Apart from the obvious sit, stay, come etc, what "little" commands have you found to be really useful in day to day life with your dog/s? I taught Digby "touch" as a young pup. Where he simply has to come to me and touch whichever palm I offer. Fairly simple, it was just cute when he was little and isn't a replacement for "come/here". Now bigger, he has a terrible habit of either standing in doorways, or standing the wrong side of a door when I want to close it..often outside but all round the house generally. "Touch" is great for making him walk to where I want him so I can close the door - its still cute tbh, but really useful in a way I didn't for see.
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands To me the most important command is the stop whistle. Everything else is quite useful but a lesser command. And yet not all pet owners teach this command. With the stop whistle you have total control over the dog. For a gundog it is an absolute must. One of the lesser commands I taught Murffi is to walk to heel not just on my left side but also on my right, two different commands. He can be easily spooked by strange dogs so I can choose which side of me I want him to walk when I see another dog approaching.
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands One that I taught Sam is more of a sign than a spoken command . I make him sit and then point to which side of me he should walk, like Heidrun I like him to understand both sides of me and he does now understand the pointed hand
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Well one command I have used with my previous dogs and now with Simba is "wait". I guess it's similar to "stay" but with lower expectations?? It's very useful - previous dog when I let him come out the door off - leash to play at the park across the street he would naturally want to race there, but I would call "wait" as he got to the curb so that he wasn't't dashing pell-mell onto the road. Jet would immediately flop onto his stomach, giving me the chance to catch up and check for traffic (intense Border Collie eyes fixed on me the whole time). As soon as I said "okay " he'd be off. it's funny how your commands j ust slip into your new interactions with a new dog. I have not had Simba off-leash yet, but have used the "wait" with him too. For example, when we leave the yard I make him sit while I open the gate and exit, and then he's allowed to come out. But then I have to turn back to close the gate again. So I say "wait" to let him know I've got something else to do before we go. So basically he's learning that he can't get going until I'm ready. Okay to sniff bushes, stand, wander the length of the lead, but no pulling to go. He's definitely getting the hang of it. I also use it for when I have to pick up the poo on the walk. I haven't really thought about the training of all this, but basically it's just saying the word while he's doing what you want (standing still, no pulling, etc) and then they respond that way when you say it after they've learnt the word. I only use it for those momentary pauses, not for a longer "stay".
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands I've found "inside" useful it means get through the door and out from under my feet especially useful when I'm carrying Lizzie or shopping
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands my most useful commands are wait and leave it, wait is my best one so far, he will just sit and wait, when i get his food out and say wait, he will sit very nicely, when i go through a door he will sit and wait, myself and my grandson have walked halfway across a football field with the command sit and wait, the leave it command is normally given to leave his ball after a retrieve, or leave that sock that he as just took out of the washing machine he doing well with basic commands, we are doing lots of training with him, we don't want a super star, just a pet that will greet and meet people and come back to us on a recal
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands We use "wait" all the time. Also "Get out of the kitchen". And "Quiet" for stopping barking. I also use "Where's Damon?" for when I want Obi to leave me alone and go to hassle someone else for a change As Lisa describes, most of these casual things we taught by just labelling stuff he was doing naturally, then rewarding.
