# Words to use while training (commands)



## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

This might be a bit of a odd topic but here it goes. 

I think everyone can agree crate training is the way to go but im curious what people call it to their dogs. It seems like most training materials tell you to buy a "crate" and then use the word "kennel" when you direct your dog to it. I cant see to figure out why they use the two different words when talking about it. Is there a particuar reason why using the word "kennel" to the dog is better than saying "crate"? Or does anyone have any other words they use?

I am picking up my first vizsla in a couple weeks but had a lab when i was younger. We always taught her the command "free". Meaning if we commanded her to do something likes sit or stay or whatnot. Then "free" was her release command that would let her wander around and do whatever she wanted. My main training book, Tom Dokken's Retriever Training omits this command or anything like it. I havent seen anything else in my obessive reasearch the last couple months that gives a release command either. Is there a reason for this? Or did i just miss something?

Also, what about bathroom commands? Does anyone have a command for when they want their dog to go? I live in a high rise apartment so i would be nice to have a command that I can use before we go back inside after a walk/run even if he doesnt have to go too much. 

Also, any other suggestions on word choice would be appreciated.


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## ZDOGSMOM (Sep 15, 2012)

I'm sure there are a lot of different command words out there being used, but I would think as long as you and your dog are on the same page as to what each word/commmand means it shouldn't matter what the word is.

For us some of those words are:

Ziva knows: wanna go out ..... pee pee .... poops .... OFF for not jumping up instead of down (our puppy class trainer used off instead of down as she said when you want them to lay down...you used DOWN) She of course knows sit, stay, wait, leave it and instead of heel she knows LET'S GO ... also when she is at my left leg and at a sit, she senses if I haven't said stay when my left leg starts to move she will move with me. 

She knows COME 'ROUND for coming and sitting at my left leg facing the same way I am and she knows COME FRONT when she is to come to me and sit facing me. 

She knows car car for going or getting into the car, she knows treat treat really well!  When we are hiking in the woods, even though she hasn't been trained to hunt she knows WHOA when I want her stop and be still and OK is used for her to move or be released .... also she does not touch her food or my food if I put it down but OK also releases her to go ahead and eat. When walking on lead she knows when we come to a cross street or we are crossing a street..... I say STREET and she knows to sit first while I look for traffic before crossing. And PAWS UP means to put her front paws up on what I'm showing her, works especially well if she needs to be boosted up on something.

So those are just a few words that we have used during our training.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

It really doesn't matter what you call it as long is it is always called that. Consistency and repetition are the keys.

I had a friend with a dog and he used some very odd words for commands. As an example, when he asked the dog if he wanted food, he would ask the dog if he wanted to shag the cat. Naturally the dog associated the words shag the cat with food and would get very excited. It was a favourite dinner trick when new guests were over. Can you imagine the look on peoples faces if you asked your dog if it wanted to shag the cat and it got really excited..........


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## elliesmom (May 21, 2012)

When we get ready to leave.. The crate/kennel is called home.. "Ellie time to go home" she goes in with no problem. When she is naughty its called the hall of shame. And she goes. I agree with everyone else. as long as it works for you and the pup thats all that matters


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

For Mac it was "In your bed" 

Now that he is out of a crate and only has a dog bed it is "on your bed"


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I use one word commands.
It dosent really matter what word you use as long as its the same word every time.


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

We are in the process of re-teaching our pup his commands in ancient Greek. We want him to be bi-lingual. Its a bit challenging and sometimes confusing to him but its been cool to see it "click" with him. You don't necessarily need to use single syllable words, but consistency in commands is paramount


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

I use the comand CRATE. It is up to you really any words work as long as you teach them what you want them to mean. In reality you could call the crate apple or toilet if you wanted!


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

We say "go to bed" 

We have gotten to the point tthat Ruby senses we are about to leave and she often gets into her crate without us asking.

And then there are times when we tell her to go to bed and she goes and sits in the corner of the room and gives us the most pitiful look ever. Ugh! Tugs on my heart.

Agree with others that it doesn't matter what you say as long as it's not too complicated and you're consistent.


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

We try to use mostly one word commands, with a few exceptions.

"Kennel" means go into a space. That could be a crate, into the car, into the kennel - the same word means move to where I'm directing you, and we generally tap the door of whatever it is as a second cue.

"Hurry up" means go to the bathroom, whether it be #1 or #2. 

"Out" means get out of generally the kitchen, but is sort of a shoo command.

"Off" means get down off the couch, chair, bed, people.

"Here" means come here and make contact with a hand or leg. I dislike grabbing for dogs when they run by, sort of coming when called but still trying to do whatever it is they were doing.

"Leave it" can be for anything you don't want the dog to pick up.

"Whoop", means stand still. For all kinds of things, going out the door, before releasing to eat, putting on the roading harness, etc. and helps transfer to the field.

"Allright" is our release from command, or a tap on the side.

"get out of the way" is usually when the dog is blocking either the door to the garage (feed time), the door to the bathroom, or the pathway to the kitchen. Thining about it, They're really good at getting wherever I'm trying to get to...

At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what the words/commands are, as others have stated. The only things that matter is that the dog learn them in a compassionate manner and one be consistent and fair with the command phrase.

Ken


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Our release is "all done". Our trainer uses "free dog". You can use anything but I would not use "ok" bec you say it ALL THE TIME. 

Otherwise pick whatever word you want. Probably whatever is common language to you so that you always say the right thing. But this can also present issues as I'm confusing the crap out of Pennybuy saying "come on, hurry up" when I need her to potty. She'll start coming to me and then be redirected by hurry up. Oops. My bad.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

With three dogs I use the dogs name with a tap on the side to release them.


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## Kermit_days (Sep 24, 2012)

The release command seems like something the books just expect you to do. I try to use one word commands but release has turned into "off you go." Saying that I don't think you'll need to worry about the release command for a while. 

We call her crate her bed, it just sounds nicer.

Pretty early on we taught her 'back' (move back a few steps) which is useful, particularly when you're in the middle of something or she's got her head in the cupboard.

If your puppy is anything like ours she'll be too excited to worry about commands or needing to be released - she can't sit still for 2 mins. She's 17 weeks now and I'd say she's only just starting to be able to focus on things properly (today I taught her to put toys in a box). That's not to say they won't learn, it just takes a bit more patience and they need to be in the right mood.


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