# What are the commonly used command words?



## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

What do you recommend teaching beyond sit, stay, down, heel, come? And what specific commands do you use?

I've seen "heel" used to have the dog assume a position to your left, but also used to "initiate" the walk starting off of your left foot. Which is it--position cue or start walking cue?

I have used "leave it" both for ignoring dogs and squirrels, and also for leaving shoes, treats, balls etc. I think I am confusing her, since the actions expected of her are different. Should I use "drop" for dropping balls, shoes, etc.?

Several of you have commented about a super, emergency recall, and a drop-dead stay,one that you save for important things like traffic. What commands? How do you teach these "absolute" commands differently from regular come and stay?


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Off and Leave It!


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Sorry I didn't finish reading your post. I use "Leave it!" for anything I want the dog to leave alone. They understand.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

billsharp said:


> I've seen "heel" used to have the dog assume a position to your left, but also used to "initiate" the walk starting off of your left foot. Which is it--position cue or start walking cue?


Yes.  Heel is a position at your left side, regardless of whether you're standing still or walking - the dog is to be at your side either way.



> I have used "leave it" both for ignoring dogs and squirrels, and also for leaving shoes, treats, balls etc. I think I am confusing her, since the actions expected of her are different. Should I use "drop" for dropping balls, shoes, etc.


I use "leave it" for when the dog doesn't already have something. When the dog DOES already have something I use "give", and THEN "leave it" to mean don't grab it again.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I live out in the country and have other animals who are a part of our family. I use different commands for _my_ dog that have different meaning to _my_ dog. 

Example:

"I can't see you!" This is said in a playful voice. This means my dog needs to come back to where I can keep an eye on him. Say, I'm out in the barn and he is wandering around behind the barn. When I say "I can't see you!" he'll come wandering at a slower pace back to where he can see me. "I can't see you" is used a dozen times a day. "I can't see you" is rarely rewarded.

"Here" This is said in a normal voice. This means he has wandered too far off. Say, I'm out in the pasture and he is running around a head of me. If he has what I deem as too much distance (to safely control him) between us I'll hollar out "Here". That means he is to change direction now and close the distance. He is to come back towards me. This is to be done now, and not when he decides to. "Here" is used maybe once or twice a day. "Here" is rewarded with a vocal "that's a good boy".

"Come" This is said in an alert voice. There is no grey area in "Come". When I say this he is to stop what he is doing and come directly to me. As he nears I'll point either to my side or infront of me and sit. There is no problem solving left up to him when I say "Come!". "Come" is practiced, but not over used. "Come" is used perhaps once or twice a week just to make sure he is sharp on it. "Come" is always rewarded with a big party and dance. "Come" also gets a treat most of the time.


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## Uniballer (Mar 12, 2002)

We had a lab whose emergency recall command was, "Do You Want To Eat?"
You have to know your dog


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## koda00 (Apr 27, 2009)

Lilie said:


> I live out in the country and have other animals who are a part of our family. I use different commands for _my_ dog that have different meaning to _my_ dog.
> 
> Example:
> 
> ...


 
These two commands are the MOST important! This is taught in my obed. training exactly as stated above.


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## Girth (Jan 27, 2011)

Lilie said:


> I live out in the country and have other animals who are a part of our family. I use different commands for _my_ dog that have different meaning to _my_ dog.
> 
> Example:
> 
> ...


 

I had to learn those same commands before the wife would marry me. Took me forever to get that last one down.


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## The Packman (Jan 31, 2011)

When I want Elly May to bark or get her worked up I say..._where's / get the bad man !_


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Girth said:


> I had to learn those same commands before the wife would marry me. Took me forever to get that last one down.


See, if she used a long line with a prong and an e-collar, you'd have had it down in one day...maybe two.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Of course, you can use any command you want. I use "out" for the dog to drop anything in it's mouth, be it food or a ball or a baby bird. Yes, that really happened.


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

I use "leave it" for anything we pass that I just dont' want him to touch or sniff, I use "drop it" for any thing I want him to release out of his mouth, "Down" commands mean just that for any of my dogs doesn't matter what they're doing if I say "down" they drop. I live on a pretty busy county highway, and I dont' let them off a line of some type till I have test over and over the "down" command.


