# Common Commands



## pudellvr (Dec 1, 2016)

I have searched and read the forum a lot but have not been able to find a good list of commands to start with for a puppy. I don't want to use a command that has to be "reshaped" or "renamed" later when we do agility and nose work and even SAR.

Maybe I am over stressing, but dog sports is an area that I have never been able to do before due to Phoebe's fear issues. With a new pup my son and I are thinking about how we will train him.

Sit- sit near me
Down-lay down
Off- get paws off of ____
Leave it- ignore what is interesting


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

The two most important things to me are teaching them their name (& that they respond to it by giving you their attention ie; making eye contact) and the 'come' command.
The trick is not to 'poison' any command IMO!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think there are a few words where you have to think carefully - does Down mean Lie down, or get down from the sofa, for example (I use Flat to mean lie down, for that reason). As long as you are consistent I don't think it really matters. Perhaps you could look at the terms used in Rally, and use those as a starting set?


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## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

I use:
Sit (or one whistle blast or one beep on his ecollar) - sit wherever you are and watch me until I tell you what to do next
Platz - lay down wherever you are and watch me until I tell you what to do next
Fuss (rhymes with "loose) - heel
Here (or 3 rapid whistle blasts or 3 collar beeps) - come here immediately 
Up - jump up (into car, on table, etc)
Down - jump down (out of car, off table, etc)
Out - let go of the tug toy - stop the tug game
Off - get off of whatever you are on and don't get back on/don't touch
Drop - drop the ball/bird/dummy in my hand
Get it - fetch (when at least one of us knows where the bird/ball/dummy is)
Hunt dead - find and fetch the bird/ball/dummy (used when neither if us knows where it is and he needs to search)
Find it - go find the (usually a disc golf disc) missing thing but don't pick it up - he usually just sits by it or runs back and forth between us and the object
Stay - stand and stay (sit/down already means stay, so I don't usually add the stay command)

If you plan to do SAR or any other activity where your dog will work off lead, I suggest teaching sit and down to mean "stop where you are and (sit or down)." It can save your dog's life, because there may be a time where having your dog come running to you is dangerous but you still need to control them. Really it's not a bad idea for all dogs - you never know when they could get loose and run across traffic or something.

Also, I take Hans to work with me, and despite my best efforts I haven't been able to completely prevent other people from attempting to give him commands. That's why I've chosen less common commands for certain things. Recalls, for one thing, are easily ruined, and people who shouldn't be calling him usually use "come" if they are guessing commands. So using "Here" or whistle/collar cues solves that problem.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I agree with the others and Firestorm is particularly spot on about sit and drop in place if you will do off lead work outdoors.

The specific words you use don't matter in that there is no specific "list." You need to make sure that you are consistent in what your words will mean and don't use the words until you are sure of the response you will get. If you poison a cue, don't add a new one until you are sure you will get the right response.


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

I use a variety of commands for different actions, but the one command I have come to appreciate is "free". It is our release command, and I learned it from kikopup. I have learned that as much as it is important for your puppy to know what to do, it is equally important for them to know when they are done. .


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Sammy the spoo said:


> I use a variety of commands for different actions, but the one command I have come to appreciate is "free". It is our release command, and I learned it from kikopup. I have learned that as much as it is important for your puppy to know what to do, it is equally important for them to know when they are done. .


Absolutely!!!! and free is a great choice for ending a behavior since you are much less likely to say free accidentally in the course of conversation, unlike OK (which I say all the time).


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