has taught a behaviour such as “sit,” but, due to distractions, bad technique, or confusion on the dog’s part, the pet fails to respond. The owner asks repeatedly until, after the sixth or seventh attempt, the dog halfheartedly sits. This stalling becomes a learned behaviour, one that’s hard to break.

This often occurs with behaviours that haven’t been fully proofed, or with one the dog doesn’t particularly like to perform. Headstrong dogs, for instance, hate to lie down, as it is an admission of deference. Timid dogs also resist lying down, a position they might deem too unsafe.

When I teach “sit,” I do so as if it’s a fun trick; I treat reward at first, praise, then work it in other locations, reducing treat rewards along the way while increasing praise. I make sitting, lying down, or coming when called the greatest things to do.

Once you are sure a dog knows a behaviour, ask only once! If you are ignored, it’s either because you haven’t taught it properly, or the dog is distracted or simply rebellious (yes, they can be!). Take Fido to a quiet spot and ask again; if he still doesn’t respond, go back to basics and re-teach, avoiding the mistake of asking multiple times, or of making the behaviour seem dreary or unbeneficial. If you suspect your dog is simply blowing you off, don’t be afraid to show your disappointment by saying in a convincing tone: “No; sit.”

One other tip; after asking once without response, wait a moment, while looking your dog square in the eye and moving in a bit closer. Often this will be enough to get the dog to comply. Then praise!

This is always a tough one for me.  I really like the last tip...waiting a minute or moving a bit closer.  This never fails with my guys.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

my trainer taught us to say the word once and then if the dog doesn't listen say "shame on you" and issue a correction (in the case of sit it was a leash pull up).  Now I just have to Cubbie to sit and when he doesn't just say "shame on you" and he responds.  My brother thinks that it is so funny that I would say that to my dog, but it works.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Because he associates "shame on you" with the correction that followed those words. You could have used "I like cherry pie" or any other phrase, and he'd respond to it the same way, lol. But it wouldn't be as funny to see. 

[Star and Goldie]

Yes! Amy please change your correction phrase to "I like cherry pie". Haha I can picture it now!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I already use "queso" instead of "come" so why the heck not! 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I think it is the phrase that my brother finds funny.  The first time I said it, he just turned and looked at me and said "did you just say 'shame on you' to your dog" and laughed.  now he just laughs every time.

[Adina P]

It definitely sounds hilarious as though the dog was shamed into it.  but yeah...you could say "cowabunga!" or "no dinner for you!" too and it would work the same!

[Kyoko]

So funny... I use the release word "OK", when Charlie does not follow directives right away.

[Star and Goldie]

I've been working so hard on this.  Lately Goldie has seemed to digress a bit in her training and isn't so quick on responding to commands. When she doesn't do the command, I cross my arms and give her the stare down until she does it (not saying another word). If she hasn't done it within 60 seconds, I say "no" and turn around and walk away then she usually follows me and recognizes that I'm ignoring her and does what I asked.  It is very trying but I'm committing to not going back to saying the command more than once!

[Donna K & Quincy]

I am sure I am guilty of repeating commands but I am also guilty of having several commands that mean the same thing. "No", "huh huh" and "don't even think about it" all achieve the same result most of the time. :>)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As I think more about this, I really only use sit, down, stay, and come commands.  That's me telling them "what I want them to do".  If they don't do it, I use my correction word (uh..uh) and then wait a few minutes (or longer) and ultimately "make them do it".  So if it's sit and they don't do it, I would place my hand on their butt and pull up slightly on their collar.  If it's down, I would give a quick downward tug on the collar.  If its come, I'd go get them.  If it's stay, I'd also go get them and bring them right back to where they started.  I don't use any of these commands unless I'm in a position to actually "make them follow through".  I mentioned earlier that I now have Murph in a down/stay in the car to avoid him barking at other dogs out the window.  I only use it if I'm in a position to pull over to the side of the road and "make him" go back into his "down".  We practiced this for weeks with DH driving and me "enforcing", but even now once in a while I will have to pull over if I'm alone.  I don't use any "negative commands" like leave it or drop it.  If they are going to take something they shouldn't have they just get a verbal correction....I use that same sound for anything they are starting to do that I don't like.

[Kyoko]

just few minutes ago, Pinot rang the bell to go outside. I slipped their collars on and leashed them up. And opened the door and said "sit". ( they have to sit in front of the opened door until released ) They both looked at me and were like " OK, whatever, mom...." So I was thinking about this discussion and my head was going like, "Ok, what do I do? what did people say on that discussion...?"And I was also thinking about " Do nothing".... So, I closed the door, and looked back at them. LOL! And, they sat!! LOL!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL! Good work!