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

off
out
in
leave it
down
sit
slow
here (I dislike the recall 'come')
up (jumping and platforms)
eat (permitted to eat only at this command)
right 
left

The recall command is a distinctive whistle combination with 'here'.

We are working on a few more.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

With my dogs...

Sit (obvious)
Down (lay down)
Off (get the heck off my furniture!!! or off someone they've decided to jump on despite knowing better)
Heel (my dogs are trained to move into the heel position on my right (strong side for me) and it also means they stay at my side while walking)
Speak (obvious)
Out (obviously means get out of the room, usually the kitchen)
Downstairs (obvious)
Upstairs(obvious)
Go to bed (go upstairs to the bedroom)
Kennel (go to your crate!)
Outside (obvious)
Stay (stay where i put you)
Wait (wait until i release you to go through the door, jump out of the car, eat your food, leave your kennel etc)
Come (obvious)
Leave it (for anything i dont want them messing with)
Gentle (no snappy jaws taking treats!)
Drop it (spit it out NOW)
Here (for RIGHT in front of my sit) 

There's a few more but they arent coming to mind right now. point is, pretty much as long as you're using one - two sylable commands and teaching your dog what those means, you're good. Its all about the training. 

Shasta is also learning "go around" which means obviously to go around. Zena knew it like a pro but Riley refuses to learn it.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

1>>>> "go through my legs"
"go to the car"
"get your leash"
"get the mail"
"back up"
"up", "come on", "ok", or pat the bed when i want
him on the bed.
hand signals for all of his commands except for "back up".

2>>> i use "heel" for a position and a cue to walk.
if i lead off with my left leg my dog heels (walks with me). if i lead off
with my right leg my dog stays.

3>>> i use "leave it" just like you do. if i don't
want my dog chasing something i say "leave it".
if my dog is sniffing something that i think he
shouldn't or about to eat something
on the ground i say "leave it". dogs can
multi task with a command.

4>>>> i don't have a super emergency command.
i use "stop", "wait", "no", "hey, don't do that",
"come".

5>>> and all of KZoopas commands.



billsharp said:


> 1>>> What do you recommend teaching beyond sit, stay, down, heel, come? And what specific commands do you use?
> 
> 2>>>> I've seen "heel" used to have the dog assume a position to your left, but also used to "initiate" the walk starting off of your left foot. Which is it--position cue or start walking cue?
> 
> ...


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Girth said:


> I had to learn those same commands before the wife would marry me. Took me forever to get that last one down.


Hahaha! :rofl: Glad you got that figured out!!!!!!!

So far:

Sit, Stay, Shake, High Five 
Back (when I'm eating in front of him or he's crowding the space for whatever reason)
Off (used when he's counter-surfing or jumping up)
Easy (when offering something)
Leave it (usually when trying to eat his poop, grrr)
Come (or come on)
Crate
In (as in, we're going inside now)
Car
Drop
Bedtime
Up (up the stairs)
Down (down the stairs)
Out (out of the spare bedroom, where other dogs are fed)

Super, emergency recall... great idea, we need one of those.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Besides the basic obedience commands I use 'with me' which means walk with me in my general vicinity but not a heel, "wait"- a million uses from wait until I open the door or until I get the lead, etc, not a stay but a 'don't move yet'. Since we're herding I use 'that'll do' and that means give it up whatever you're doing is now over. "Here" or "here to me" is a less urgent 'come'. We have a lot of deer in our property that Stosh loves to chase so I've taught 'WOAH', then 'COME' and believe it or not he will actually stop running ahead and come back.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

oh they also know Paw, other paw, high five, and we're teaching 'stop' which basically means they dont take another step forward without my say so. They release word i use is Free.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Girth said:


> I had to learn those same commands before the wife would marry me. Took me forever to get that last one down.



HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This comment made my night!


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## danyo30 (Sep 28, 2011)

no no or no - stop whatever he is doing
sit-
stay-
lay-
down- stop jumping or to get off of something
ok - ( to release him from a command and also he will not eat until I say "ok")
come-
look at me - ( used when I want him to focus on me and or to divert his attention from something else like another dog)
out side -
hush- stop barking
go night night- (go to your crate)
go potty- (What can I say I have a 3 yr old and it is easier to use the same words for both when possible)
release - (drop whatever he has or to let go of the rope in tug)
go under- ( as in going under an obstacle)
jump over-
get the ball-
go get it- (fetch)
no bite-
roll over ( he is still working on this one)
There are a couple of sounds that I make as well. I make a kind of clicking sound that means here and a sharp Ah AH for no or stop.