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Oh yes, we use "where's Sophie" (my daughter) when she is showing signs off hoofing it off after a deer or another dog. We frequently play the hide and seek game with Sophie in the woods, and its a really fun game. That wee phrase can be a real help to get her attention back even when Lills and I are on our own. jac
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands i am at home on my own, my son at work all day, when hes home i got a different little guy on my hands, he turns into a monster with me he is very good, when my son is due home he waits in the window, then goes mental , i am sure he must be so bored spending all his time with me
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Yep Lynne.... Jaspers thinking...quit the cleaning up and come play with me..oh! and bring those tasty biscuits while your at it ;D ;D ;D jac
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands awh jac, i play with him loads, he knows when i get up in a morning do not bother me until i have my 2 cups of coffee, hehe, he gets loads of play time my cleaning time as gone right down hill, thats a good thing, hes a little star is my jasper , ohhhhhhhhhh my word them black hairs are in every corners of my rooms grrr, hey ho , he is on roast chicken treats now
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Yum. He's a lucky boy. Spoit rotten I bet. I was thinking the other day (as I was hanging up a load of white washing) how on earth absolutely everything had come out covered in dog hair. Oh well : (Better stop diverting this thread) Jac
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands I taught my old dogs the command 'Shake', so after a rainy walk they would shake themselves BEFORE they came into the house. VERY useful. Must remember to teach Poppy that one! I also taught them to 'Speak' (i.e. bark) on command. Not useful for anything really, but children were always delighted by it. And since Bones was a therapy dog, the commands 'Shake hands' and 'Speak' made him lots of friends at the old people's home. And everyone always loved 'Show me your belly'... ;D Less usefully, my children taught Bones the command 'Dig'. They thought this was very funny; I was less thrilled by it.
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Wait is a big one for me and the project pooch. Wait to go out the door, wait for your dinner, wait to get into the car, wait to come out the crate, wait at the drive way entrance so i can check traffic, wait for anything really haha. Leave is another one she knows well. Leave things i drop on the floor, leave the cat, leave the cup, leave the plate haha. Find it is a lesser used one but ill sometimes take a toy o walks and drop it behind me, walk on a little further and say "Goldie, wheres your toy, go find it" She like "oh man did i drop it, i'm so silly, i better go look for it"...gets her senses going and using her little brain and its fun to watch ;D My last dog loved learning and picked things up really quick to the point i ran out of tricks to teach him. He would bark on command and wave to you...totally pointless but fun teaching him and he loved showing off.
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Yes, my collie had a whole bunch of tricks. "Wave" was always a fun one. Also "Pray" - he would stand and put his hands on my forearm and duck his head down. Kids loved that one. I tried teaching him the "crawl" but didn't go so well. He could also "weave" which was to go in and out of my legs as I walked. He liked that one! He loved the frisbee so I also taught him some frisbee tricks. These are not exactly "useful" though, I suppose. The "off" command was a really good one. Meaning, I see you sniffing that but DON'T TOUCH! I would get him to lie down and I would put a treat on his paw and say "off". It was so hard for him - he immediately wouldn't even look at it because if he did it would be gone in a flash. So he would sit there with eyes fixed on me (and collies can REALLY stare at you) and soon as I said "okay" the treat was gone in a flash. Could even do this with one treat on each paw. But the "off" in general was a great command! Going to have to teach that to this big dufus too!
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands when my dog brings back a retrive he sits ,i take the dummy/ball from him and he gives me his paw and i say thnk you very much shaking it like a hand shake .. i found doing this helped him hold onto the dummy rather than dropping it as he now knows after our hand/paw shake he gets a treat .. darren
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Ours is "leave" covers everything from spilt (hot) food to that shoulder dip prior to a really intensive roll and also useful for redirection during retrieval training. I'd also add "drop" vital if your mobile waste disposal unit, sorry labrador, has picked up an item of unidentified origin, no doubt highly pungent. ;D Kerryn
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands i have taught jasper to shake hands, tonight my lil grandson staying over, logan says to jasper shake hands and he did, he said i want you to shake both hands , oh dear now when i sit and ask him to shake hands i got to teach him to shake both hands, also logan as been teaching him to dance and march, oh my life i will be going up and down the house saying shall we dance cha cha cha , got to love kids
Re: Those really useful lesser used commands Very funny Lynne,it's lovely to see them playing together,I've had to put the clicker out of reach as my niece and nephew don't really get it,they think they click and Dexter just does whatever they ask.....for everything!tried to explain he's flesh and blood like us and not run on a microchip!x
