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.

[Adina P]

I used to be GREAT at this one and it drove me crazy hearing other people tell their dog 'Sit.  Sit, sit, sit." 
My dogs are so out of practice and have lost a lot of their quick obedience :-(  So you'd probably catch me repeating myself these days because ... booo. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I learned very early on not to repeat commands, back in 1978 when I attended my first training classes with my first dog. That said, in my first training class with JD, I had to learn to just use the one word "Sit!" and not "Can you sit?" or even worse, "Can you sit please?" He was just so timid and submissive and pitiful, it was very hard for me to be businesslike with him. It still is. 

[Adina P]

I love "Can you sit?"  It was always a pet peeve of mine to hear it: "can you sit?  Can you sit?  Can you Sit sit sit!"

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I only say it once, lol.

Another one I do too much is "Sit please." 

[Kyoko]

That reminded me of parenting.... " Do you want to put the toys away now..?" and get upset when child say "No"....! Well, we asked, right?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The funny thing is, that one I knew. I never asked my DD if she wanted to do something she had to do anyway. But with this particular dog, my brains fly out the window. 

[Adina P]

I do that all the time!  and then say "d'oh" to myself.  darn it I asked again!  we've passed the terrible twos and are now in the terrible three's for some things.  my youngest is not quite three and generally a compliant sweetie, but we'll see...he throws awesome tantrums.  i'm just not as swayed by his tantrums and he's otherwise very low drama.

[BG and Gavin]

Re: taking a step forward, I do this too much when Gavin is outside and I am calling him in from the door. So come does not mean come, come and me stepping outside means come. Gotta work on this one. He is also famous for doing one circuit of the yard befoe coming in.

[Dawn Ross]

I'm bad about this, especially with my Maya. She gets distracted easily and isn't very good at paying attention when she gets excited. It wasn't until I studied with a dog trainer a few years ago that I learned of some of the mistakes I was making in her training. Trying to undo those errors has been difficult. I don't repeat commands as often with Pierson. When I got him a year-and-a-half ago, I was more aware of training pitfalls and have been trying to do things right. The worst time I have with him not listening and me being tempted to repeat is when we are out walking and he sees another dog. He sometimes pretends not to listen when he's outside and I call him in.

[Julie, Boomer, Milo & Casey]

This is the one training mistake I do NOT make.  I learned in class that the command is "SIT" and not "sit, sit, sit"!   My son makes the mistake all the time though and I'm always correcting him (my human son).    I'm guilty of several other mistakes on that list but not this one.   :-)

 

 

[Laura Deutsch]

Ok, I'm going to weigh in on this....I've been waiting all day to get home from work!!!!! (just kidding, but it was tempting and I had no time to write).

Again, with our other dogs, we never had to repeat a command. Some of the time, Molly is right with us (in spirit) and will listen immediately, even if we are not doing a training session. Other times, she is in outer space, interesting in something else around.....the smell of a critter, a person walking, a leaf blowing, a piece of garbage on the side of the road (there seems to be alot of that around here). We used to live in a more suburban community without sidewalks and there was never garbage to be had. So, we totally know not to repeat, but sometimes do. We will try the wait and take a step toward her. She does listen the second time. We NEVER say sit, sit, sit. Getting her undivided attention when we're not in an indoor training session is difficult though. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

You know I think it's all about "whatever works for you".  If Molly does listen the second time you say the command (and or step toward her), then I think there are lots worse things you could be doing.  That's a lot different from the people that are continually repeating a command while their dog is "blowing them off".  You know I have a daughter who sounds a lot like Molly...LOL...she was also "highly distracted".