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## EchoGSD (Mar 12, 2010)

Dogs will associate a behavior with whatever word you consistently use for that behavior. If you consistently say "Cabbage" when teaching your dog to sit, the "cabbage" will be your dog's command to sit. I tell my students to pick a word that makes sense to THEM, rolls easily off the tongue, and one they won't forget, then stick to that word.
For example, when I want my dog to walk closely beside me (as in, when we are competing in an obedience ring, or walking through a crowd of people), I tell her to "heel". When we are walking around the neighborhood visiting, I tell her "let's go". "Heel" means one thing (in position beside me, her shoulder in line with my pantleg, no forging or lagging, and I expect automatic sits), "let's go" means something else (no pulling, but more relaxed and no autosits). In the ring when I want a finish to the left, I say "heel". When I want a finish to the right, I say "by me". When I want and expect her attention, I say "Ready?". I use "leave it" to mean "leave it alone" -- whatever it is (squirrel, car, food, slippers, etc).


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## crewchief_chick (Feb 2, 2011)

Lets see....my obvious ones are:

Sit
Down
Wait (to go in and out doors, get in the truck, out of the truck, etc. . .)
Drop it (toys)
Leave it (whatever)
Out (generally kitchen and bathroom)
Stay
Paw (cant use Shake, as thats the labs name)
Enough (generally used when i want her to quit something)
Lets go to bed (bedtime, go to our bedroom(
Go to your house (kennel)
Get up there (jump in the truck)
Tell me (speak)
Hush (quit barking)
Go get your toy (generally followed by name of toy (cow, duck, etc. .)

Her instant hype up is asking her if she wants something...."do you want ....." the best one is asking if she wants to go for a ride, or go in the truck)


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

Thanks, these lists are great. 

I also use "attack" when my DW is bugging me, but fortunately Liesl has no clue...yet.


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## StryderPup (May 16, 2009)

Ok I use "LEAVE IT" alot - for whatever I want him to leave alone at the time (dogs, socks, etc.), but we have some other words that are non - traditional..

"bed" - means go to your carpet and wait to eat, we used this when he would eat in his crate...which he is no longer crated so it just stuck

"whatfer" - means game on! He loves to play with my kids...so if you say "Give her a whatfer" ... the he is over and ready to wrestle and play ball

"pineapple" - this is used as an emergency code word for when he is getting rough, although he hears pineapple, he expects a "leave it" directly after that soooo I am not sure if this counts 

"walk" - this is code word for I am running to my collar and leash and I am not leaving your side until I get a walk

"bath" - self explanatory and Stryder is already waiting in the bathtub...he may have heard me type it....


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

I've actually changed my words as time has gone on. I was being too confusing to him.

Revised list:

Off - get off of whatever - person (jumping up), bed, couch, counter
Down - drop down on all fours
Sit
Shake
Stay
High Five
Car (Let's go the the car)
Drop it (release it from your mouth)
Leave it (leave it alone) (thank the Lord, he doesn't try to eat poo anymore, but that's where this command was "born." )
Get it (or Get.. Your ball... your frisbee, etc... not doing too great on this, still working. Works great while playing fetch, but just to tell him to go get something, nah, not so much.)
Bedtime
Breakfast (don't ask me why, all meals for all dogs are "breakfast." )
Up - as in a release from a command, in particular the down or place command. (I need to consider changing this to "free.)
Upstairs - go up the stairs
Downstairs - go down the stairs
Heel
C'mere or actually, Bailey, c'mere. (I try to not include his name in commands other than this one.)
Go potty/ Go poopy
NO! (Reserved for big ugly stuff I want to stop right NOW)
Ok - my release word to release him to eat. I'm inconsistent here though in that I use "up" to let him up from place or down. I need to change what I'm doing there.
Let's go - when offleash, usually trail walking
Ready - used when wanting his full focus, when I'm getting ready to throw the ball/frisbee/toy - when I expect him to go after it


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