Useful Commands

[Tilly's Handler]

When you are training your dog other then working commands what other things do you find useful

 

I teach the dogs to return and sit at my feet when they hear a car in the drive way the are allowed to greet who ever it is after the door opens.

 

I teach the dogs to go and sit at the door to be let in when I say in the house

 

I use mount up which either applies to the side by side atv or the truck if the door is open gets them out of the way when need they stay there till called or it moves

 

I also teach them to sit back from the door when I am leaving so they are not at door begging to go with you when you cant take them

[geonni banner]

I like "Come on up," which means, stand up on your hind legs and drape your forepaws over my outstretched arm. The dog does not touch you anywhere else, or lean against you, unless you pull them up against you. The commands implies that the dog hold this position until you drop your arm. This is good for a couple of reasons. First, you can get a good look at the paws while they are draped over your arm, and the same is true of the dog's face, mouth, etc. You can pick stuff out the dog's face-fur or look in the ear on your side with your free hand. It is also a nice way to get cuddles with the dog without him being confused about not jumping up on you.

 

The second, expanded part of this command enjoins the dog to stand up and put its forepaws on whatever surface you indicate by patting the surface. This is really useful for getting a dog onto a table. You "Come on up" the front half of them onto the table, and then lift the hindquarters up. My vet loves this, as he doesn't have one of those "elevator tables." It's great when you have a really big dog, because it doesn't break your back to lift it onto the table.

[Alchemist]

I have found "stand" to be useful. As in "don't slink on your belly when I let you in the door, stand so I can wipe your paws". Duncan knows if I repeat it after wiping his rear paws it also means "turn around so that I can wipe your front paws". It's also useful at the vet's if he needs a shot or his temperature taken. And it's useful if I need to put a harness on him if he's riding in the car.

 

I also practice door manners (wait until they hear their name before they go through the door) and "wait" until they can be "released" from a crate. No one barges anywhere without my permission.

 

Automatic "sit" at curbs - no one goes into the street until being released. (Really only useful for urban dogs, I think).

 

"Go to your bed" is useful - no dogs begging at our laps over dinner, no dogs crowding visitors, or interrupting meetings I'm holding in my office with the dogs present.

 

"Leave it" - everything from that chicken bone on the ground to kids kicking a ball around.

 

And of course "kennel up".

 

I'm sure I can think of others, but those are the ones we use every day.

[mum24dog]

The second, expanded part of this command enjoins the dog to stand up and put its forepaws on whatever surface you indicate by patting the surface. This is really useful for getting a dog onto a table. You "Come on up" the front half of them onto the table, and then lift the hindquarters up. My vet loves this, as he doesn't have one of those "elevator tables." It's great when you have a really big dog, because it doesn't break your back to lift it onto the table.

 

 

We don't meet tables in agility any more but my older dogs were taught it and the cue has transferred easily to get up onto whatever flat surface I indicate. Most often it's the top of the big crate so I can do whatever I need to without bending down - teeth, nails, collars on and off, medication etc. They all do it now.

 

I'd add "Feet". We go some very muddy places and "Feet" means to walk through the nearest pool of water before getting back in the car.

[WildFlower]

I use the following aside from basic obedience commands:

 

"Go to bed" - go into my bedroom and stay there - I use when people come to the door.

"Table" - sit/stand on the object I point to - usually the scale at the vet's office.

"Stand" - to wipe dirty paws

[GentleLake]

Automatic "sit" at curbs - no one goes into the street until being released. (Really only useful for urban dogs, I think).

 

 

With the way some people barrel down back roads at lightening speed, I wouldn't limit this to urban dogs, even if there's not always a curb. Dogs can (and should) learn to do this at the edge of the road, whether there's a curb or not.

[Tea]

Hum, two useful commands-

 

wait- means stay behind me or horse

 

get outta that- means....er means what it says! :

[YeseniaBeauchamp]

This was a fun thing we used at home to play but found useful.

 

We taught our dogs to play hide and seek and would use each other's name (go find Gary, go find Yesenia) and found out that because our dogs were excited to find us, it was easy to teach a speak.

Putting it all together, if I'm walking through the woods and my dogs come running and bark at me, I know my husband Gary is looking for me!!!